Hitchin and Harpenden (UK Parliament constituency)

Hitchin and Harpenden
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Hitchin and Harpenden in Hertfordshire.
County	Hertfordshire
Electorate	74,189 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Hitchin, Harpenden, Wheathampstead
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Peter Lilley (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	North Hertfordshire St Albans Welwyn Hatfield
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East of England

Hitchin and Harpenden is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Peter Lilley, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

1997-2010: The District of North Hertfordshire wards of Ashbrook, Bearton, Cadwell, Highbury, Hitchwood, Hoo, Kimpton, Offa, Oughton, Priory, and Walsworth, and the City of St Albans wards of Harpenden East, Harpenden North, Harpenden South, Harpenden West, Redbourn, Sandridge, and Wheathampstead.

2010-present: The District of North Hertfordshire wards of Cadwell, Graveley and Wymondley, Hitchin Bearton, Hitchin Highbury, Hitchin Oughton, Hitchin Priory, Hitchin Walsworth, Hitchwood, Hoo, Kimpton, and Offa, and the City of St Albans wards of Harpenden East, Harpenden North, Harpenden South, Harpenden West, Redbourn, Sandridge, and Wheathampstead.

History

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of several former Hertfordshire seats. Prior to 1997 Hitchin was included in the North Hertfordshire constituency and Harpenden in the St Albans constituency, while the village of Wheathampstead was part of the Welwyn Hatfield constituency.

The seat's first, and so far only, MP is Peter Lilley, a former Secretary of State for various government departments in the Conservative Administration in the 1990s, who had previously represented St Albans from 1983 to 1997.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1997	Peter Lilley	Conservative

Election results

General Election 2015: Hitchin and Harpenden^[3][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Lilley	31,488	56.9	+2.3
	Labour	Rachel Burgin	11,433	20.6	+7.1
	UKIP	John Stocker	4,917	8.9	+5.8
	Liberal Democrat	Pauline Pearce	4,484	8.1	-18.6
	Green	Richard Wise	3,053	5.5	+4
Majority			20,055	36.2	+8.3
Turnout			55,375	74.0	−0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Hitchin and Harpenden^[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Lilley	29,869	54.6	+4.7
	Liberal Democrat	Nigel Quinton	14,598	26.7	+0.9
	Labour	Oliver de Botton	7,413	13.6	−8.8
	UKIP	Graham Wilkinson	1,633	3.0	+1.3
	Green	Richard Wise	807	1.5	+1.5
	Independent	Margaret Henderson	109	0.2	+0.2
	Citizens for Undead Rights and Equality	Simon Byron	108	0.2	+0.2
	Your Right to Democracy	Eric Hannah	90	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	Peter Edward Rigby	50	0.1	+0.1
Majority			15,271	27.9
Turnout			54,707	74.1	+5.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.5

General Election 2005: Hitchin and Harpenden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Lilley	23,627	49.9	+2.6
	Liberal Democrat	Hannah Hedges	12,234	25.8	+7.8
	Labour	Paul Orrett	10,499	22.2	−10.3
	UKIP	John Graham Charles Saunders	828	1.7	+0.4
	Independent	Peter Edward Rigby	199	0.4	+0.4
Majority			11,393	24.0
Turnout			47,387	70.5	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.6

General Election 2001: Hitchin and Harpenden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Lilley	21,271	47.3	+1.5
	Labour	Alan Amos	14,608	32.5	−0.6
	Liberal Democrat	John Charles Murphy	8,076	18.0	−2.1
	UKIP	John Graham Charles Saunders	606	1.3	N/A
	Independent	Peter Edward Rigby	363	0.8	N/A
Majority			6,663	14.8
Turnout			44,924	66.9	−11.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

General Election 1997: Hitchin and Harpenden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Lilley	24,038	45.9	N/A
	Labour	Rosemary Sanderson	17,367	33.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Chris J. White	10,515	20.1	N/A
	Natural Law	David R.H. Cooke	290	0.6	N/A
	Socialist Alternative	Jim D.O. Horton	217	0.4	N/A
Majority			6,671	12.7	N/A
Turnout			52,427	78.0	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
3. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000749 | title=Harpenden & Hitching parliamentary constituency - Election 2015 - BBC news | work=bbc.co.uk
5. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
6. "Hitchin and Harpenden". Election 2010. BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010.

Coordinates: 51°50′N 0°13′W / 51.83°N 0.21°W