Brentwood and Ongar is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since 2017 by

Alex Burghart Michael Alex Burghart (born 7 September 1977) is a British politician, academic and former teacher who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he was formerly a special ad ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, serving since September 2021 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills.

History

The seat was created for the February 1974 general election, primarily from part of the abolished constituency of

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It i ...

. It has always been a safe Conservative seat. It was held by

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State for ...

between the General Election in 1992 and 2017 when he stood down. The Liberal Democrats amassed their largest share of the vote in 1992 (including results for their two predecessor parties). At the 2010 election their candidate was second-placed with 13.6% of the vote, ahead of the Labour Party's candidate. In the 2001 election, Pickles was opposed by

Martin Bell Martin Bell, (born 31 August 1938) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as " ...

, who had represented the Tatton constituency in the last Parliament as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and had pledged not to seek re-election there. Bell failed to gain Brentwood and Ongar from the Conservatives, but cut the Conservative majority to just 6.5%, the lowest in the seat's history.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1974–1983: The Urban District of Brentwood, and in the Rural District of Epping and Ongar the parishes of Abbess Beauchamp and Berners Roding, Blackmore, Bobbingworth, Doddinghurst, Fyfield, High Laver, High Ongar, Kelvedon Hatch, Lambourne, Little Laver, Moreton, Navestock, Ongar, Stanford Rivers, Stapleford Abbotts, Stapleford Tawney, Stondon Massey, Theydon Mount, and Willingale. The Urban District of Brentwood was previously part of the abolished County Constituency of

, and the parishes of the Rural District of Epping and Ongar (which had previously constituted the Rural District of Ongar) had been part of the abolished County Constituency of

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Lond ...

. 1983–2010: The District of Brentwood, and the District of Epping Forest wards of Chipping Ongar, Greensted and Marden Ash, High Ongar, Lambourne, Moreton and Matching, Passingford, Roothing Country, and Shelley. Two parishes, formerly part of the Rural District of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

and included in the District of Brentwood under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

transferred from the County Constituency of

. Other marginal changes. 2010–present: The Borough of Brentwood, and the District of Epping Forest wards of Chipping Ongar, Greensted and Marden Ash, High Ongar, Willingale and The Rodings, Lambourne, Moreton and Fyfield, North Weald Bassett, Passingford, and Shelley.

North Weald Bassett North Weald Bassett or simply North Weald is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The village is within the North Weald Ridges and Valleys landscape area. A market is held every Saturday and Bank Holiday Mo ...

ward transferred from

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

. Other marginal changes due to redistribution of local authority wards.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Graphical representation

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Brentwood and Ongar
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brentwood And Ongar (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Essex Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1974 Borough of Brentwood Brentwood (Essex town)