East Berkshire was a county constituency in the county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. It returned one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) to the House of Commons of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 suprema ...

, elected by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

voting system. The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election.

History

This safe Conservative seat was represented for its entire existence by

Andrew MacKay Andrew James MacKay (born 27 August 1949) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Stechford from 1977 to 1979, East Berkshire from 1983 to 1997 and for Bracknell in Berkshire fro ...

Boundaries

1983–1997: The District of Bracknell, and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead wards of Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury, Old Windsor, Sunningdale and South Ascot, and Sunninghill. The constituency was formed largely from the District of Bracknell (formerly the Rural District of Easthampstead), which was previously part of the County Constituency of

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

. It also included the parts of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead which had formerly comprised the Rural District of Windsor (previously part the County Constituency of Windsor and Maidenhead) and the parishes in the former Rural District of Eton in Buckinghamshire which had been transferred to Berkshire by 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 ...

(previously part of the County Constituency of

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

). Its main settlement was

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...

, and it also included Ascot, Sunningdale, Sunninghill,

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventually tr ...

, Crowthorne, Sandhurst, and

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old ...

. The seat was abolished for the 1997 general election when the majority of the constituency was absorbed into the new County Constituency of

. Eastern areas, comprising parts of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and also including Ascot, transferred to the re-established County Constituency of Windsor.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkshire East Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997