Kingston and Surbiton () 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, ...
created in 1997 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
Ed Davey
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 ...
, the
Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Kingston and Surbiton has been considered a
marginal seat
A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...
, as well as a swing seat since 2010, as the seat has changed hands twice since that year, and its winner's majority did not exceed 6.6% of the vote since the 13.2% majority won in 2010. In 2019, Davey won a 17.2% majority and a majority of the votes cast and the seat is now a safe seat for the party.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Berrylands, Burlington, Chessington North, Chessington South, Grove, Hook, Malden Manor, Norbiton Park, Norbiton, St James, St Mark's, Surbiton Hill, Tolworth East, Tolworth South, and Tolworth West.
2010–present: As above less Burlington plus Beverley — and neighbouring Tolworth and Hook wards having been in local government renamed to become Alexandra, Tolworth and Hook Rise, Chessington North and Hook.
The constituency covers most of the
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...
, covering the town of
Surbiton,
Chessington
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The ...
,
New Malden
New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...
,
Tolworth
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, ...
and the south of
Kingston itself. The remainder of the borough, a northern part of Kingston, has remained since 1997 in the
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
seat.
2007 boundary review
As part of its
Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ir ...
, the
Boundary Commission
A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies.
Notable boundary commissions have included:
* Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...
made minor changes to re-align the constituency boundaries with the boundaries of the local government divisions (
wards); moving the entirety of the Beverley ward into Kingston and Surbiton. It had been partly in Richmond Park until
2002 local elections. The associated public consultation received 11 submissions, of which 10 in support.
The revisions came into effect at the 2010 general election.
History
The constituency was created in 1997, when the number of seats covering the boroughs of Kingston upon Thames and
Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...
was reduced from four to three. It replaced the former
Surbiton constituency completely and also covers the south of the former
Kingston constituency.
;Political history
Former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
Norman Lamont
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer in ...
represented Kingston from a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in 1972 until the
1997 general election, when he was not selected as the Conservative candidate for either of its replacements. Instead, the incumbent Surbiton MP
Richard Tracey
Richard Patrick Tracey, (8 February 1943 – 19 March 2020), was a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and news presenter. He was the Member of Parliament for Surbiton from 1983 to 1997, and served as Minister for Sport between ...
was selected, while Lamont unsuccessfully contested
Harrogate and Knaresborough
Harrogate and Knaresborough () is a parliamentary constituency in North Yorkshire which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Andrew Jones, an MP from the Conservative Party. The constituency was for ...
in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
. In the event, Tracey was defeated by the
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
candidate
Edward Davey
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 ...
by the very narrow margin of 56 votes.
In
the 2011 referendum on whether the UK should adopt the
Alternative Vote (AV) system, the
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...
, which covers most of the constituency, voted against the proposal by 60.5%.
Davey held on to the seat until the
general election of 2015, when he was defeated by the Conservative
James Berry during the national Liberal Democrat vote collapse. The 2015 result gave the seat the 26th most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.
In
the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, the borough voted to remain in the European Union by 61.6%.
Davey, now knighted, regained the seat for the Liberal Democrats in the
2017 general election with the eighth largest vote share increase for the party nationally.
The
local council, which covers most of the constituency, alternates between Liberal Democrat majority control (1994–1998 and 2002–2014) and no overall control (1986–1994 and 1998–2002). However, in 2014, it became a Conservative-majority council; the last Conservative administration was between 1964 and 1986. Traditionally, the southern wards vote for the Liberal Democrats, whereas the north and north-eastern wards vote for the Conservatives, with some
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
representation in the Norbiton ward.
In all seven elections since its establishment, Kingston and Surbiton has voted for a candidate from the same party as the neighbouring constituency of Twickenham, which was established at the same time. Both seats have seen one Conservative win and six Liberal Democrat wins.
Profile
The seat is a majority
middle-class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
suburbia
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...
, much like its neighbouring constituencies of
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
,
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
and
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
. The area has a long-established large urban kernel in
Kingston town centre, where waves of public initiatives and spending have overhauled much of the area's cohort of ex-council housing and social housing. This is similar to the proportion of such housing stock in the London Boroughs of
Merton and
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a location
* Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire
* ...
adjoining. The highly commercial town with ancient-founded markets and a public riverside by the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
has enjoyed continued economic diversity and prosperity and saw in 2007 a total retail spend of £23.71 billion, placing it 12th among UK towns and cities.
"Kingston upon Thames"
''Retail Week'', 23 November 2007
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
See also
* List of parliamentary constituencies in London
Notes
References
External links
Politics Resources
(Election results from 1922 onwards)
(Election results from 1955 onwards)
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Kingston and Surbiton MP – Edward Davey
TheyWorkForYou.com
{{Authority control
Parliamentary constituencies in London
Politics of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Surbiton
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997