Oxford West and Abingdon 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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

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. T ...

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 suprem ...

since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Layla Moran Layla Michelle Moran (; born 12 September 1982) is a British Liberal Democrat politician serving as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development since 2020, and serving as the Member of Parliament for O ...

, a Liberal Democrat.

History

Creation

The seat was created in 1983 as part of the reconfiguration of those in the county to avoid

malapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionmen ...

, abolishing

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as a seat. It merged about half the city with the eastern portion of the former Abingdon seat.

MPs

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 in ...

John Patten (MP for Oxford in the 1979–1983 Parliament), held the seat from its creation until he retired in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. The seat was gained by Liberal Democrat,

Evan Harris Evan Leslie Harris (born 21 October 1965) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservati ...

, who held the seat for thirteen years until the 2010 general election, when the Conservative

Nicola Blackwood Nicola Blackwood, Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (born 16 October 1979) is a British politician of the Conservative Party. Baroness Blackwood was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford West and Abingdon from 2010 to 2017. She has also been ...

retook the seat in one of the most

marginal Marginal may refer to: * ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001 * ''Marginal'' (manga) * '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series * Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...

results of that election. Blackwood held the seat until the 2017 general election, when she was defeated by Liberal Democrat

in another marginal result.

Contests

The seat has been contested nine times, each of them general elections. At each contest the Labour party candidate has polled third—the peak share of votes to date being 20.2%, in 1997. The strongest victory, in share of the vote, was that of Harris of the Liberal Democrats in 2001, a 17.8% majority (in a seven-way contest). The

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

and its predecessor, the

Ecology Party The Green Party, also known as the Green Party UK, was a Green political party in the United Kingdom. Prior to 1985 it was called the Ecology Party, and before that PEOPLE. In 1990, it separated into three political parties: * the Green ...

, stood in the first eight contests, in each losing the deposit paid.

Constituency profile

The constituency includes the town of Abingdon, the village of Kidlington, and the western and northern parts of the city of

, and some of the

colleges of the University of Oxford The University of Oxford has thirty-nine colleges within universities in the United Kingdom#Traditional collegiate universities, colleges, and five permanent private halls (PPHs) of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-gov ...

. At the end of 2010, unemployment was the fifth lowest of the 84 South East constituencies, at 1.2% compared to a mean of 2.45%. The area has rapid transit connections to London,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

and the commercial heart of Oxford, has large business and research parks and a choice of two major railway stations, and .

Boundaries and boundary changes

;1983–1997 : The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Abbey, Caldecott, Cumnor, Fitzharris, Hinksey, Kennington, Northcourt, Ock, Radley, St Helen Without, and Sunningwell and Wootton, and the City of Oxford wards of Central, Cherwell, North, South, West, and Wolvercote. :The majority of the new constituency, comprising the town of

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historically the county town of Berkshire, since 1974 Abingdon has been ...

and areas to the west of Oxford, was previously part of the abolished County Constituency of Abingdon in

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 Ber ...

. The

City of Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the U ...

wards had previously been in the abolished Borough Constituency of

. 1997–2010 : The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Abbey, Caldecott, Cumnor, Fitzharris, Hinksey, Kennington, Northcourt, Ock, Radley, St Helen Without, and Sunningwell and Wootton, the City of Oxford wards of Central, Cherwell, North, West, and Wolvercote, and the District of Cherwell wards of Gosford, North West Kidlington, and South East Kidlington. : Kidlington transferred from

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

. The South ward of the City of Oxford transferred to

Oxford East Oxford East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Anneliese Dodds of the Labour Party, who also serves as party chair. Created in 1983, the constituency covers the eastern and southern parts of Oxfor ...

. Since 2010 : The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Abingdon Abbey and Barton, Abingdon Caldecott, Abingdon Dunmore, Abingdon Fitzharris, Abingdon Northcourt, Abingdon Ock Meadow, Abingdon Peachcroft, Appleton and Cumnor, Kennington and South Hinksey, North Hinksey and Wytham, Radley, and Sunningwell and Wootton, the City of Oxford wards of Jericho and Osney, North, St Margaret's, Summertown, and Wolvercote, and the District of Cherwell wards of Kidlington North, Kidlington South, and Yarnton, Gosford and Water Eaton. :Further loss to Oxford East, including the city centre, following revision of City of Oxford wards. Marginal realignment of boundary with Wantage.

Yarnton Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545. Archaeology Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the pa ...

transferred from Witney.

Members of Parliament

Elections

File:OxfordwestandAbingdon.svg, Election results for Oxford West and Abingdon

Elections in the 2010s

Oxford West and Abingdon hustings St Annes College 20100226

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Neighbouring constituencies

Notes

References

Sources

Election result 2015Election result, 2015
(BBC)
Election result, 2010
(BBC)
Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997–2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

(Election Demon) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford West And Abingdon (Uk Parliament Constituency) Abingdon-on-Thames *Oxford West and Abingdon Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire Politics of Oxford Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983