Reading (UK Parliament constituency)
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Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the
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of the
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. It comprised the town of
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
in the county of Berkshire. From 1295, as a parliamentary borough, Reading elected two members of parliament (MPs). Under the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
,this representation was reduced to a single MP. The constituency was abolished in 1950, re-created in 1955, and finally abolished in 1974.


History

Reading was one of the boroughs summoned to send members to the
Model Parliament The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I. History This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the v ...
. The boundaries (encompassing the whole of one parish and parts of two others) were effectively unchanged from 1295 to 1918. In 1831, the population of the borough was 15,935, and contained 3,307 houses. The right to vote was exercised by all inhabitants paying
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, a relatively wide franchise for the period, and almost 2,000 votes were cast at the general election of 1826. Despite this high electorate, the corporation of the town was generally considered in practice to control elections to a large extent. In the second half of the 18th century, Reading was notoriously one of the most corrupt constituencies in England, bribery being both routine and expensive: Namier quotes the accounts kept for Prime Minister Newcastle of the 1754 election, which note that John Dodd, the government's candidate there, had already received £1000 and was promised £500 or £600 more to help him win the seat. (Dodd lost by one vote, but had the result overturned on petition by a partisan vote in the House of Commons, and Newcastle's accounts show a continuing trickle of funds to him to nurse the constituency over the next few years.) A few years later, the nomination to one of Reading's seats was advertised for sale in a London newspaper, though Reading was not mentioned by name and no price was specified; the newspaper's printers were charged by the Commons with a breach of privilege, but the sale of seats remained legal if frowned-upon until 1809. The
Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...
left Reading's representation and boundaries unchanged, and the reformed franchise far from increasing its electorate seems to have reduced it: it was estimated that there were 1,250 voters in 1831, but only 1,001 were registered for the first post-Reform election, that of 1832. The
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
, coming into effect at the 1885 general election, reduced the representation of the parliamentary borough to a single MP. The single-member Reading constituency continued to exist until it was split in 1950 into the separate constituencies of Reading North and Reading South. These two constituencies were merged back into a single Reading constituency in 1955, but again split apart in 1974; despite its name, the 1955 constituency contained only ten wards of the County Borough of Reading. Today the area formerly covered by the Reading constituency is within the constituencies of Reading East and Reading West.


Boundaries and boundary changes

1918–1950: The County Borough of Reading. Boundaries extended to the south and west (gained from the Newbury and Wokingham Divisions of Berkshire), and to the north of the River Thames with the annexation of the Urban District of Caversham (part of the Henley Division of Oxfordshire) by Reading County Borough. For the 1950 general election, Reading was abolished as a single-member Parliamentary Borough and split between the two new Borough Constituencies of Reading North and Reading South. 1955–1974: For the 1955 general election, Reading was re-established as Borough Constituency, replacing Reading North and Reading South and comprising the County Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Battle, Castle, Caversham East, Caversham West, Church, Katesgrove, Minster, Redlands, Victoria, West. The East and Tilehurst wards were respectively included in the
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 ...
and Newbury constituencies. From the 1964 general election, following a revision to the County Borough wards, the constituency comprised the wards of Abbey, Battle, Castle, Caversham, Christchurch, Katesgrove, Minster, Redlands, Thames, and Whitley, resulting in minor changes. The constituency was abolished once again for the 1974 general election. Christchurch, Redlands and Whitley wards were included in the re-established County Constituency of Reading South, with remaining wards being included in the re-established Borough Constituency of Reading North.


Members of Parliament


1295–1660

* ''Constituency created 1295''


1640–1885


1885–1950


1955–1974


Elections


Elections in the 1830s


Elections in the 1840s

Talfourd resigned after being appointed a judge of the
Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
, causing a by-election.


Elections in the 1850s

Keating was appointed
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, requiring a by-election. Keating was appointed
Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General for England and Wales ...
, requiring a by-election.


Elections in the 1860s

Keating resigned after being appointed a Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
, causing a by-election. Pigott resigned after being appointed
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, causing a by-election. Pigott resigned after being appointed a Judge of the Court of the Exchequer, causing a by-election. Shaw-Lefevre was appointed a
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, requiring a by-election.


Elections in the 1870s

Goldsmid's death caused a by-election.


Elections in the 1880s

Lefevre was appointed First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings, requiring a by-election.


Elections in the 1890s

Murdoch's death caused a by-election.


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1910s

Isaacs is appointed
Solicitor General of England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to ad ...
, requiring a by-election. Issacs is appointed
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and is elevated to the peerage as Lord Reading, requiring a by-election. A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. *Unionist Party:
Leslie Orme Wilson Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, (1 August 1876 – 29 September 1955) was a Royal Marines officer, Conservative politician, and colonial governor. He served as Governor of Bombay from 1923 to 1926 and as Governor of Queensland from 1932 to 1946. Per ...
*Liberal Party: Henry Norman Spalding *British Socialist Party:
Joseph George Butler Joseph George Butler (born 1869) was a British politician and trade unionist, who served on London County Council (LCC). Early life Born in Peckham, Butler began working when he was seven years old. For many years, he worked in a factory makin ...


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1930s

*The Liberal Party candidate, Rosalie Glynn Grylls withdrew at close of nominations General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected; *Conservative: Alfred Howitt *Labour:
Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor in th ...
''Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', 1939


Elections in the 1940s


Elections in the 1950s


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1970s


References


General

* J Holladay Philbin, ''Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) * Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, ''The Unreformed House of Commons'' (Cambridge University Press, 1903) *


Specific


See also

* List of parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire {{DEFAULTSORT:Reading (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire (historic) Politics of Reading, Berkshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1955 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1974