Bracknell is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the

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of the

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since

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

by James Sunderland, 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 in ...

. It was created for the 1997 general election, replacing the abolished county constituency of East Berkshire.

Constituency profile

The seat covers most of the town of Bracknell, although the northern parts are in the neighbouring

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seat. Crowthorne and Sandhurst are also in the seat, interspersed by large areas of forest. Residents are slightly wealthier than the UK average.

History

From creation in 1997 until 2010, Bracknell's MP was Andrew MacKay of the Conservative Party, who represented the old seat of East Berkshire from 1983. On 14 May 2009, he resigned from his position as parliamentary aide to David Cameron in the wake of a major scandal over his Parliamentary expenses. MacKay and his wife, fellow Tory MP

Julie Kirkbride Julie Kirkbride (born 5 June 1960) is a British Conservative politician. She was the Member of Parliament for the Conservative stronghold of Bromsgrove from the 1997 to the 2010 general elections. Early life Kirkbride was born in Halifax, Wes ...

, had wrongfully claimed over £250,000 from the taxpayer for mortgage payments for second homes, in a case of so-called 'double-dipping'. They also wrongfully claimed for each other's travel costs. At a hastily called meeting with his constituents in Bracknell to explain the "unacceptable" expenses claims, Mr MacKay was jeered and called a "thieving toad". A video of the angry meeting was leaked to the press and, after an urgent phone call from David Cameron the next day, MacKay agreed to stand down at the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party chose Phillip Lee, a general practitioner, as its new candidate in an American-style

open primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

, involving seven candidates including

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for ...

and Iain Dale in a contest open to all registered Bracknell voters. ;2010 election Lee went on to become the next MP in an election which saw the share of the vote for the Labour Party fall by 11.1%. The Liberal Democrats saw the biggest rise in support of all the parties (+4.5%), overtaking Labour to gain second place behind the Conservative Party.

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saw a slight rise in support to 4.4% of the vote. The 2010 election also saw for the first time the Green Party and

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vying for the seat. ;2017 election Lee held his seat at the 2017 general election. He gained 3.1% of votes, but Labour increased its share by 13.3%. Lee received 32,882 votes, Paul Bidwell (Labour) in second place had 16,866 votes. On 3 September 2019, Lee resigned from the Conservative party to join the Liberal Democrats due to the Conservative party's support for Brexit. At the 2019 General Election he unsuccessfully contested the adjacent

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 ...

seat for that party. 2019 election James Sunderland was elected for the Conservative party with 58.7% of the vote.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1997–2010: The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Binfield, Bullbrook, Central Sandhurst, College Town, Crowthorne, Garth, Great Hollands North, Great Hollands South, Hanworth, Harmanswater, Little Sandhurst, Old Bracknell, Owlsmoor, Priestwood, Warfield, and Wildridings, and the District of Wokingham wards of Finchampstead North, Finchampstead South, and Wokingham Without. The Borough of Bracknell wards had formed the majority of the abolished County Constituency of East Berkshire. The two Finchampstead wards were transferred from Reading East, and the ward of Wokingham Without was transferred from

. 2010–present: The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Bullbrook, Central Sandhurst, College Town, Crown Wood, Crowthorne, Great Hollands North, Great Hollands South, Hanworth, Harmanswater, Little Sandhurst and Wellington, Old Bracknell, Owlsmoor, Priestwood and Garth, and Wildridings and Central, and the District of Wokingham wards of Finchampstead North, Finchampstead South, and Wokingham Without. Northern parts, including Binfield, were transferred to

. Bracknell is based around the town of Bracknell and the

Bracknell Forest Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Warfield and Winkfield. The borough bor ...

authority. It is bordered by the constituencies of

, Maidenhead,

, Surrey Heath,

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

, and

North East Hampshire North East Hampshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Ranil Jayawardena, a Conservative who has served as Environment Secretary since 2022. History The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of t ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Bracknell
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bracknell (UK Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Bracknell