Richmond Park is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Sarah Olney Sarah Jane Olney (' McGibbon; born 11 January 1977) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and former accountant who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park since 2019, and previously from 2016 to 2017. Olney has served as ...

of the Liberal Democrats won the seat at a by-election in 2016 after

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment s ...

of the Conservative Party stood down in protest over expansion of Heathrow Airport. Goldsmith stood as an independent at the by-election, but the Conservative nomination was restored to him for the 2017 general election, at which he regained the seat with a slim majority. Olney won the seat from Goldsmith a second time at the 2019 general election.

History

The seat was created in 1997 from Richmond and Barnes, held by Jeremy Hanley of the Conservative Party; and a northern section of

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

, held by his party colleague, former Chancellor of the Exchequer

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 ...

. Hanley was selected as the Conservative candidate at the first election for the seat, but lost to Jenny Tonge of the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats retained the seat until 2010, when it was won by the Conservative candidate

by over 4,000 votes. Goldsmith, who blended fiscal conservatism with environmental activism, easily secured re-election in 2015, with a majority of over 23,000. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats haemorrhaged support and fell to their lowest level since 1970 (when the Richmond, Surrey constituency was fought, albeit on different boundaries to Richmond Park). In October 2016, Goldsmith announced his resignation as an MP in protest against the Conservative government's decision to allow a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport. Goldsmith stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in the

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 ...

held on 1 December; he was defeated by

, a Liberal Democrat, despite the Conservatives fielding no candidate. It was the first by-election in the constituency since its creation in 1997. In April 2017, Goldsmith won the Conservative nomination for the seat and stood in the general election on 8 June, at which Olney sought re-election. Despite Olney gaining the largest increase in vote share between general elections in the country, and Goldsmith one of the largest falls, he regained the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of just 45 votes. Goldsmith's six months out was the shortest time a defeated MP had remained so before regaining the same seat. Olney retook the seat in the 2019 general election, with a majority of nearly 8,000.

Constituency profile

The constituency is an affluent area of south west London, with salaries and proportion of residents holding a degree among the highest in the United Kingdom. The most south westerly stations of the District Line, namely Kew Gardens and Richmond, are located within the constituency. The nature of Richmond Park is leafy and suburban in nature, centred around the major settlement of Richmond town, Richmond Park itself and more suburban neighbourhoods such as Barnes, Coombe, East Sheen, Ham, Kew, Mortlake, Petersham also forming part. In the 2016 referendum, the estimated local vote to remain in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

was 72%. In 2022, 4.2% of Richmond Park residents have been grant non domicile status to avoid paying tax in the UK.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames wards of Barnes; East Sheen; Ham and Petersham; Kew; Mortlake; Palewell; Richmond Hill; and Richmond Town, and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Cambridge; Canbury; Coombe Hill; and Tudor. 2010–present: The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames wards of Barnes; East Sheen; Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside; Kew; Mortlake and Barnes Common; North Richmond; and South Richmond, and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Canbury; Coombe Hill; Coombe Vale; and Tudor. Richmond Park constituency stretches from Barnes in the north to

in the south, and includes the whole of

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mortl ...

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many cen ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, Richmond, Petersham and

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

. The boundaries also include the Royal Park itself. From Kingston Railway Bridge the limits clockwise are: the middle of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

north-east to

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

and then southeast within Barnes to

Barn Elms Barn Elms is an open space in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, located on the northerly loop of the River Thames between Barnes and Fulham. The WWT London Wetland Centre (105 acres of what were once reservoirs) li ...

; the outer limit of Putney Common; the houses east of Hallam Road and Dyers Lane; Upper Richmond Road westwards; the

Beverley Brook Beverley Brook is a minor English river long in south-west London. It rises in Worcester Park and joins the River Thames to the north of Putney Embankment at Barn Elms. Course Beverley Brook rises at the top of a hill in a shady area at Cuddi ...

south to

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...

itself; the park walls to Robin Hood Gate on the A3 road; the

south, west across Malden Golf Course; Coombe Road; Coombe Vale both in New Malden; the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

west of

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 ...

station; the Kingston branch back to the stated start. The seat comprises the old Surrey part of Richmond upon Thames (borough), Coombe, Norbiton, and half of

Fifth 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 wards. This involved moving the entirety of the Beverley ward into

Kingston and Surbiton Kingston and Surbiton () is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Kingston and Surbiton has been considered a marginal seat, as wel ...

. It had been split between the two constituencies after ward boundaries were changed in 2002. The public consultation on proposed changes across the boroughs of Kingston and Richmond received 11 submissions, of which ten were in support. The new boundaries came into effect at the 2010 general election.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

Politics Science Resources
(Election results from 1922 onwards)

(Election results from 1955 onwards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond Park (Uk Parliament Constituency) 1997 establishments in England Parliamentary constituencies in London Politics of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997