Bracknell (UK Parliament constituency)

Bracknell
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bracknell in Berkshire.
Location of Berkshire within England.
County	Berkshire
Population	104,849 (2011 census)
Electorate	77,490 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Bracknell, Crowthorne
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Phillip Lee (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	East Berkshire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Bracknell is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Phillip Lee of the Conservative Party.

Boundaries

1997-2010: The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Binfield, Bullbrook, College Town, Crowthorne, Garth, Great Hollands North, Great Hollands South, Hanworth, Harmanswater, Little Sandhurst, Old Bracknell, Owlsmoor, Priestwood, Central Sandhurst, Warfield, and Wildridings, and the District of Wokingham wards of Finchampstead North, Finchampstead South, and Wokingham Without.

2010-present: The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Bullbrook, Central Sandhurst, College Town, Crown Wood, Crowthorne, Great Hollands North, Great Hollands South, Hanworth, Harmans Water, 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.

Bracknell is based around the town of Bracknell and the Bracknell Forest authority. It is bordered by the constituencies of Wokingham, Maidenhead, Windsor, Surrey Heath, Aldershot, and North East Hampshire.

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 Cameron in the wake of a major scandal over his Parliamentary expenses. MacKay and his wife, fellow Tory MP Julie Kirkbride, 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 their new candidate in an American style open primary, involving 7 candidates including Rory Stewart 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%) and overtook Labour to gain second place behind the Conservative Party. The UKIP 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 British National Party vying for the seat.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Andrew MacKay	Conservative
	2010	Dr. Phillip Lee	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Bracknell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Phillip Lee	29,606	55.8	+3.4
	Labour	James Walsh	8,956	16.9	+0.1
	UKIP	Richard Thomas	8,339	15.7	+11.3
	Liberal Democrat	Patrick Smith	3,983	7.5	−14.8
	Green	Derek Florey	2,202	4.1	+2.6
Majority			20,650	38.9	+8.8
Turnout			53,086	65.3	-2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Bracknell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Phillip Lee	27,327	52.4	+2.5
	Liberal Democrat	Raymond William Earwicker	11,623	22.3	+4.5
	Labour	John Piasecki	8,755	16.8	−11.1
	UKIP	Murray Barter	2,297	4.4	+0.9
	BNP	Mark Burke	1,253	2.4	N/A
	Green	David Young	821	1.6	N/A
	Scrap Members Allowances	Dan Haycocks	60	0.1	N/A
Majority			15,704	30.1
Turnout			52,140	67.8	+5.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.0

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Bracknell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew MacKay	25,412	49.7	+3.1
	Labour	Mrs. Janet Hazel Keene	13,376	26.2	−6.8
	Liberal Democrat	Lee Glendon	10,128	19.8	+2.7
	UKIP	Vincent Pearson	1,818	3.6	+1.0
	Independent	Mrs. Dominica Mary Roberts	407	0.8	N/A
Majority			12,036	23.5
Turnout			51,141	63.4	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

General Election 2001: Bracknell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew MacKay	22,962	46.6	−0.7
	Labour	Mrs. Janet Hazel Keene	16,249	33.0	+3.2
	Liberal Democrat	Raymond William Earwicker	8,428	17.1	+1.7
	UKIP	Lawrie John Alan Boxall	1,266	2.6	+1.6
	ProLife Alliance	Mrs. Dominica Mary Roberts	324	0.7	+0.2
Majority			6,713	13.6
Turnout			49,229	60.7	−13.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.0

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Bracknell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew MacKay	27,983	47.4	N/A
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	17,596	29.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Alan R. Hilliar	9,122	15.4	N/A
	New Labour	John W. Tompkins	1,909	3.2	N/A
	Referendum	Warwick Cairns	1,636	2.8	N/A
	UKIP	Lawrie John Alan Boxall	569	1.0	N/A
	ProLife Alliance	Mrs. Dominica Mary Roberts	276	0.5	N/A
Majority			10,387	17.6	N/A
Turnout			59,091	74.5	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire

Notes and references

Notes

References

External Links

• nomis Constituency Profile for Bracknell — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.