Reading North (UK Parliament constituency)

Reading North
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Berkshire
Major settlements	Reading
1950–1955
Replaced by	Reading
Created from	Reading
1974 (1974)–1983
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Reading East and Reading West
Created from	Reading

Reading North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency covered an area in and around the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire.

History

The Reading North parliamentary constituency was first created for the 1950 general election by splitting the previous parliamentary constituency of Reading into North and South divisions. These constituencies were merged back into a single Reading constituency in for the 1955 general election.

The Reading North constituency was recreated in 1974, when it was contested and won for the Conservative Party by Tony Durant. In 1983 the constituencies in Reading were reorganised, creating the new constituencies of Reading East and Reading West. Tony Durant went on to hold the Reading West constituency until 1997.

In both its incarnations, the constituency included Reading town centre.

Boundaries

1950-1955: The County Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Battle, Castle, Caversham East, Caversham West, Tilehurst, and Victoria.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Battle, Castle, Caversham, Katesgrove, Minster, Norcot, Thames, and Tilehurst.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1950–1955

	Member	Party
1950	Ronald Mackay	Labour
1951	Frederic Bennett	Conservative
1955	constituency abolished: see Reading

MPs 1974–1983

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974	Tony Durant	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished: see Reading East & Reading West

Elections

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Reading North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Durant	25,085	50.58
	Labour	D. M. Mason	17,662	35.61
	Liberal	P. Minton	6,170	12.44
	National Front	P. Baker	554	1.12
	Independent	L. W. Edwards	126	0.25
Majority			7,423	14.97
Turnout			65,369	75.87
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Reading North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Durant	18,734	40.2	+0.8
	Labour	M. J. Denby	18,266	39.15
	Liberal	K. Watts	9,064	19.43
	National Front	P. Baker	594	1.27
Majority			468	1.0
Turnout			64,484	72.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Reading North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Durant	19,984	39.4	N/A
	Labour	M. J. Denby	17,615	34.72	N/A
	Liberal	J. Burnett	13,137	25.89	N/A
Majority			2,369	4.67	N/A
Turnout			63,943	79.35	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1951: Reading North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederic Bennett	17,378	50.44
	Labour	Ronald Mackay	17,076	49.56
Majority			302	0.88
Turnout			34,454	86.83
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 1950: Reading North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald Mackay	15,681	46.02
	Conservative	JSV Marling	15,154	44.48
	Liberal	M Derrick	3,238	9.50
Majority			527	1.55
Turnout			34,073	86.79
	Labour win (new seat)

References

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
"UK General Elections since 1832". Election results 1974–1979. Retrieved 3 July 2005.

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