Richmond Park (UK Parliament constituency)

Richmond Park
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of Richmond Park in Greater London.
County Greater London
Electorate 77,071[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Zac Goldsmith (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Richmond & Barnes and Kingston upon Thames
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency London

Richmond Park is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Zac Goldsmith, a Conservative.[n 2]

History and character

Richmond Park constituency was created in 1997 from two old seats: Richmond & Barnes[n 3] and a northern tranche of the Kingston upon Thames seat.[n 4] Jeremy Hanley, MP for Richmond and Barnes was selected as the Conservative candidate for the seat's first election but lost to Jenny Tonge (Liberal Democrat). The seat was held by Liberal Democrats until 2010, when it was gained by Zac Goldsmith, a Conservative.

The area is almost entirely affluent middle-class suburbia with plenty of leafy streets, and desirable late Victorian, Edwardian, and 1930s houses, a majority not subdivided, and with large gardens. The seat has many pleasant open green spaces, including Richmond Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, the world-famous botanic gardens at Kew, and the London Wetland Centre.

The entire seat is convenient for travel by road to London Heathrow Airport. However, northern parts of the constituency endure daytime aircraft noise from most flights using the southern runway, particularly on landing from the east. Such noise is to a greater degree than Putney but to a lesser degree than central parts of the London Borough of Hounslow and eastern pockets of the Slough and Windsor unitary authorities.[n 5][2]

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 Kingston upon Thames in the south, and includes the whole of East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Petersham and Ham. The boundaries also include the Royal Park itself.

From Kingston Railway Bridge, the boundary runs north following middle of the River Thames to Hammersmith Bridge and then southeast as far as Barn Elms. From here it is bounded by on the outside Putney Common and houses east of Hallam Road and Dyers Lane. At the south end of Dyers Lane the boundary runs along the Upper Richmond Road westwards as far as the Beverley Brook which it then follows south to the northern wall of Richmond Park itself.[n 6] The boundary then follows the wall of the park as far as the Robin Hood Gate on the A3 road and follows the Beverley Brook south, until it[n 7] turns west after Malden Golf Course. It then cuts across the golf course to Coombe Road, Coombe Vale, New Malden until the South West Main Line just west of New Malden station. Then the boundary curves north to follow the Kingston branch of the railway line, which it follows as far as the railway bridge over the River Thames.

This means that the constituency includes Coombe and half of Kingston upon Thames, to include Norbiton.[3]

Latest boundary reviews

As part of its Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission[n 8] 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. 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.[4][1] The new boundaries came into effect at the 2010 general election.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[5] Party
1997 Jenny Tonge Liberal Democrat
2005 Susan Kramer Liberal Democrat
2010 Zac Goldsmith Conservative

Election results

General Election 2015: Richmond Park[6][7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Zac Goldsmith 34,404 58.2 +8.5
Liberal Democrat Robin Meltzer 11,389 19.3 -23.5
Labour Sachin Patel[9] 7,296 12.3 +7.3
Green Andrée Frieze[10] 3,548 6.0 +5.0
UKIP Sam Naz[11] 2,464 4.2 +3.0
Majority 23,015 38.9 +32.0
Turnout 59,101 76.5 -0.4
Conservative hold Swing +16.0
General Election 2010: Richmond Park[12][13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Zac Goldsmith 29,461 49.7 +10.1
Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer 25,370 42.8 -3.8
Labour Eleanor Tunnicliffe 2,979 5.0 -4.2
UKIP Peter Dul 669 1.1 +0.2
Green James Page 572 1.0 -1.7
Christian Peoples Susan May 133 0.2 -0.3
Independent Charles Hill 84 0.1 +0.1
Majority 4,091 6.9
Turnout 59,268 76.9 + 3.7
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing 7.0
General Election 2005: Richmond Park[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer 24,011 46.7 −1.0
Conservative Marco Forgione 20,280 39.5 +1.9
Labour James Butler 4,768 9.3 −2.0
Green James Page 1,379 2.7 +0.2
UKIP Peter Dul 458 0.9 +0.2
Christian Peoples Peter Flower 288 0.6 N/A
Independent Margaret Harrison 83 0.2 N/A
Rainbow Dream Ticket Rainbow George Weiss 63 0.1 N/A
Independent Richard Meacock 44 0.1 N/A
Majority 3,731 7.3
Turnout 51,374 72.8 +4.8
Liberal Democrat hold Swing −1.4
General Election 2001: Richmond Park[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Jenny Tonge 23,444 47.7 +3.0
Conservative Tom Harris 18,480 37.6 −1.9
Labour Barry Langford 5,541 11.3 −1.3
Green James Page 1,223 2.5 N/A
UKIP Peter St John Howe 348 0.7 N/A
Independent Raymond Perrin 115 0.2 N/A
Majority 4,964
Turnout 67.6 −11.8
Liberal Democrat hold Swing +2.45
General Election 1997: Richmond Park[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Jenny Tonge 25,393 44.7 N/A
Conservative Jeremy Hanley 22,442 39.5 N/A
Labour Sue Jenkins 7,172 12.6 −1.3
Referendum J. Pugh 1,467 2.6 N/A
Monster Raving Loony D. Beaupre 348 0.7 N/A
Natural Law B. D'Arcy 102 0.2 N/A
Rainbow Dream Ticket P. Davies 73 0.1 N/A
Majority 2,951 N/A
Turnout 57201 79.5 N/A
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing N/A

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. ↑ last held by the Conservative Jeremy Hanley
  4. ↑ Held by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont
  5. ↑ Specifically Poyle and the northern part of the large parish of Wraysbury
  6. ↑ Thus east is Roehampton in the London Borough of Wandsworth and part of Putney seat
  7. ↑ Having included the residential section of the A3 at the Beverley Brook Interchange
  8. ↑ For the subregion used see South London
References
  1. 1 2 Fifth periodical report (pdf) (Report). Volume 3 Mapping for the London Boroughs and the Metropolitan Counties. Boundary Commission for England. 5 February 2007. ISBN 0101703228.
  2. ↑ "Heathrow". London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. ↑ For the detailed map see the UK government election map web site
  4. ↑ "South London Boroughs – Proposals for Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. 19 April 2001. Archived from the original (pdf) on 12 June 2010.
  5. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
  6. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. ↑ http://cabnet.richmond.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=77&RPID=18489113 19Aug15
  8. ↑ "Richmond Park parliamentary constituency – Election 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Sachin Patel: Candidate for Richmond Park". Labour Party (UK). Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "London Green Party | 2015 General Election". Green Party. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  11. ↑ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/richmondpark/
  12. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Norton, Gillian (20 April 2010). "Parliamentary Election, Richmond Park Constituency, Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
  14. ↑ "Election 2010 –Constituency:Richmond Park". Election 2010 (BBC). 6 May 2010.
  15. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Coordinates: 51°26′49″N 0°16′41″W / 51.447°N 0.278°W / 51.447; -0.278

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