Wantage

[bjornhattan]

WANTAGE

In 1974, around one third of Berkshire's land area was transferred to Oxfordshire. The majority of this territory would become the Wantage constituency in 1983, and since then this constituency has seen its boundaries essentially remain the same.

The largest town in the constituency is actually Didcot rather than Wantage. Best known for its major railway station located where the line to Oxford diverges from the line to Swindon, Didcot has seen rapid growth in recent years. It has been described as the most normal town in England, and so unsurprisingly most of its demographics are close to the national average. The traditional core of the town is quite Labour inclined, but new developments such as Ladygrove and Great Western Park are more favourable for the Conservative Party, as is its rural hinterland.

Wantage itself is a little smaller than Didcot, but is also seeing rapid growth. This is particularly noticeable in Grove, which was originally a separate village but is now almost contiguous with Wantage. Many residents around here have advanced qualifications, and work at the various scientific research labs such as Harwell to the east. There are plans to rebuild a railway station to the north of Grove - the line between Didcot and Swindon is one of the longest stretches of track without a station on the entire British network, and this would bring more commuters to the town.

There are smaller towns in the constituency too, such as the riverside town of Wallingford, which has a great deal of royal history but suffered after the Tudors spurned it in favour of Windsor. Faringdon is yet another area of the constituency set to be transformed by major new housing developments, though it is currently just a small market town. The final major population centre in the seat is the area around Watchfield and Shrivenham, which actually looks more towards Swindon than Oxford. Much like large parts of neighbouring Wiltshire, the area has a large military presence, with a major defence academy located between the two villages. It is in these rural areas where the Conservatives really build their majority.

Politically, Wantage has been won by the Conservatives at every election since its creation, but both of its past MPs had brief spells outside of the party. Wantage's first MP, Robert Jackson, had been a moderate and defected to Labour in 2005 because of disputes with leaders including Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith. His replacement, Ed Vaizey, had the whip revoked in 2019 for rebelling against the government as Britain attempted to leave the European Union (though this was restored for his final few weeks in office). Elections here have been less interesting, though in 1997 and 2001 both Labour and the Liberal Democrats were reasonably close to taking the seat. It was also a target for the Liberal Democrats in 2019, after excellent results in the area's local elections, but the seat remained Conservative by some margin. This seat should be safely Conservative for the foreseeable future, but if the opposition unites around one party, then it could become very marginal indeed.

--------------------------------

I know parts of this seat well, but not all of it - in particular I realised I know absolutely nothing about Faringdon. If anyone has any suggestions for improvements I'll definitely integrate them.

[andrewp]

Apr 2, 2020 15:49:26 GMT bjornhattan said:

WANTAGE

In 1974, around one third of Berkshire's land area was transferred to Oxfordshire. The majority of this territory would become the Wantage constituency in 1983, and since then this constituency has seen its boundaries essentially remain the same.

The largest town in the constituency is actually Didcot rather than Wantage. Best known for its major railway station located where the line to Oxford diverges from the line to Swindon, Didcot has seen rapid growth in recent years. It has been described as the most normal town in England, and so unsurprisingly most of its demographics are close to the national average. The traditional core of the town is quite Labour inclined, but new developments such as Ladygrove and Great Western Park are more favourable for the Conservative Party, as is its rural hinterland.

Wantage itself is a little smaller than Didcot, but is also seeing rapid growth. This is particularly noticeable in Grove, which was originally a separate village but is now almost contiguous with Wantage. Many residents around here have advanced qualifications, and work at the various scientific research labs such as Harwell to the east. There are plans to rebuild a railway station to the north of Grove - the line between Didcot and Swindon is one of the longest stretches of track without a station on the entire British network, and this would bring more commuters to the town.

There are smaller towns in the constituency too, such as the riverside town of Wallingford, which has a great deal of royal history but suffered after the Tudors spurned it in favour of Windsor. Faringdon is yet another area of the constituency set to be transformed by major new housing developments, though it is currently just a small market town. The final major population centre in the seat is the area around Watchfield and Shrivenham, which actually looks more towards Swindon than Oxford. Much like large parts of neighbouring Wiltshire, the area has a large military presence, with a major defence academy located between the two villages. It is in these rural areas where the Conservatives really build their majority.

Politically, Wantage has been won by the Conservatives at every election since its creation, but both of its past MPs had brief spells outside of the party. Wantage's first MP, Robert Jackson, had been a moderate and defected to Labour in 2005 because of disputes with leaders including Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith. His replacement, Ed Vaizey, had the whip revoked in 2019 for rebelling against the government as Britain attempted to leave the European Union (though this was restored for his final few weeks in office). Elections here have been less interesting, though in 1997 and 2001 both Labour and the Liberal Democrats were reasonably close to taking the seat. It was also a target for the Liberal Democrats in 2019, after excellent results in the area's local elections, but the seat remained Conservative by some margin. This seat should be safely Conservative for the foreseeable future, but if the opposition unites around one party, then it could become very marginal indeed.

--------------------------------

I know parts of this seat well, but not all of it - in particular I realised I know absolutely nothing about Faringdon. If anyone has any suggestions for improvements I'll definitely integrate them.

Does anyone know why there was a transfer of area from Berkshire to Oxfordshire in 1974?

[Deleted]

Another poorly named constituency. Something like Didcot & the Vale or even just South West Oxon would have been much better.

[bjornhattan]

Apr 2, 2020 16:01:07 GMT andrewp said:

Apr 2, 2020 15:49:26 GMT bjornhattan said:

WANTAGE

In 1974, around one third of Berkshire's land area was transferred to Oxfordshire. The majority of this territory would become the Wantage constituency in 1983, and since then this constituency has seen its boundaries essentially remain the same.

The largest town in the constituency is actually Didcot rather than Wantage. Best known for its major railway station located where the line to Oxford diverges from the line to Swindon, Didcot has seen rapid growth in recent years. It has been described as the most normal town in England, and so unsurprisingly most of its demographics are close to the national average. The traditional core of the town is quite Labour inclined, but new developments such as Ladygrove and Great Western Park are more favourable for the Conservative Party, as is its rural hinterland.

Wantage itself is a little smaller than Didcot, but is also seeing rapid growth. This is particularly noticeable in Grove, which was originally a separate village but is now almost contiguous with Wantage. Many residents around here have advanced qualifications, and work at the various scientific research labs such as Harwell to the east. There are plans to rebuild a railway station to the north of Grove - the line between Didcot and Swindon is one of the longest stretches of track without a station on the entire British network, and this would bring more commuters to the town.

There are smaller towns in the constituency too, such as the riverside town of Wallingford, which has a great deal of royal history but suffered after the Tudors spurned it in favour of Windsor. Faringdon is yet another area of the constituency set to be transformed by major new housing developments, though it is currently just a small market town. The final major population centre in the seat is the area around Watchfield and Shrivenham, which actually looks more towards Swindon than Oxford. Much like large parts of neighbouring Wiltshire, the area has a large military presence, with a major defence academy located between the two villages. It is in these rural areas where the Conservatives really build their majority.

Politically, Wantage has been won by the Conservatives at every election since its creation, but both of its past MPs had brief spells outside of the party. Wantage's first MP, Robert Jackson, had been a moderate and defected to Labour in 2005 because of disputes with leaders including Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith. His replacement, Ed Vaizey, had the whip revoked in 2019 for rebelling against the government as Britain attempted to leave the European Union (though this was restored for his final few weeks in office). Elections here have been less interesting, though in 1997 and 2001 both Labour and the Liberal Democrats were reasonably close to taking the seat. It was also a target for the Liberal Democrats in 2019, after excellent results in the area's local elections, but the seat remained Conservative by some margin. This seat should be safely Conservative for the foreseeable future, but if the opposition unites around one party, then it could become very marginal indeed.

--------------------------------

I know parts of this seat well, but not all of it - in particular I realised I know absolutely nothing about Faringdon. If anyone has any suggestions for improvements I'll definitely integrate them.

Does anyone know why there was a transfer of area from Berkshire to Oxfordshire in 1974?

Oxfordshire had a fairly small population before the transfer, so perhaps it was an attempt at making the counties more equally sized? Abingdon is closer to Oxford than Reading or other major population centres in Berkshire, but going off that logic you'd have thought they'd have moved Shrivenham or Hungerford into Wiltshire.

Apparently, Oxfordshire were also supposed to gain Brackley (from Northamptonshire), though there were plans to move Henley into Berkshire.

[Pete Whitehead]

Apr 2, 2020 16:07:28 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Another poorly named constituency. Something like Didcot & the Vale or even just South West Oxon would have been much better.

Either of these would be absurd names. Wantage is absolutely the correct name for this constituency

As to why the area was moved, I presume it was because Oxfordshire was rather on the small size (population wise) otherwise and certainly Abingdon and perhaps also Didcot and Wantage are rather more closely tied to Oxford than to Reading. (this is in no way offered as a justification for such an appalling act of vandalism)

[Chris from Brum]

Apr 2, 2020 16:01:07 GMT andrewp said:

Apr 2, 2020 15:49:26 GMT bjornhattan said:

WANTAGE

In 1974, around one third of Berkshire's land area was transferred to Oxfordshire. The majority of this territory would become the Wantage constituency in 1983, and since then this constituency has seen its boundaries essentially remain the same.

The largest town in the constituency is actually Didcot rather than Wantage. Best known for its major railway station located where the line to Oxford diverges from the line to Swindon, Didcot has seen rapid growth in recent years. It has been described as the most normal town in England, and so unsurprisingly most of its demographics are close to the national average. The traditional core of the town is quite Labour inclined, but new developments such as Ladygrove and Great Western Park are more favourable for the Conservative Party, as is its rural hinterland.

Wantage itself is a little smaller than Didcot, but is also seeing rapid growth. This is particularly noticeable in Grove, which was originally a separate village but is now almost contiguous with Wantage. Many residents around here have advanced qualifications, and work at the various scientific research labs such as Harwell to the east. There are plans to rebuild a railway station to the north of Grove - the line between Didcot and Swindon is one of the longest stretches of track without a station on the entire British network, and this would bring more commuters to the town.

There are smaller towns in the constituency too, such as the riverside town of Wallingford, which has a great deal of royal history but suffered after the Tudors spurned it in favour of Windsor. Faringdon is yet another area of the constituency set to be transformed by major new housing developments, though it is currently just a small market town. The final major population centre in the seat is the area around Watchfield and Shrivenham, which actually looks more towards Swindon than Oxford. Much like large parts of neighbouring Wiltshire, the area has a large military presence, with a major defence academy located between the two villages. It is in these rural areas where the Conservatives really build their majority.

Politically, Wantage has been won by the Conservatives at every election since its creation, but both of its past MPs had brief spells outside of the party. Wantage's first MP, Robert Jackson, had been a moderate and defected to Labour in 2005 because of disputes with leaders including Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith. His replacement, Ed Vaizey, had the whip revoked in 2019 for rebelling against the government as Britain attempted to leave the European Union (though this was restored for his final few weeks in office). Elections here have been less interesting, though in 1997 and 2001 both Labour and the Liberal Democrats were reasonably close to taking the seat. It was also a target for the Liberal Democrats in 2019, after excellent results in the area's local elections, but the seat remained Conservative by some margin. This seat should be safely Conservative for the foreseeable future, but if the opposition unites around one party, then it could become very marginal indeed.

--------------------------------

I know parts of this seat well, but not all of it - in particular I realised I know absolutely nothing about Faringdon. If anyone has any suggestions for improvements I'll definitely integrate them.

Does anyone know why there was a transfer of area from Berkshire to Oxfordshire in 1974?

My assumption would be that the Vale of White Horse area looked to Oxford as its local large town rather than towards Newbury or Reading.  Remember that the boundary used to be the Isis (Thames to non-Oxonians), so this meant that as soon as you crossed Folly Bridge heading south you were in Berkshire (and of course Donnington Bridge and Osney Bridge also used to transport you from one county to another).  The boundary change effectively unified all of Oxford and its suburbs within one city and one county, and the hinterland came along with it.

[Merseymike]

Apr 2, 2020 16:16:47 GMT Chris from Brum said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:01:07 GMT andrewp said:

Does anyone know why there was a transfer of area from Berkshire to Oxfordshire in 1974?

My assumption would be that the Vale of White Horse area looked to Oxford as its local large town rather than towards Newbury or Reading.  Remember that the boundary used to be the Isis (Thames to non-Oxonians), so this meant that as soon as you crossed Folly Bridge heading south you were in Berkshire (and of course Donnington Bridge and Osney Bridge also used to transport you from one county to another).  The boundary change effectively unified all of Oxford and its suburbs within one city and one county, and the hinterland came along with it.

Well - Berkshire gained Slough and the Eton rural district, as Bucks was seen to be likely to expand because of MK.
So perhaps Berkshire needed to lose some territory to take account of Slough

[Pete Whitehead]

Apr 2, 2020 16:24:58 GMT Merseymike said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:16:47 GMT Chris from Brum said:

My assumption would be that the Vale of White Horse area looked to Oxford as its local large town rather than towards Newbury or Reading.  Remember that the boundary used to be the Isis (Thames to non-Oxonians), so this meant that as soon as you crossed Folly Bridge heading south you were in Berkshire (and of course Donnington Bridge and Osney Bridge also used to transport you from one county to another).  The boundary change effectively unified all of Oxford and its suburbs within one city and one county, and the hinterland came along with it.

Well - Berkshire gained Slough and the Eton rural district, as Bucks was seen to be likely to expand because of MK.
So perhaps Berkshire needed to lose some territory to take account of Slough

It was a hell of a raw deal for Berkshire really, losing the beautiful Vale of White Horse and its fine old county town Abingdon, and having that replaced by Slough

[arnieg]

Apr 2, 2020 16:53:12 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:24:58 GMT Merseymike said:

Well - Berkshire gained Slough and the Eton rural district, as Bucks was seen to be likely to expand because of MK.
So perhaps Berkshire needed to lose some territory to take account of Slough

It was a hell of a raw deal for Berkshire really, losing the beautiful Vale of White Horse and its fine old county town Abingdon, and having that replaced by Slough

And Mapledurham remains in Oxfordshire😧

[Merseymike]

Apr 2, 2020 16:53:12 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:24:58 GMT Merseymike said:

Well - Berkshire gained Slough and the Eton rural district, as Bucks was seen to be likely to expand because of MK.
So perhaps Berkshire needed to lose some territory to take account of Slough

It was a hell of a raw deal for Berkshire really, losing the beautiful Vale of White Horse and its fine old county town Abingdon, and having that replaced by Slough

Not in terms of the business rates!

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2020 16:53:12 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:24:58 GMT Merseymike said:

Well - Berkshire gained Slough and the Eton rural district, as Bucks was seen to be likely to expand because of MK.
So perhaps Berkshire needed to lose some territory to take account of Slough

It was a hell of a raw deal for Berkshire really, losing the beautiful Vale of White Horse and its fine old county town Abingdon, and having that replaced by Slough

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough, it isn't fit for humans now" needs to be included in its profile by whoever writes it

[bjornhattan]

Apr 2, 2020 17:15:25 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:53:12 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

It was a hell of a raw deal for Berkshire really, losing the beautiful Vale of White Horse and its fine old county town Abingdon, and having that replaced by Slough

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough, it isn't fit for humans now" needs to be included in its profile by whoever writes it

That makes me almost tempted to right an unremittingly positive profile of Slough - it's a town with a lot going for it, and it's always denigrated but some of the criticism seems unfair. At the risk of sounding like David Brent, I consider Slough the most underrated town in Britain - I'd take it a million times over Luton.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2020 17:19:22 GMT bjornhattan said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:15:25 GMT @europeanlefty said:

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough, it isn't fit for humans now" needs to be included in its profile by whoever writes it

That makes me almost tempted to right an unremittingly positive profile of Slough - it's a town with a lot going for it, and it's always denigrated but some of the criticism seems unfair. At the risk of sounding like David Brent, I consider Slough the most underrated town in Britain - I'd take it a million times over Luton.

That really isn't saying much. I can generally find something positive to say about most towns and cities, but not Luton, Slough or Gloucester.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2020 17:31:19 GMT @barnabymarder said:

Personally I think Milton Keynes is worse because it seems so soulless. But I don't like Luton at all either.

OK, I forgot about MK. There's the 4th place I can't be nice about. 

[iain]

Apr 2, 2020 17:28:04 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:19:22 GMT bjornhattan said:

That makes me almost tempted to right an unremittingly positive profile of Slough - it's a town with a lot going for it, and it's always denigrated but some of the criticism seems unfair. At the risk of sounding like David Brent, I consider Slough the most underrated town in Britain - I'd take it a million times over Luton.

That really isn't saying much. I can generally find something positive to say about most towns and cities, but not Luton, Slough or Gloucester.

Gloucester Cathedral is nice. And actually, many of the residential areas to the north and east are also perfectly pleasant.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2020 17:35:42 GMT iain said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:28:04 GMT @europeanlefty said:

That really isn't saying much. I can generally find something positive to say about most towns and cities, but not Luton, Slough or Gloucester.

Gloucester Cathedral is nice. And actually, many of the residential areas to the north and east are also perfectly pleasant.

Perhaps my judgement is coloured by several horrible memories of rugby matches played in residential areas of Gloucester. Although the cathedral is quite nice.

[finsobruce]

Apr 2, 2020 17:32:45 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:31:19 GMT @barnabymarder said:

Personally I think Milton Keynes is worse because it seems so soulless. But I don't like Luton at all either.

OK, I forgot about MK. There's the 4th place I can't be nice about. 

I've got a little list, and they'll none of them be missed.

[iain]

Apr 2, 2020 17:42:04 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:35:42 GMT iain said:

Gloucester Cathedral is nice. And actually, many of the residential areas to the north and east are also perfectly pleasant.

Perhaps my judgement is coloured by several horrible memories of rugby matches played in residential areas of Gloucester. Although the cathedral is quite nice.

Yes, the area around Kingsholm is not so pleasant!

[Andrew_S]

Apr 2, 2020 17:28:04 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:19:22 GMT bjornhattan said:

That makes me almost tempted to right an unremittingly positive profile of Slough - it's a town with a lot going for it, and it's always denigrated but some of the criticism seems unfair. At the risk of sounding like David Brent, I consider Slough the most underrated town in Britain - I'd take it a million times over Luton.

That really isn't saying much. I can generally find something positive to say about most towns and cities, but not Luton, Slough or Gloucester.

I visited Gloucester recently and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. But that was just the central area and the docks which have been redeveloped.

[Adam in Stroud]

Apr 2, 2020 18:11:25 GMT Andrew_S said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:28:04 GMT @europeanlefty said:

That really isn't saying much. I can generally find something positive to say about most towns and cities, but not Luton, Slough or Gloucester.

I visited Gloucester recently and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. But that was just the central area and the docks which have been redeveloped.

Badly hit by post-war shopping precincts, but not unique in that, and with some undistinguished suburbs (ditto) but I like the whole central area with the four "gates", the cathedral  and its close, and the docks. Also enjoyed the Waterways Museum when the kids were smaller. Surprisingly there is an actual traditional boatbuilder still in business, I remember going g round on an open day connected with the Tall Ships festival. Several other historic building including one of the country's older pubs called, naturally, the New Inn (pretty lousy pub when I visited some years ago butt he actual building is impressive - Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen from the gallery, which is still standing)

Plenty of worse places IMO though perhaps it suffers a bit by comparison with both the Cotswold countryside, the expensive shops in Cheltenham and with the other cities in the 3 Choirs group, which are prettier.

Personally I prefer it to Cheltenham but having been a family man since I moved to the county I can't speak for whether there's much worth doing on a Friday night.