Post by batman on May 20, 2022 9:43:06 GMT
WOKINGHAM
Wokingham, like Woking in Surrey, is named after a man who lived centuries ago called Wocca (two different Woccas, though, for two different towns). It has given its name to a constituency since 1950. For the first few decades it included, indeed came to be rather dominated by, the burgeoning New Town of Bracknell. Since 1983, however, when Bracknell became the main basis for the new, or rather reconstituted, constituency of East Berkshire (it acquired a seat named entirely after it in 1997), Wokingham itself has been the largest town in its eponymous constituency. Other towns, or large villages, include Winnersh, Arborfield, Swallowfield and Shinfield. The -field towns are all fairly close in towards Berkshire's largest town by far, Reading, and some have in the past been included in the various seats that town has had named after it in Parliament. There is a Wokingham unitary authority, but it is not coterminous with the parliamentary seat; some wards closest in towards Reading are excluded, but a small portion of the West Berkshire unitary authority is instead currently included in this seat. Wokingham is not a tiny town, but is no metropolis either, and it therefore follows that quite a large part of its constituency is fairly rural. Farming, however, is not a major element in the local economy; the constituency's proximity to both Reading and London means that there are many commuters in what is frequently referred to as part of the stockbroker belt. The relatively rural peace and quiet makes this largely a desirable, and expensive, place to live.
Wokingham is not a gritty or deprived constituency, indeed very much the opposite. One of the most publicised social problems there has been is that it is such a desirable place to live that the key workers needed for schools, the NHS and other vital services cannot, in many cases, easily afford to buy or rent property in the area. In a number of studies, the constituency has come last, or close to last, in terms of levels of deprivation in Britain. With this level of prosperity, it is not surprising that politically it has always been dominated, particularly at parliamentary level, by the Conservative Party, and since the seat's creation there have still been only 3 MPs, all Conservatives. However, the last two of these could hardly be more different in terms of their alignment within their party. The member from 1959 until his retirement in 1987, Sir William Straubenzee, was a Thatcher-sceptic and pro-comprehensive-schools centrist; but his successor, Sir John Redwood, still going strong after 35 years in situ, vies perhaps only with Sir William Cash for the distinction of being the longest-standing Eurosceptic figure within his party, and has always been associated with its fervently pro-Thatcher right wing. For many years Labour was unrepresented on the local authority, or before that had a solitary member. Recently the party has taken to winning Bulmershe & Whitegates ward, noted for its strong student population; however, that ward is not included in this constituency, but one ward that is, Norreys, elected a Labour councillor with a surprisingly wide margin in the 2022 local elections. This is one of the wards in the town of Wokingham itself, and while hardly poor does score a little higher on deprivation indices. Instead, for several decades now the Conservatives' principal opposition both in the constituency and in local elections has been the Liberal Democrats, who have even at times gained control of the council. The Tories have tended to be strongest in the wards closest in towards Reading, one of which, Arborfield, has a strong military heritage; but even here things may be changing a little. Once upon a time the large village of Shinfield, large enough to have two council wards, was a Conservative stronghold, but recently here too the Liberal Democrats have been able to edge them out in local elections. The Conservatives remain strong in the smaller villages and rural areas, with the Liberal Democrats tending to be strongest in the towns, with Arborfield the main exception. For example the Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly won Winnersh in the 2022 local elections, and won in a number of other less rural wards. Winnersh and Wokingham itself have direct trains to London Waterloo, although these trains stop quite a bit along the way, and it therefore takes a while to get there; many commuters appear undeterred by this . It doesn't take long to get to Reading in the other direction, where fast trains can be caught to a very wide range of destinations in England and Wales.
For a long time the Liberal Democrats' success in some local elections did not really transfer to the parliamentary seat. In 1997, when the local borough council was in Liberal Democrat hands, John Redwood had no trouble at all, even in such a disastrous year for the Conservatives, in holding on to his seat. It is only much more recently that there have been more worrying signs for the Tories. During the 2017-19 Parliament, the MP for neighbouring Bracknell, Dr Phillip Lee, fell out with his party, and crossed the floor dramatically to join the Liberal Democrats. Rather than stand in his own seat, where the Lib Dems have a much weaker tradition, he opted to go head to head with Redwood in the 2019 general election. The issue of Europe seems to be a major reason for the weakening of the Conservatives' situation here; while Bracknell constituency voted conclusively to leave the EU, Wokingham voted fairly comfortably to remain in it. Lee cut Redwood's majority to its lowest yet, one of 7383 (in the two previous general elections, Labour had been in a distant second place). Since this is a constituency which despite the lack of a major town has an above-average electorate, this represents a rather uncomfortable majority of under 12%. The Conservatives may attempt to dismiss this as a one-off vote for a well-known personality in Dr Lee, but local elections paint a rather different picture, and for all its prosperity and low levels of deprivation this seat in 2019 became a genuine worry for the Conservatives. However, in the shape of the proposed boundary changes, help may be at hand for the Conservatives, for whom it seems that Redwood will continue to be the standard-bearer. The areas closest in to Reading, which have made a major contribution towards giving the Liberal Democrats their improved profile in this constituency, will be departing from this constituency, if the recommendations are adopted, to help form a new seat called Earley and Woodley, where the Conservatives will hope to prevail against rather split opposition. In their place will come Finchhampstead, Wokingham Without - a villagey area just outside Wokingham itself which always seemed a rather odd omission from the constituency - Charvil, Twyford, Hurst and Wargrave. Although Liberal Democrat wins are not unknown in all of this territory, the changes undoubtedly increase the notional Conservative majority, and it would be a surprise if Redwood does not now win a further term.
As a final more jokey addendum, Robert Waller in a previous profile of the constituency noted that in the 2001 general election the vote share of 2% for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party was the highest anywhere in Britain, or one of the highest, and that therefore, while many who are left of centre have traditionally regarded Redwood as something of a swivel-eyed zealot, there was a significant body of opinion within his constituency which considered that he was too sensible after all.
Wokingham, like Woking in Surrey, is named after a man who lived centuries ago called Wocca (two different Woccas, though, for two different towns). It has given its name to a constituency since 1950. For the first few decades it included, indeed came to be rather dominated by, the burgeoning New Town of Bracknell. Since 1983, however, when Bracknell became the main basis for the new, or rather reconstituted, constituency of East Berkshire (it acquired a seat named entirely after it in 1997), Wokingham itself has been the largest town in its eponymous constituency. Other towns, or large villages, include Winnersh, Arborfield, Swallowfield and Shinfield. The -field towns are all fairly close in towards Berkshire's largest town by far, Reading, and some have in the past been included in the various seats that town has had named after it in Parliament. There is a Wokingham unitary authority, but it is not coterminous with the parliamentary seat; some wards closest in towards Reading are excluded, but a small portion of the West Berkshire unitary authority is instead currently included in this seat. Wokingham is not a tiny town, but is no metropolis either, and it therefore follows that quite a large part of its constituency is fairly rural. Farming, however, is not a major element in the local economy; the constituency's proximity to both Reading and London means that there are many commuters in what is frequently referred to as part of the stockbroker belt. The relatively rural peace and quiet makes this largely a desirable, and expensive, place to live.
Wokingham is not a gritty or deprived constituency, indeed very much the opposite. One of the most publicised social problems there has been is that it is such a desirable place to live that the key workers needed for schools, the NHS and other vital services cannot, in many cases, easily afford to buy or rent property in the area. In a number of studies, the constituency has come last, or close to last, in terms of levels of deprivation in Britain. With this level of prosperity, it is not surprising that politically it has always been dominated, particularly at parliamentary level, by the Conservative Party, and since the seat's creation there have still been only 3 MPs, all Conservatives. However, the last two of these could hardly be more different in terms of their alignment within their party. The member from 1959 until his retirement in 1987, Sir William Straubenzee, was a Thatcher-sceptic and pro-comprehensive-schools centrist; but his successor, Sir John Redwood, still going strong after 35 years in situ, vies perhaps only with Sir William Cash for the distinction of being the longest-standing Eurosceptic figure within his party, and has always been associated with its fervently pro-Thatcher right wing. For many years Labour was unrepresented on the local authority, or before that had a solitary member. Recently the party has taken to winning Bulmershe & Whitegates ward, noted for its strong student population; however, that ward is not included in this constituency, but one ward that is, Norreys, elected a Labour councillor with a surprisingly wide margin in the 2022 local elections. This is one of the wards in the town of Wokingham itself, and while hardly poor does score a little higher on deprivation indices. Instead, for several decades now the Conservatives' principal opposition both in the constituency and in local elections has been the Liberal Democrats, who have even at times gained control of the council. The Tories have tended to be strongest in the wards closest in towards Reading, one of which, Arborfield, has a strong military heritage; but even here things may be changing a little. Once upon a time the large village of Shinfield, large enough to have two council wards, was a Conservative stronghold, but recently here too the Liberal Democrats have been able to edge them out in local elections. The Conservatives remain strong in the smaller villages and rural areas, with the Liberal Democrats tending to be strongest in the towns, with Arborfield the main exception. For example the Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly won Winnersh in the 2022 local elections, and won in a number of other less rural wards. Winnersh and Wokingham itself have direct trains to London Waterloo, although these trains stop quite a bit along the way, and it therefore takes a while to get there; many commuters appear undeterred by this . It doesn't take long to get to Reading in the other direction, where fast trains can be caught to a very wide range of destinations in England and Wales.
For a long time the Liberal Democrats' success in some local elections did not really transfer to the parliamentary seat. In 1997, when the local borough council was in Liberal Democrat hands, John Redwood had no trouble at all, even in such a disastrous year for the Conservatives, in holding on to his seat. It is only much more recently that there have been more worrying signs for the Tories. During the 2017-19 Parliament, the MP for neighbouring Bracknell, Dr Phillip Lee, fell out with his party, and crossed the floor dramatically to join the Liberal Democrats. Rather than stand in his own seat, where the Lib Dems have a much weaker tradition, he opted to go head to head with Redwood in the 2019 general election. The issue of Europe seems to be a major reason for the weakening of the Conservatives' situation here; while Bracknell constituency voted conclusively to leave the EU, Wokingham voted fairly comfortably to remain in it. Lee cut Redwood's majority to its lowest yet, one of 7383 (in the two previous general elections, Labour had been in a distant second place). Since this is a constituency which despite the lack of a major town has an above-average electorate, this represents a rather uncomfortable majority of under 12%. The Conservatives may attempt to dismiss this as a one-off vote for a well-known personality in Dr Lee, but local elections paint a rather different picture, and for all its prosperity and low levels of deprivation this seat in 2019 became a genuine worry for the Conservatives. However, in the shape of the proposed boundary changes, help may be at hand for the Conservatives, for whom it seems that Redwood will continue to be the standard-bearer. The areas closest in to Reading, which have made a major contribution towards giving the Liberal Democrats their improved profile in this constituency, will be departing from this constituency, if the recommendations are adopted, to help form a new seat called Earley and Woodley, where the Conservatives will hope to prevail against rather split opposition. In their place will come Finchhampstead, Wokingham Without - a villagey area just outside Wokingham itself which always seemed a rather odd omission from the constituency - Charvil, Twyford, Hurst and Wargrave. Although Liberal Democrat wins are not unknown in all of this territory, the changes undoubtedly increase the notional Conservative majority, and it would be a surprise if Redwood does not now win a further term.
As a final more jokey addendum, Robert Waller in a previous profile of the constituency noted that in the 2001 general election the vote share of 2% for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party was the highest anywhere in Britain, or one of the highest, and that therefore, while many who are left of centre have traditionally regarded Redwood as something of a swivel-eyed zealot, there was a significant body of opinion within his constituency which considered that he was too sensible after all.
