Runnymede and Weybridge is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

since

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

by Ben Spencer, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. The constituency was created for the 1997 general election and represented from then until 2019 by

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...

, who served as Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016 and

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

from 2016 to 2019. Hammond sat as a Conservative before becoming an Independent

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

for the last two months of his final term.

Boundaries

1997–2024

*'' The Borough of Runnymede:'' Addlestone North; Addlestone South; Chertsey Riverside; Chertsey St Ann's; Egham Hythe; Egham Town; Englefield Green East; Englefield Green West;

Longcross Longcross is a village in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. Its name is thought to come from a marker, placed where the parish boundaries of Chertsey, Chobham and Egham met. Description South ...

, Lyne and Chertsey South;

New Haw New Haw is a village which is part of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England. It is located approximately south of Addlestone and boxing the compass, southwest by west of London. Geography New Haw borders Byfleet, Ad ...

;

Ottershaw Ottershaw is a village in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The village developed in the mid-19th century from a number of separate hamlets and became a parish in its own right in 1871. Th ...

; Thorpe;

Virginia Water Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its na ...

; Woodham and Rowtown *'' The Borough of Elmbridge:'' Oatlands and Burwood Park; Weybridge Riverside; Weybridge St George's Hill Since 1997 and until 2024 the constituency and comprised the whole of the area of the

Borough of Runnymede The Borough of Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Addlestone and the borough also includes the towns of Chertsey and Egham. The borough is named after Runnymede, a water me ...

plus the town of

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

in the

Borough of Elmbridge Elmbridge is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Esher, and other notable towns and villages include Cobham, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Molesey. The borough lies just outside the a ...

, all in north

Current

Further to the

2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

which came into effect for the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, the constituency is now composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020): * The Borough of Elmbridge wards of: Cobham & Downside; Oxshott & Stoke D'Abernon; Weybridge Riverside; Weybridge St. George's Hill. * The Borough of Runnymede wards of: Addlestone North; Addlestone South; Chertsey Riverside; Chertsey St. Ann's; Egham Hythe; Egham Town; Longcross, Lyne & Chertsey South; New Haw; Ottershaw; Thorpe; Woodham & Rowtown. ''The mainly low-density villages of

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Runnymede Meadow, The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial, The Savill Garden,and Royal Holloway, University of L ...

and

were transferred to the Berkshire seat of Windsor, creating a cross-county constituency. To compensate, two similar southern wards that were in

Esher and Walton Esher and Walton () is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2024, it has been represented by Monica Harding of the Liberal Democrats. Prior to this, Dominic Raab of the Conservative Party, who ...

, including Cobham, were gained, partly offset by the similar village of Oatlands moving in the opposite direction.''

History

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the former constituencies of Chertsey and Walton and

North West Surrey North West Surrey was a county constituency in the county of Surrey. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created for the February 1974 general electio ...

. From its creation until 2019, it was represented by

, of the Conservative Party, who served as a Cabinet Minister throughout the

Cameron–Clegg coalition The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general el ...

before holding in succession two of the

Great Offices of State The Great Offices of State are senior offices in the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government. They are the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom), For ...

: Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, and

from 2016 to 2019. Runnymede and Weybridge is a Conservative

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

based on both length of tenure and size of majorities – the narrowest margin of victory was in the

, of 15.8% of the vote.

Constituency profile

The constituency is roughly bisected by the M25. To the east are a series of affluent towns including part of Staines, Chertsey, Addlestone and Weybridge. There is more open land to the west, bordering

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...

and

Chobham Common Chobham Common is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chobham in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a national nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and t ...

. The constituency has incomes well above the national average, and lower than average reliance upon

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

. At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 1.3% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 2.4%. The borough contributing to the bulk of the seat has a low 14.7% of its population without a car, 18.3% of the population without qualifications and a high 29.9% with level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure 69.2% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across Runnymede.

Members of Parliament

'' Chertsey and Walton prior to 1997''

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

*Result declared at 02:19 *Result declared at 03:21

Elections in the 1990s

*Result declared at 03:31

Notes

References

Sources

Election result, 2015
(BBC)
Election result, 2010
(BBC)
Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997 – 2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

External links

(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{coord, 51.36, -0.45, region:GB, display=title Parliamentary constituencies in Surrey Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Politics of Surrey