Stevenage is a constituency in Hertfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Kevin Bonavia, a member of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
The main town is known for its fast rail links to London and proximity to Luton Airport which accompanies a few headquarters of global businesses based in the seat. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, and eastern regional average of 3.2%, at 4.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.
History
The constituency was created in 1983 primarily from the abolished seat of Hertford and Stevenage. A Southern England new town seat with volatile voting patterns, like its main predecessor, it was a bellwether of the national result; it was Conservative held between 1983 and 1997 until Labour easily gained it, but their winning margin in 2005 was small and the Conservatives gained the seat at the 2010 election, it being their 72nd target. It remained Conservative until 2024 when it was regained by Labour amidst their national landslide victory.
The seat was held for Labour by Barbara Follett who achieved two ministerial roles from 2007 until 2010.
Boundaries and boundary changes
{| class=wikitable
!Dates!!Local authority
!Maps!!Wards
|-
|1983–1997||rowspan="4"|Borough of Stevenage<br>District of North Hertfordshire<br>District of East Hertfordshire
|frameless
|Borough of Stevenage;<br>District of North Hertfordshire wards of Codicote and Knebworth;<br>District of East Hertfordshire wards of Cottered, Datchworth, Mundern, Walkern, and Watton-at-Stone.
|-
|1997–2010
|frameless
|Borough of Stevenage;<br>District of North Hertfordshire wards of Codicote and Knebworth;<br>District of East Hertfordshire wards of Datchworth and Walkern.
|-
|2010–2024
|frameless
|Borough of Stevenage;<br>District of North Hertfordshire wards of Codicote and Knebworth;<br>District of East Hertfordshire ward of Datchworth and Aston.
|-
|2024–present
|frameless
|Borough of Stevenage;<br>District of North Hertfordshire ward of Knebworth and part of the Codicote & Kimpton ward (comprising the parishes of Knebworth and Codicote);<br>Part of the ward of Aston, Datchworth & Walkern in the District of East Hertfordshire, (comprising the parishes of Aston and Datchworth)
|}
1983–1997
The constituency was formed primarily from the majority of the abolished constituency of Hertford and Stevenage. The wards of Codicote and Knebworth were transferred from the abolished constituency of Hitchin, and the wards of Cottered and Mundern from the abolished constituency of East Hertfordshire.
1997–2010
The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Cottered, Mundern and Watton-at-Stone were transferred to the new constituency of North East Hertfordshire.
2010–2024
Walkern ward transferred to North East Hertfordshire.
2024–present
The 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structures in place on 1 December 2020, left the boundaries virtually unchanged. However, following local government boundary reviews in East Hertfordshire and North Hertfordshire which came into effect in May 2023 and May 2024 respectively, the constituency now comprises the Borough of Stevenage, as well as the villages of Codicote and Knebworth to the south and Aston and Datchworth to the east.
Members of Parliament
Hertford & Stevenage prior to 1983
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member
!Party
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1983
| Tim Wood
| Conservative
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1997
| Barbara Follett
| Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 2010
| Stephen McPartland
| Conservative
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 2024
| Kevin Bonavia
| Labour
|}
Elections
thumb|centre|upright=2.5|Election results 1983-2024
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2005 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 17,650 ||align=right| 43.2
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 14,161 ||align=right| 34.6
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 7,611 ||align=right| 18.6
|-
|
| Others ||align=right| 1,457 ||align=right| 3.6
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|40,879
|align=right|62.7
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|65,206
|}
Elections in the 1990s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 1992 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 24,078 ||align=right| 43.9
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 21,159 ||align=right| 38.6
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 9,379 ||align=right| 17.1
|-
|
| Others ||align=right| 220 ||align=right| 0.4
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|54,836
|align=right|81.8
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|67,015
|}
Elections in the 1980s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 1979 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 22,574 ||align=right| 44.3
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 21,586 ||align=right| 42.4
|-
|
| Liberal ||align=right| 6,228 ||align=right| 12.2
|-
|
| Others ||align=right| 531 ||align=right| 1.0
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|50,919
|align=right|
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|
|}
See also
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
Notes
References
External links
- Stevenage UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Stevenage UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Stevenage UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK