Windsor () is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jack Rankin of the Conservative Party. It is in both Berkshire and Surrey.
Windsor has had parliamentary representation for centuries, first sending a member of parliament in 1301. In 1918, the Windsor parliamentary borough was abolished and absorbed into the new Windsor county seat. The constituency was re-created for the 1997 general election after it was abolished following the 1970 general election and replaced by the Windsor and Maidenhead constituency.
Its settlements include Ascot, Datchet, Eton, Sunningdale, Windsor (its namesake), Wraysbury, Virginia Water, as well as Englefield Green.
Constituency profile
The constituency is centred on Windsor Great Park, covering the eponymous town of Windsor and various towns and villages in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and the Borough of Slough in Berkshire, and the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey.
The re-created constituency, from 1997, has continued a trend of large Conservative Party majorities. Post 2023 boundary changes, in local elections in the seat the major opposition party varies, with Labour strong in the Slough wards and Englefield Green, the Liberal Democrats in the town of Windsor itself, and independents in various villages. That said, affluent villages and small towns along the River Thames and around the Great Park have continued to contribute to large Conservative majorities, including Wraysbury and Ascot. In the 2024 general election, Labour came second to the Conservatives due to the changed composition of the seat in the boundary changes.
History
Windsor has had parliamentary representation for centuries, formally known as the Parliamentary Borough of New Windsor, first sending a member in 1301, and continuously from 1424. It elected two members of parliament until 1868, when its representation was reduced to one MP. In 1918, the Parliamentary Borough was abolished and absorbed into the new county seat of Windsor, which also included large parts of the abolished Wokingham constituency.
In 1974, the constituency was abolished and replaced by Windsor and Maidenhead, although there were no changes to the boundaries. In 1997, the constituency was recreated when Windsor and Maidenhead was split into two separate seats.
The early political history of the area was strongly influenced by the monarch and members of his or her family. Windsor Castle has been an important royal residence throughout the history of the constituency.
17th century
The pre-1832 franchise of the borough was held by inhabitants paying scot and lot (a local tax). On 2 May 1689 the House of Commons had decided that the electorate should be limited to the members of Windsor Corporation. This was disputed after the next election, in 1690, when the Mayor submitted two returns of different members. The House of Commons reversed the decision of the previous Parliament and confirmed the scot and lot franchise.
18th century
There were 278 electors in 1712. Namier and Brooke estimated that, in 1754–1790, there were about 300 electors.
During part of the 18th century the Duke of Cumberland (son of King George II) and the Beauclerk family (descended from King Charles II) had political interests in the borough.
King George III became personally involved in the hotly contested 1780 general election. George encouraged local landowner Peniston Portlock Powney to stand by paying him £2,500 from the King's personal account. The King wished to defeat Admiral Keppel (later Viscount Keppel), an incumbent. The monarch went so far as to canvass tradesmen who dealt with the royal household. After this royal interference in the election, Keppel lost by a narrow 16 votes. Namier and Brooke suggest the Windsor electorate had an independent streak and were difficult to manage.
19th century
In 1832 a new property based franchise replaced the scot and lot qualification. Under the new system, there were 507 registered electors in 1832. The borough representatives before the Reform Act 1832 included soldiers and people connected with the Royal Household, such as Sir Richard Hussey Vivian (MP 1826–1831) and Sir Herbert Taylor (MP 1820–1823). The constituency also returned politicians prominent in national politics, like the Duke of Wellington's elder brother the Earl of Mornington in the 1780s and 1790s or the future Prime Minister Edward Stanley (subsequently the Earl of Derby) in the early 1830s).
The Ramsbottom family filled one seat from 1806 until 1845. The borough had been loyal to the King's Pittite/Tory ministers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but became more favourable to the Whig interest after John Ramsbottom (MP 1810–1845) was elected.
By the 1860s the monarch had ceased to interfere in local affairs. The borough fell under the patronage of Colonel R. Richardson-Gardner. Richardson-Gardner was a local landowner, who caused some animosity when following the 1868 general election he evicted tenants who did not support him at the polls. This was the last Parliamentary election the Conservatives lost in Windsor.
Despite (or perhaps because of) his methods, Richardson-Gardner was elected to Parliament in 1874.
20th century
Successive Conservative MPs, before the First World War, had considerable influence in the constituency; especially when they subscribed generously to local institutions such as a hospital.
The county division created in 1918 combined the town of Windsor, with territory to its west, south and east which had formerly been in the Wokingham division. The incumbent MP for Wokingham up to 1918, Ernest Gardner, was the first representative of the expanded Windsor constituency. The Conservative Party retained the seat continuously until its temporary abolition in 1974, as it has since its recreation in 1997.
Boundaries and boundary changes
Before 1868
The parliamentary borough of New Windsor was based upon the easternmost town in Berkshire in South East England, which grew up around Windsor Castle and the narrowly defined electorate could also vote for the county representatives. The north boundary of the constituency was on the River Thames, which was then the border between Buckinghamshire which had a seat of the same name and Berkshire, likewise the rest of the borough adjoined the Berkshire county constituency.
1868–1918
The boundaries of the parliamentary borough were extended by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict., c. 46) to include the villages of Clewer and Eton (the latter then being in Buckinghamshire, north of the Thames).
Between 1885 and 1918 the seat to the north of the Thames was the Wycombe division of Buckinghamshire and the other neighbouring constituency was the Wokingham division of Berkshire.
1918–1950
The parliamentary borough was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1918 and replaced by a county division named Windsor. The constituency comprised the local government areas (as they existed in 1918):
- The Municipal Boroughs of New Windsor and Maidenhead;
- the Rural Districts of Cookham, Easthampstead and Windsor; and
- Part of the Rural District of Wokingham.
The new constituency comprised the bulk of the abolished Wokingham division, including Maidenhead and rural areas surrounding Windsor and Maidenhead, but excluding the Municipal Borough of Wokingham itself, and incorporating the abolished Borough, with the exception of Eton, which was added to the Wycombe division of Buckinghamshire.
1950–1974
The constituency was reduced in size by the Representation of the People Act 1948, comprising:
- the Municipal Boroughs of New Windsor and Maidenhead; and
- the Rural Districts of Cookham and Windsor.
The majority of the electorate in the abolished constituency was included in Maidenhead, whilst Windsor was joined by Eton and Bray. It also included a ward of Slough Borough Council north of the Thames, which was transferred from the Borough Constituency of Slough, and was extended southwards to include a part of the abolished constituency of East Berkshire, including Ascot and Sunningdale.
In 1998 there was a small re-alignment of county boundaries in the north east corner of Berkshire. This transferred to the Borough of Slough a small polling district from Surrey and another from Buckinghamshire to form Colnbrook and Poyle. This new ward (since renamed Colnbrook with Poyle) was added to the Windsor constituency and was effective from the 2001 general election.
2010–2024
Further to the Fifth Periodic Review, the composition of the constituency is:-
- The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Ascot, Binfield with Warfield, Warfield Harvest Rise, and Winkfield and Cranbourne;
- The Borough of Slough ward of Colnbrook with Poyle; and
- The Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead wards of Ascot and Cheapside, Castle Without, Clewer East, Clewer North, Clewer South, Datchet, Eton and Castle, Eton Wick, Horton and Wraysbury, Old Windsor, Park, Sunningdale, Sunninghill and South Ascot.
The constituency gained the northern part of the constituency of Bracknell, including Binfield. Bray was transferred to Maidenhead and the Foxborough ward of the Borough of Slough returned to the Borough Constituency thereof.
2024–present
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Borough of Runnymede wards of: Englefield Green East; Englefield Green West; Virginia Water.
- The Borough of Slough wards of: Colnbrook with Poyle; Foxborough; Langley Kedermister.<sup>1</sup>
- The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead wards of: Ascot & Sunninghill; Clewer & Dedworth East; Clewer & Dedworth West; Clewer East; Datchet, Horton & Wraysbury; Eton & Castle; Old Windsor; Sunningdale & Cheapside.
The seat was expanded by adding two Borough of Slough wards from the Slough constituency and the communities of Englefield Green and Virginia Water from the Surrey constituency of Runnymede and Weybridge, thus creating a cross-county boundary seat. To compensate, the Bracknell Forest wards were transferred to Maidenhead, except the Warfield Harvest Ride ward, which went to Bracknell.
<sup>1</sup> Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, the parts in the Borough of Slough will now comprise the following wards from the 2024 general election:
- Colnbrook & Poyle; Langley Foxborough; Langley Marish (most); Langley St Mary's (small part).
Members of Parliament
Burgesses in the English Parliament, 1510–1707
As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments held in this period, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given. Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or (in the 16th century) is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.
The Roman numerals after some names are those used in The House of Commons 1509–1558 and The House of Commons 1558–1603 to distinguish a member from another politician of the same name.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Elected!!Assembled!!Dissolved!!First member!!Second member
|-
| 1510 || 21 January 1510 || 23 February 1510 || John Welles || William Pury
|-
| 1512 || 4 February 1512 || 4 March 1514 || John Welles || Thomas Rider
|-
| 1515 || 5 February 1515 || 22 December 1515 || John Welles || Thomas Rider
|-
| 1523 || 15 April 1523 || 13 August 1523 || unknown || unknown
|-
| 1529 || 3 November 1529 || 14 April 1536 || Thomas Warde || William Simonds
|-
| 1536 || 8 June 1536 || 18 July 1536 || unknown || unknown
|-
| 1539 || 28 April 1539 || 24 July 1540 || unknown || unknown
|-
| 1542 || 16 January 1542 || 28 March 1544 || Richard Warde || William Simonds
|-
| 1545 || 23 November 1545 || 31 January 1547 || Thomas Legh || unknown
|-
| 1547 ||rowspan="2"| 4 November 1547 ||rowspan="2"| 15 April 1552 ||rowspan="2"| Richard Warde || Edward Weldon
|-
| By January 1552 || Thomas Little
|-
| 1553 || 1 March 1553 || 31 March 1553 || Richard Warde || Richard Amyce
|-
| 1553 || 5 October 1553 || 5 December 1553 || Richard Warde || Thomas Good
|-
| 1554 || 2 April 1554 || 3 May 1554 || Richard Warde || Thomas Butler II
|-
| 1554 || 12 November 1554 || 16 January 1555 || Richard Warde || William Norreys
|-
| 1555 || 21 October 1555 || 9 December 1555 || Richard Warde || William Norreys
|-
| 14 January 1558 || 20 January 1558 || 17 November 1558 || William Hanley || William Norreys
|-
| 5 January 1559 || 23 January 1559 || 8 May 1559 || Thomas Weldon || Roger Amyce
|-
| 1562 or 1563 || 11 January 1563 || 2 January 1567 || Richard Gallys || John Gresham
|-
| 1571 || 2 April 1571 || 29 May 1571 || John Thomson || Humphrey Michell
|-
| 12 April 1572 ||rowspan="2"| 8 May 1572 ||rowspan="2"| 19 April 1583 ||rowspan="2"| Edmund Docwra || Richard Gallys ||rowspan="2"| Edward Hake
|-
| 26 October 1588 || Edward Neville I
|-
| 1593 || 18 February 1593 || 10 April 1593 || Henry Neville || Edward Neville II
|-
| 16 October 1597 || 24 October 1597 || 9 February 1598 || Julius Caesar || John Norreys
|-
| 1 October 1601 || 27 October 1601 || 19 December 1601 || Julius Caesar || (Sir) John Norreys
|-
| 1604 || 19 March 1604 || 9 February 1611 || Samuel Backhouse|| Thomas Durdent died and <br /> replaced by Sir Francis Howard
|-
| 1614 || 5 April 1614 || 7 June 1614 || Sir Richard Lovelace || Thomas Woodward
|-
| 1621 || 16 January 1621 || 8 February 1622 || Sir Charles Howard || Sir Robert Bennet
|-
| 1624 || 12 February 1624 || 27 March 1625 || Edmund Sawyer || Thomas Woodward died and <br /> replaced by Sir William Hewitt
|-
| 1625 || 17 May 1625 || 12 August 1625 || William Russell || Humphrey Newbury
|-
| 1626 || 6 February 1626 || 15 June 1626 || William Russell || Humphrey Newbury
|-
| 1628 || 17 March 1628 || 10 March 1629 || William Beecher || Thomas Hewett
|-
| || No parliament held
|-
| 1640 || 13 April 1640 || 5 May 1640 || Sir Arthur Ingram|| Sir Richard Harrison
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1640 || 3 November 1640 || 5 December 1648 ||rowspan="2"| Cornelius Holland ||rowspan="2"| William Taylor <br /> Richard Winwood (1641)
|-
| 6 December 1648|| 20 April 1653
|-
| 1653|| 4 July 1653 || 12 December 1653 || unrepresented || unrepresented
|-
| 1654|| 3 September 1654 || 22 January 1655 || unrepresented || unrepresented
|-
| 1656 || 17 September 1656 || 4 February 1658 || unrepresented || unrepresented
|-
| 1659 || 27 January 1659 || 22 April 1659 || George Starkey|| Christopher Whichcote
|-
|rowspan="2"| N/A|| 7 May 1659 || 20 February 1660 ||rowspan="2"| unknown ||rowspan="2"| unknown
|-
| 21 February 1660 || 16 March 1660
|-
| 3 April 1660 || 25 April 1660 || 29 December 1660 || Alexander Baker || Roger Palmer
|-
| 9 April 1661 ||rowspan="2"| 8 May 1661 ||rowspan="2"| 24 January 1679 || Sir Richard Braham ||rowspan="2"| Thomas Higgons
|-
| 19 February 1677 || Sir Francis Winnington
|-
| 27 February 1679 ||rowspan="2"| 6 March 1679 ||rowspan="2"| 12 July 1679 || Sir John Ernle || John Powney
|-
| 5 April 1679 || Richard Winwood || Samuel Starkey
|-
| 29 August 1679 ||rowspan="2"| 21 October 1680 ||rowspan="2"| 18 January 1681 || John Powney || John Carey
|-
| 4 November 1680 || Samuel Starkey || Richard Winwood
|-
| 1681 || 21 March 1681 || 28 March 1681 || Samuel Starkey || Richard Winwood
|-
| 28 March 1685 || 19 May 1685 || 2 June 1687 || William Chiffinch || Richard Graham
|-
| 11 January 1689 ||rowspan="2"| 22 January 1689 ||rowspan="2"| 6 February 1690 ||rowspan="2"| Henry Powle || Sir Christopher Wren
|-
| 23 May 1689 || Sir Algernon May
|-
| 6 March 1690 ||rowspan="3"| 20 March 1690 ||rowspan="3"| 11 October 1695 || Sir Christopher Wren || Baptist May
|-
| 17 May 1690 ||rowspan="2"| Sir Charles Porter || William Adderley
|-
| 20 November 1693 || Sir William Scawen
|-
| 23 October 1695 || 22 November 1695 || 6 July 1698 || Sir William Scawen || The 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge
|-
| 21 August 1698 || 24 August 1698 || 19 December 1700 || The 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge || Richard Topham
|-
| 3 January 1701 || 6 February 1701 || 11 November 1701 || The 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge || Richard Topham
|-
| 21 November 1701 || 30 December 1701 || 2 July 1702 || The 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge || Richard Topham
|-
| 16 August 1702 || 20 August 1702 || 5 April 1705 || The 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge || Richard Topham
|-
| 8 May 1705 || 14 June 1705 || 1707 || The 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge || Richard Topham
|-
|}
MPs 1707–1868
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!First member!!colspan=2|First party!!Second member
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
|-
| 1711
| Samuel Masham
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
|-
|1712
| rowspan="2" | Charles Aldworth
| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| 1713
| rowspan="2" | Christopher Wren
| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| Jan. 1715
| Robert Gayer
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
| rowspan="2" | William, Earl of Inchiquin
| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| 1726
| rowspan="3" | Lord Vere Beauclerk
| rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="3" |
|-
| 1727
| George, Viscount Malpas
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
|-
| 1733
| rowspan="2" | Lord Sidney Beauclerk
| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| 1741
| rowspan="3" | Henry Fox
| rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="3" |
|-
| 1744
| Lord George Beauclerk
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
|-
| 1754
| rowspan="2" | Hon. John Fitzwilliam
| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| 1761
| rowspan="4" | Hon. Augustus Keppel
| rowspan="4" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="4" |
|-
| Mar. 1768
| Lord George Beauclerk
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
|-
| May. 1768
| Richard Tonson
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
|
|-
| 1772
| rowspan="2" | Hon. John Hussey-Montagu
|
|-
| 1780
| rowspan="2" | Peniston Portlock Powney
|
| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|1794
|William Grant
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="color:inherit;background-color: white" |
| Non Partisan
|-
|1830
|
|
|
|-
|1841
|rowspan="2"| Ralph Neville
|
|
|-
|1847
|Lord John Hay
|
|-
|1850
|rowspan="2"| John Hatchell
|
|-
|1852
|rowspan="4"| Charles Grenfell
|
|-
|1852
|Lord Charles Wellesley
|
|-
|1855
|Samson Ricardo
|
|-
|1857
|rowspan="3"| William Vansittart
|
|-
|1859
|George William Hope
|
|-
|1863
|Richard Howard-Vyse
|
|-
|1865
|Sir Henry Hoare, Bt
|
|Henry Labouchere
Elections in the 2010s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2019 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 28,036 ||align=right| 56.0
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 9,780 ||align=right| 19.6
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 9,441 ||align=right| 18.9
|-
|
| Green ||align=right| 1,729 ||align=right| 3.5
|-
|
| Others ||align=right| 884 ||align=right| 1.1
|-
|
| Brexit Party ||align=right| 152 ||align=right| 0.3
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|50,031
|align=right|67.3
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|74,338
|}
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1940s
General Election 1914/15
: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
- Unionist: James Francis Mason
- Liberal: James Alexander Browning
Elections in the 1890s
thumb|120px|Barry
Elections 1868–1880
The bloc vote electoral system was used in two seat elections and first past the post for single member by-elections and general elections from 1868. Each voter had up to as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings (until the secret ballot was introduced in 1872).