Reading Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Reading Central is a constituency^{[n 1]} in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Created as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election.^[2][3][4] Since 2024, it has been represented by Labour's Matt Rodda, who was MP for Reading East from 2017 to 2024.

Reading Central
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Reading Central in South East England
County	Berkshire
Electorate	71,283 (2023)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Matt Rodda (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Reading West Reading East

The seat subsumes parts of the former Reading West and Reading East constituencies but, unlike them, the whole of the new constituency will be within the Borough of Reading.

History

At the time of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, there were eight constituencies in the county of Berkshire. Of these constituencies, only three (Reading East, Reading West, and Windsor) were within the permitted electorate range of no fewer than 69,724 electors and no more than 77,062. All of the remaining constituencies were above the upper limit. The Boundary Commission for England therefore proposed the addition of a ninth constituency within the county.^[4][5]

Whilst both Reading constituencies could have remained unchanged, the boundary commission instead proposed a reconfiguration to account for the increased electorates of the surrounding constituencies, and to better reflect local ties in the surrounding communities. This involved the creation of two new constituencies, Earley and Woodley and Mid Berkshire (renamed Reading West and Mid Berkshire in the final proposals), both with the bulk of their electorate outside the Borough of Reading but including outer wards of the borough, together with a new Reading constituency entirely within the borough.^[4]

During the process of acceptance of these proposals, the name was changed from Reading to Reading Central.^[2][4]

Boundaries

Local government

The constituency is defined as being composed of the following wards of the Borough of Reading as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• Abbey, Battle, Caversham, Katesgrove, Mapledurham, Minster, Park, Peppard, Redlands, Southcote, and Thames.^{[n 2][2][3]}

The Battle, Minster and Southcote wards were previously in Reading West, with the remainder, comprising 73% of the new seat, in Reading East.^[6]

As a result of a local government boundary review^[7] which came into effect in May 2022,^[8] the constituency now comprises the following current Borough of Reading wards:

• Abbey, Battle (most), Caversham, Caversham Heights, Coley, Emmer Green, Katesgrove, Norcot (small part), Redlands (most), Southcote, and Thames.^[9]

Parliamentary

The constituency is bordered by the seats of Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Henley and Thame, and Earley and Woodley.^[10][11]

Constituency profile

Electoral Calculus characterises the seat as "Progressive", with soft left or liberal views and high levels of university education.^[12] Incomes and house prices in the seat are slightly higher than UK averages.

Members of Parliament

Reading East and Reading West prior to 2024

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Matt Rodda	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Reading Central^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Matt Rodda	21,598	47.7	−4.9
	Conservative	Raj Singh	8,961	19.8	−16.6
	Green	Dave McElroy	6,417	14.2	+11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Wright	3,963	8.8	+2.4
	Reform UK	Andy Williams	3,904	8.6	+7.5
	Independent	Michael Jeffrey Turberville	227	0.5	N/A
	TUSC	Adam Gillman	221	0.5	N/A
Majority			12,637	27.9	+11.7
Turnout			45,291	61.5	–10.8
Registered electors			73,600
	Labour hold		Swing	5.9

2019 notional result[14]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	27,107	52.6
	Conservative	18,756	36.4
	Liberal Democrats	3,288	6.4
	Green	1,603	3.1
	Brexit Party	574	1.1
	Others	202	0.4
Turnout		51,530	72.3
Electorate		71,283

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. For the purposes of this definition, the Boundary Commission have used the borough ward names and definitions as existed prior to 2022 rather than the current names and definitions.