County Berkshire Electorate 77,490 (December 2010) Created 1997 | Population 104,849 (2011 census) Major settlements Bracknell, Crowthorne | |
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Member of parliament Phillip Lee (Conservative) | ||
Bracknell is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Phillip Lee of the Conservative Party.
Contents
Boundaries
1997-2010: The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Binfield, Bullbrook, Central Sandhurst, College Town, Crowthorne, Garth, Great Hollands North, Great Hollands South, Hanworth, Harmanswater, Little Sandhurst, Old Bracknell, Owlsmoor, Priestwood, Warfield, and Wildridings, and the District of Wokingham wards of Finchampstead North, Finchampstead South, and Wokingham Without.
2010-present: The Borough of Bracknell Forest wards of Bullbrook, Central Sandhurst, College Town, Crown Wood, Crowthorne, Great Hollands North, Great Hollands South, Hanworth, Harmanswater, Little Sandhurst and Wellington, Old Bracknell, Owlsmoor, Priestwood and Garth, and Wildridings and Central, and the District of Wokingham wards of Finchampstead North, Finchampstead South, and Wokingham Without.
Bracknell is based around the town of Bracknell and the Bracknell Forest authority. It is bordered by the constituencies of Wokingham, Maidenhead, Windsor, Surrey Heath, Aldershot, and North East Hampshire.
History
From creation in 1997 until 2010, Bracknell's MP was Andrew MacKay of the Conservative Party, who represented the old seat of East Berkshire from 1983. On 14 May 2009, he resigned from his position as parliamentary aide to Cameron in the wake of a major scandal over his Parliamentary expenses. MacKay and his wife, fellow Tory MP Julie Kirkbride, had wrongfully claimed over £250,000 from the taxpayer for mortgage payments for second homes, in a case of so-called "double-dipping". They also wrongfully claimed for each other's travel costs. At a hastily called meeting with his constituents in Bracknell to explain the "unacceptable" expenses claims, Mr MacKay was jeered and called a 'thieving toad'. A video of the angry meeting was leaked to the press and after an urgent phone call from David Cameron the next day, MacKay agreed to stand down at the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party chose Phillip Lee, a general practitioner, as their new candidate in an American style open primary, involving 7 candidates including Rory Stewart and Iain Dale in a contest open to all registered Bracknell voters.
Lee went on to become the next MP in an election which saw the share of the vote for the Labour Party fall by 11.1%. The Liberal Democrats saw the biggest rise in support of all the parties (+4.5%) and overtook Labour to gain second place behind the Conservative Party. The UKIP saw a slight rise in support to 4.4% of the vote. The 2010 election also saw for the first time the Green Party and British National Party vying for the seat.