Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)

Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)
Chipping Barnet is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Theresa Villiers of the Conservative Party. It is part of the London Borough of Barnet, on the border with Hertfordshire.
Villiers was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under Prime Minister David Cameron from 2012 to 2016, when she was dismissed upon incoming Prime Minister Theresa May taking office. Boris Johnson appointed her as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July 2019 before she was sacked in February 2020.
Constituency profile
Barnet was once an elevated narrow projection of Hertfordshire into the county of Middlesex, and consisted of an agricultural market town. The town became well connected to central London by the London Underground network and is today commuter suburbia, with many of its properties semi-detached with substantial gardens as well as having many small parks and nature reserves. The area has few tower blocks for social housing.
Electoral Calculus categorises the seat with a "Kind Yuppies" demographic, indicating well-educated younger voters who could vote for either the Conservatives or Labour but opposed Brexit.
Boundaries
1974–1997: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Arkley, Brunswick Park, East Barnet, Hadley, and Totteridge.
1997–2010: As above plus Friern Barnet.
2010–present: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Brunswick Park, Coppetts, East Barnet, High Barnet, Oakleigh, Totteridge, and Underhill.
2023 boundary review
The Boundary Commission for England recommended boundaries which will come into effect at the next General Election. Chipping Barnet constituency will cover the London Borough of Barnet wards of Barnet Vale, Brunswick Park, East Barnet, Edgwarebury, High Barnet, Totteridge & Woodside, Underhill and Whetstone.
Members of Parliament
Elections
It has been held by a Conservative since its creation for the February 1974 general election, and withstood the Labour landslide in 1997 by just over 2% (1,035 votes).
In the 2019 general election, the seat was seen as an important potential gain for the Labour Party, due to Villiers' small majority and high-profile (as the Environment Secretary) and the seat's vote to remain in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. Nevertheless, Villiers retained the seat with a majority increased threefold, albeit still a small one.
The proposed boundaries for the next general election are estimated to increase the notional Conservative majority to 5,015 votes.
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
See also
List of parliamentary constituencies in London
Notes
References
External links
nomis Constituency Profile for Chipping Barnet — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
Politics of the London Borough of Barnet
Parliamentary constituencies in London
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1974