62-734: Reading West may refer to: Reading West (UK Parliament constituency) , a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Reading West railway station , a railway station in West Reading, Berkshire, England See also [ edit ] West Reading (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
124-471: A Conservative candidate because it was too late to remove his name from the ballot paper. A total of 2,378 postal voters in Bristol West were wrongly sent ballot papers for Bristol East by mistake. Bristol City Council officials asked people to tear up the wrong papers and said: "Every effort will be made to ensure delivery [of new ballot papers] by 30 April." The SNP attempted but failed to ban
186-405: A Labour government. The governing Labour Party led by the prime minister Gordon Brown lost the 66-seat majority it had previously enjoyed, but no party achieved the 326 seats needed for a majority. The Conservatives won the most votes and seats, but still fell 20 seats short. This resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons. This was only
248-444: A Labour–Liberal Democrat marginal seat. She asked him about vulnerable people supposedly not receiving benefits because immigrants were receiving them, adding: "You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're ... but all these eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?" Brown replied: "A million people have come from Europe but a million British people have gone into Europe." In
310-538: A breakthrough in opinion polls following the first debate, in which their leader Nick Clegg was widely seen as the strongest performer. Nonetheless, on polling day their share of the vote increased by only 1%, with a net loss of five seats. This was still the Liberal Democrats' largest popular vote since the party's creation in 1988; they found themselves in a pivotal role in the formation of the new government. The share of votes for parties other than Labour or
372-493: A fourth consecutive term in office, and to restore support lost since 2001. The Conservative Party sought to gain a dominant position in British politics after losses in the 1990s, and to replace Labour as the governing party. The Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains from both sides and hoped to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament. Since the televised debates between the three leaders, their poll ratings had risen to
434-531: A general election with new leaders was in the 1979 election , when James Callaghan as Labour leader, Margaret Thatcher for the Conservatives, and David Steel with the then- Liberal Party took to the polls. The prospect of a coalition or minority government was being considered well before polling day. Gordon Brown made comments about the possibility of a coalition in January 2010. In 2009, it
496-623: A new loose coalition, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), contested a general election for the first time. TUSC was a grouping of left wing parties that participated in the 2009 European Parliament elections under the name of No2EU ; members included the Socialist Workers Party , the Socialist Party , the Socialist Alliance, Socialist Resistance , and is supported by some members of UNISON ,
558-515: A private conversation with his communications director Justin Forsyth following the meeting, Brown described Duffy as "just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous." Brown's remarks were inadvertently recorded by a Sky News microphone he was still wearing, and widely broadcast. Labour sources later stated that Brown had misheard Duffy and thought she had asked, "where are they fucking from?" Soon after
620-428: A result than they had been in 1974. The coalition government that was subsequently formed was the first to result directly from a UK election. The hung parliament came about in spite of the Conservatives managing both a higher vote total and a higher share of the vote than the previous Labour government had done in 2005 , when it had secured a comfortable majority (although vastly reduced from its landslide victories at
682-573: A variety of news outlets, took attention away from the previous day's speech by Brown to Citizens UK , widely described as his best in the campaign. A Conservative Party activist in Peterborough was arrested after alleged postal voting fraud, calling into question 150 postal votes. Simon Bennett resigned as the head of the British National Party 's online operation then redirected its website to his own on which he attacked
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#1732765537887744-479: Is not properly reflected in overall share of the vote figures. Immediately following the previous general election, Labour held a double-digit lead in opinion polls. However, over the course of 2005, this lead was eroded somewhat. By December 2005, the Conservative party showed its first small leads in opinion polls following the controversial 90 days' detention proposals and the election of David Cameron to
806-560: The 2007 Scottish parliament elections , set itself a target of 20 MPs and was hoping to find itself holding a balance of power. Equally, Plaid Cymru sought gains in Wales. Smaller parties which had had successes at local elections and the 2009 European elections ( UK Independence Party , Green Party , British National Party ) looked to extend their representation to seats in the House of Commons. The Democratic Unionist Party looked to maintain, if not extend, its number of seats, having been
868-451: The 2024 general election . Since its 1983 creation the constituency was a bellwether paradigm example of a marginal seat . Boundary changes for the 2010 election took in areas of population expansion to the east in new largely private sector housing estates. Unemployment is close to the regional average, which is lower than the national average and the constituency has seen a marked increase in properties and property prices throughout
930-924: The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland , the Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland , the British National Party , the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and the Green parties in the UK: the Green Party of England and Wales , the Scottish Green Party , and the Green Party in Northern Ireland . In 2009, Nigel Farage announced his intention to resign as UKIP leader to focus on becoming an MP. Farage
992-736: The London Borough of Tower Hamlets . The Times reported on 2 May that the investigation had revealed some names on the register were fictitious, with a late surge in applications to be added to the electoral register (before 20 April deadline) leading to 5,000 additions without time for full checks. In terms of the outcome of the borough's two seats, the narrower majority in any event exceeded 5,000 votes in Poplar and Limehouse , at 6,030 votes. The Labour candidate for North West Norfolk , Manish Sood, described Gordon Brown as Britain's worst ever prime minister. The comments, which he repeated to
1054-910: The National Union of Teachers , the University and College Union , the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers , and the Public and Commercial Services Union . Several members of these unions ran as candidates under the TUSC banner. However, some former members of NO2EU, such as the Liberal Party and the Communist Party of Britain , chose not to participate in the TUSC campaign. The coalition did not run candidates against left wing Labour or Respect candidates. The prospective Labour candidate for Moray , Stuart Maclennan,
1116-481: The 2001 to 2011 period which saw town centre regeneration and investment by a Labour Party-controlled council enhanced by Reading railway station hub improvements and enterprise areas equally. The Reading West parliamentary constituency was first contested in 1983, when it was won by a member of the Conservative Party , Tony Durant , the sitting MP for the abolished Reading North constituency . He held
1178-490: The Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran , was suspended from the party for comments he made about homosexuality on his website, describing it as not "normal behaviour". Andrew Fulton , the chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party , called the comments "deeply offensive and unacceptable", adding: "These views have no place in the modern Conservative party." However, he still appeared as
1240-455: The Conservatives again took the lead and, from then, extended their lead into double digits, particularly in response to the MPs' expenses scandal, although there was some evidence that the lead narrowed slightly towards the end of 2009. By the end of February 2010, Ipsos MORI , ICM , YouGov and ComRes polls had all found a sufficient narrowing of the Conservative lead for media speculation about
1302-426: The Conservatives was 35%, the largest since the 1918 general election . In terms of votes it was the most "three-cornered" election since 1923 , as well as in terms of seats since 1929 . The Green Party of England and Wales won its first ever seat in the House of Commons, and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland also gained its first elected member. The general election saw a 5.1% national swing from Labour to
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#17327655378871364-444: The Conservatives, the third-largest since 1945. The result in one constituency, Oldham East and Saddleworth , was subsequently declared void on petition because of illegal practices during the campaign , the first such instance since 1910. A hung parliament had been largely anticipated by the opinion polls in the run-up to the election, so politicians and voters were better prepared for the constitutional process that would follow such
1426-609: The House Jacob Rees-Mogg and Penny Mordaunt , future Health Secretary Matt Hancock and future Deputy Prime Ministers Dominic Raab and Thérèse Coffey . On 6 April 2010, the prime minister, Gordon Brown , visited Buckingham Palace for a meeting with the Queen to ask permission to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, confirming in a live press conference in Downing Street , as had long been speculated, that
1488-480: The Labour Party. Realising that a deal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats was imminent, Brown resigned the next day, on Tuesday 11 May, as prime minister, marking the end of 13 years of Labour government. This was accepted by Queen Elizabeth II , who then invited David Cameron to form a government in her name and become prime minister. Just after midnight on 12 May, the Liberal Democrats approved
1550-477: The Rallings and Thrasher studies using ward by ward data from local elections and the 2005 general election, the new boundaries used in 2010 would have returned nine fewer Labour MPs had they been in place at the previous election; given that there are to be four more seats in the next parliament this nationally reduces Labour's majority from 66 to 48. Pursuant to Boundary Commission for England recommendations,
1612-729: The SNP and Plaid Cymru about The First Election Debate broadcast on ITV1 on Thursday 15 April 2010". The leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson , wrote an open letter to Somerset newspapers, asking voters to support Conservative candidates, rather than UKIP candidates in the Somerton and Frome , Taunton Deane and Wells constituencies. This action was criticised by UKIP candidates who refused to stand down. The Labour candidate for Bristol East and former MP Kerry McCarthy revealed information about postal votes cast in
1674-564: The UKIP leader, Lord Pearson stated that his party should also be included. Following a decision by the BBC Trust not to uphold a complaint from the SNP and Plaid Cymru over their exclusion from the planned BBC debate, the SNP announced on 25 April that they would proceed with legal action over the debate scheduled for 29 April. The party said it was not trying to stop the broadcast but it wanted an SNP politician included for balance. The SNP lost
1736-430: The agreement "overwhelmingly", sealing a coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats . A total of 149 sitting MPs stood down at the election, the highest since 1945 , including many former New Labour Cabinet ministers such as former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott , Alan Milburn , Geoff Hoon , Ruth Kelly , James Purnell and John Reid . One reason for the very high number of MPs standing down
1798-457: The banner of " Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force ". However, this caused the sole UUP MP Lady Sylvia Hermon to resign from the party on 25 March 2010, leaving them with no representation at Westminster for the first time in their history. Many constituencies were contested by other, smaller parties. Parties that won no representatives at Westminster in 2005 but have seats in the devolved assemblies or European Parliament included
1860-615: The broadcast of the final party leaders' debate in Scotland, in a court action. They had argued that "the corporation [the BBC] had breached its rules on impartiality by excluding the SNP". The judge, Lady Smith, ruled that "the SNP's case 'lacks the requisite precision and clarity ' " and added she could not "conclude the BBC had breached impartiality rules". Additionally, broadcasting regulator Ofcom ruled that it had not "upheld complaints received from
1922-777: The cameras. She said the incident had left her feeling more sad than angry and that she would not be voting for Labour or any other party. The incident was subsequently dubbed "Bigotgate", which was later added to the Collins English Dictionary . Despite this, Labour went on to gain the Rochdale seat from the Liberal Democrats, one of the few gains they made in the election. In Hornsey and Wood Green constituency 749 postal voters were sent ballot papers which asked voters to pick three candidates instead of one; Haringey Council had to send correct versions by hand. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation in
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1984-458: The case, in a judgement delivered on 28 April. Since each MP is elected separately by the first past the post voting system, it is impossible to precisely project a clear election outcome from overall UK shares of the vote. Not only can individual constituencies vary markedly from overall voting trends, but individual countries and regions within the UK may have a very different electoral contest that
2046-492: The constituency on Twitter. Avon and Somerset Police said they were "looking into a possible alleged breach of electoral law". Bristol City Council stated: "This is a criminal matter and [it] will be for the police to decide what action to take." The former Prime Minister Tony Blair returned to the campaign trail for Labour, visiting a polyclinic in Harrow West, following a troubled Labour campaign. Postal voters in
2108-680: The deaths of Labour MPs and one due to the resignation in January 2010 of a DUP member. Each of the four national boundary commissions is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992) to conduct a general review of all the constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every eight to twelve years to ensure the size and composition of constituencies are as fair as possible. Based on
2170-522: The election would be held on 6 May, five years since the previous election on 5 May 2005. The election took place on 6 May in 649 constituencies across the United Kingdom, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Commons . Voting in the Thirsk and Malton constituency was postponed for three weeks because of the death of a candidate . The governing Labour Party campaigned to secure
2232-460: The end of Tony Blair's 10-year tenure as prime minister and 13 years as leader of the Labour Party, while David Cameron had succeeded Michael Howard in December 2005 and Nick Clegg had succeeded Menzies Campbell (who never contested a general election) in December 2007. During the campaign, the three main party leaders engaged in the first televised debates . The Liberal Democrats achieved
2294-409: The fourth-largest party in the House of Commons. The key dates were: This election had an unusually high number of MPs choosing not to seek re-election, with more standing down than did so at the 1945 general election (which on account of the extraordinary wartime circumstances came ten years after the preceding election). This has been attributed to the 2009 expenses scandal and the fact there
2356-430: The incident, Brown talked to Jeremy Vine live on BBC Radio 2 and publicly apologised to Duffy. American comedian Jon Stewart commented that the clip showed the moment when Brown's "political career leaves his body". Brown subsequently visited Duffy to apologise in person. Upon emerging, he described himself as a "penitent sinner", while Duffy refused to speak to the press and would not shake hands with him in front of
2418-662: The largest share of the 2009 European Parliament election vote in Scotland. In Wales, the Labour Party remained the largest party in the Welsh Assembly , although Plaid Cymru increased their share of the vote and formed a coalition government with Labour. In 2009 the Ulster Unionist Party and the Conservative Party announced they had formed an electoral alliance whereby the two parties would field joint candidates for future elections under
2480-564: The leadership of the Conservative party. In early 2006, opinion polls were increasingly mixed with small leads given alternately to Labour and Conservative. From the May 2006 local elections, in which Labour suffered significant losses, the Conservatives took a small single-digit lead in opinion polls. Labour regained the lead in June 2007 following the resignation of Tony Blair and the appointment of Gordon Brown as prime minister. From November 2007,
2542-415: The marginal Vale of Glamorgan constituency had to be issued with new ballot papers after mistakenly being told they did not have to sign applications for postal votes. A group of entrepreneurs warned on the dangers of a Labour-Liberal coalition in an open letter to The Times on 29 April. On 28 April, Gordon Brown met Gillian Duffy, a 65-year-old woman and lifelong Labour voter from Rochdale ,
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2604-573: The number of seats in England increased by four, and numerous changes were made to the existing constituency boundaries. Northern Ireland continued to elect 18 MPs, but minor changes were made to the eastern constituencies in accordance with the Northern Ireland Boundary Commission's recommendations. For the first time, these changes include the splitting of an electoral ward between two constituencies. Following
2666-632: The party's leadership. On the morning of polling day, 6 May, the former and later leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage , standing in Buckingham against the Speaker, was injured when a light banner-towing aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed near Brackley , Northamptonshire. Groups of voters waiting in queues at 10 pm were locked out of polling stations in Sheffield Hallam , Manchester and Leeds; and police said one London polling station
2728-523: The point where many considered the possibility of a Liberal Democrat role in Government. Polls just before election day saw a slight swing from the Liberal Democrats back to Labour and Conservatives, with the majority of final polls falling within one point of Conservatives 36%, Labour 29%, Liberal Democrats 23%. However, record numbers of undecided voters raised uncertainty about the outcome. The Scottish National Party , encouraged by their victory in
2790-544: The previous general election included the Scottish National Party , with six parliamentary seats, Plaid Cymru from Wales with three seats, and Respect – The Unity Coalition and Health Concern , each of which held one parliamentary seat in England. Since that election, the SNP had won the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections and gained control of the Scottish Government , and also won
2852-477: The previous two elections). Coalition talks began immediately between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats , and lasted for five days . There was an aborted attempt to put together a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition (although 11 seats from other smaller parties would have been required). To facilitate this, Gordon Brown announced on the evening of Monday 10 May that he would resign as Leader of
2914-706: The recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales, the total number of seats remained at 40, although new seats caused by radical redrawing of boundaries in Clwyd and Gwynedd were fought for the first time: Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd replaced Caernarfon and Meirionnydd Nant Conwy , respectively; Aberconwy replaced Conwy . At the time of the election Welsh constituencies had electorates on average around 14,000 smaller than their counterparts in England. Scotland saw its most recent large-scale review completed in 2004, so its 59 constituencies remained
2976-595: The same as at the 2005 general election. All three main parties went into the general election having changed leaders since 2005. David Cameron became Conservative leader in December 2005, replacing Michael Howard . Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister in June 2007. Nick Clegg was elected as leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007, succeeding Menzies Campbell who had replaced Charles Kennedy in January 2006. The last time all three main parties went into
3038-509: The seat for the Conservatives. Sharma held several posts within government, including serving in the Cabinet as the President for COP26 from January 2021 until October 2022. 1983–1997 Formed as a county constituency, largely from parts of the abolished constituency of Reading North . Extended westwards to include parts of Newbury . 1997–2010 The boundary with Reading East
3100-523: The seat through two subsequent general elections until he retired at the 1997 election . The constituency was then won by Martin Salter for Labour , as part of the landslide that brought Labour back to power under Tony Blair . Salter held the seat through the 13 years of Labour government until Parliament was dissolved in April 2010, but did not stand in the 2010 general election , when Alok Sharma won
3162-582: The second general election since the Second World War to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election . This election marked the start of Conservative government for the next 14 years. For the leaders of all three major political parties, this was their first general election contest as party leader, something that had last been the case in the 1979 election. Prime Minister Gordon Brown had taken office in June 2007 following
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#17327655378873224-497: The title Reading West . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reading_West&oldid=896285750 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Reading West (UK Parliament constituency) Reading West
3286-508: Was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament . Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , the seat was abolished. Its area was transferred to the new constituencies of Earley and Woodley (Whitley ward), Reading Central (Battle, Minster and Southcote wards), and Reading West and Mid Berkshire (all other wards). These constituencies were first contested at
3348-549: Was announced on 21 December 2009 that there would be three leaders' debates, each broadcast on prime time television , and a subsequent announcement in March 2010 that a debate between the financial spokesmen of the three main parties, Alistair Darling , George Osborne and Vince Cable would be held on 29 March. The SNP insisted that as the leading political party in Scotland in the latest opinion poll, it should be included in any debate broadcast in Scotland. On 22 December 2009,
3410-400: Was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, to elect Members of Parliament (or MPs) to the House of Commons . The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. The election resulted in a large swing to the opposition Conservative Party led by David Cameron similar to that seen in 1979 , the last time a Conservative opposition had ousted
3472-530: Was open until 10.30 pm, which triggered a national review of polling station requirements led by the Electoral Commission . The counts for the Foyle and East Londonderry constituencies were suspended because of a security alert around 11 pm after a car was abandoned outside the counting centre, causing a bomb scare. Following a campaign by Sky News and with agreement of the party leaders, it
3534-490: Was realigned, gaining Whitley ward and losing Katesgrove ward. 2010–2024 Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards. The constituency was bordered by the seats of Newbury , Henley , Reading East , and Wokingham . 51°28′N 0°59′W / 51.46°N 0.99°W / 51.46; -0.99 2010 United Kingdom general election Gordon Brown Labour David Cameron Conservative The 2010 United Kingdom general election
3596-399: Was replaced in an election by party members by Lord Pearson of Rannoch , whose stated intention was for the electoral support of UKIP to force a hung parliament. The Green Party of England and Wales voted to have a position of leader for the first time; the first leadership election was won by Caroline Lucas , who successfully contested the constituency of Brighton Pavilion . In addition,
3658-533: Was reported that senior civil servants were to meet with the Liberal Democrats to discuss their policies, an indication of how seriously the prospect of a hung parliament was being taken. Nick Clegg and Menzies Campbell had continued the position of Charles Kennedy of not being prepared to form a coalition with either main party and of voting against any Queen's Speech unless there was an unambiguous commitment in it to introduce proportional representation . Other parties with representation at Westminster after
3720-460: Was sacked after making offensive comments on his Twitter page, referring to elderly voters as "coffin dodgers" and voters in the North of Scotland as " teuchters ", and insulting politicians such as Cameron, Clegg, John Bercow and Diane Abbott . The UKIP candidate for Thirsk and Malton —John Boakes—died, causing the election in the constituency to be postponed until 27 May. Philip Lardner,
3782-509: Was talk that redundancy-style payments for departing MPs might be scrapped after the election. In all, 149 MPs (100 Labour, 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats, 2 Independents, 1 Independent Conservative and 1 member each from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, and the SDLP) decided not to contest the election. Additionally, three seats were vacant at the time of the dissolution of Parliament; two due to
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#17327655378873844-705: Was the parliamentary expenses scandal a year earlier . A record 228 new MPs were elected at the election. Many of the Conservative MPs elected for the first time became ministers in government. Notable newcomers who were elected to parliament in 2010 included future Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss , future chancellors of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Kwasi Kwarteng , future Home Secretaries Priti Patel and Sajid Javid , future Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson , future Leaders of
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