Hertford and Stortford
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Hertford and Stortford in Hertfordshire
Location of Hertfordshire within England
County	Hertfordshire
Electorate	79,255 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Hertford, Bishop's Stortford, Ware
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Julie Marson (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Hertfordshire East and Hertford and Stevenage[2]

Hertford and Stortford is a constituency^{[n 1]} currently represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Julie Marson of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The constituency is semi-rural and includes picturesque villages and farmland. The rivers Rib, Beane, Mimram, and Lea all meet in the county town of Hertford (2011 population 25,000), which is protected from over-development by a Green Belt encircling the town and separating it from Ware (18,000) in the western part of the constituency. Farms continue between Ware and the market town of Bishop's Stortford (40,000), in the north east corner of the seat.

Hertford and Stortford constituency is generally regarded as an affluent seat,^{[citation needed]} and includes a significant proportion of professional and managerial workers.^{[citation needed]} Central London is within commuting distance by train of all the towns in the constituency. The pharmaceutical industry is a major employer in the seat and surrounding areas: both Ware and Harlow are the sites of GlaxoSmithKline facilities (while Gilston hosted a Merck between 1982 and 2006). Since the early 1990s, Stansted, just beyond the eastern perimeter of the constituency, has also been responsible for bringing jobs and an improved train service to it.

Many commuters live in Bishop's Stortford, which has rail links to London's Liverpool Street station and is also close to Stansted Airport. Since the 1980s, the population of Thorley – now a southern suburb of Stortford – has become composed increasingly of owner-occupied houses in dormitory estates.

The seat has been held by the Conservative Party, with comfortable majorities, since its creation.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1983–1997

• The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Chantry, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford Thorley, Braughing, Buntingford, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Little Hadham, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Standon St Mary, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware Christchurch, Ware Priory, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.^[3]

The new constituency combined Hertford and Ware, from the abolished constituency of Hertford and Stevenage, with Bishop's Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and rural areas to the west, from the abolished constituency of East Hertfordshire.

1997–2010

• The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Chantry, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford Thorley, Great Amwell, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Little Amwell, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Stanstead, Ware Christchurch, Ware Priory, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.^[4]

The villages of Stanstead Abbotts and Great Amwell transferred from Broxbourne. Northern, rural areas transferred to the new constituency of North East Hertfordshire.

Map of current boundaries

2010–present

• The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford All Saints, Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Meads, Bishop's Stortford Silverleys, Bishop's Stortford South, Great Amwell, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Heath, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Stanstead Abbots, Ware Chadwell, Ware Christchurch, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.^[5]

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be reduced to meet the electorate size requirements, with the transfer of the three small wards of Great Amwell, Hertford Heath and Stanstead Abbots to Broxbourne.^[6]

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Hertford and Stortford^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julie Marson	33,712	56.1	4.2
	Labour	Chris Vince	14,092	23.4	5.2
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Lucas	8,596	14.3	6.2
	Green	Lucy Downes	2,705	4.5	1.5
	UKIP	Alistair Lindsay	681	1.1	New
	Independent	Brian Percival	308	0.5	New
Majority			19,620	32.7	1.0
Turnout			60,094	72.9	0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.5

General election 2017: Hertford and Stortford^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	36,184	60.3	4.2
	Labour	Katherine Chibah	17,149	28.6	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Argent	4,845	8.1	0.3
	Green	David Woollcombe	1,814	3.0	1.8
Majority			19,035	31.7	6.5
Turnout			59,992	72.8	1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.25

General election 2015: Hertford and Stortford^{[17][18][19][20]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	31,593	56.1	2.3
	Labour	Katherine Chibah	10,084	17.9	4.1
	UKIP	Adrian Baker	7,534	13.4	10.3
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Green	4,385	7.8	18.2
	Green	Sophie Christophy	2,681	4.8	New
Majority			21,509	38.2	10.4
Turnout			56,277	71.3	0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.0

General election 2010: Hertford and Stortford^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	29,810	53.8	3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Lewin	14,373	26.0	7.5
	Labour	Stephen Terry	7,620	13.8	10.5
	UKIP	David Sodey	1,716	3.1	1.0
	BNP	Roy Harris	1,297	2.3	New
	Independent	Loucas Xenophontos	325	0.6	New
	Independent	Martin Adams	236	0.4	New
Majority			15,437	27.8	1.4
Turnout			55,377	70.6	4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.9

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s