Reading Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Reading Central is a constituency 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. Since 2024, it has been represented by Labour's Matt Rodda, who was MP for Reading East from 2017 to 2024.
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 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.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, 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.
During the process of acceptance of these proposals, the name was changed from Reading to Reading Central.
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.
As a result of a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022, the constituency now comprises the following current Borough of Reading wards:
- Abbey, Battle, Caversham, Caversham Heights, Coley, Emmer Green, Katesgrove, Norcot, Park, Redlands, Southcote, and Thames.