Electoral Calculus characterises the seat's electorate as "Kind Yuppies", with right-wing economic views but more liberal social attitudes. Incomes and house prices in this seat are well above UK averages.[2] The seat voted decisively toremain in the European Union in 2016, with an estimated Remain vote of 62% compared to 48% nationally.
Results of all deposit-keeping candidates since 1983 in their bid be the MP for St Albans (UK House of Commons).
The constituency was re-established in an enlarged form by theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885 (which followed on from theThird Reform Act) as one of four Divisions of the abolished three-member Parliamentary County ofHertfordshire, and was formally named as theMid or St Albans Division of Hertfordshire.
Political history before 1997
Until 1997 the seat was held by oneConservative or another save for the very early 20th centuryOfficial Opposition leadership ofHenry Campbell-Bannerman and the follow-on first part of his premiership, governing in minority, and later – from1945 – five of the six years seeing Labour's landslideAttlee ministry.
Political history since 1997
The seat swung towards theleft wing on boundary changes effective in 1997, and the founding of theNew Labour movement which sought public sector reform and investment with expansion based on international investor-friendly economic growth. The seat followed its projections in line with the largeswing led byTony Blair, to sees its return to aLabour politician. Results, except for a strong Tory surge in 2015 are closer than the 1979–1992 Tory victories forming a complex three-party contest – only once another candidate in this time has reached thedeposit (politics)-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote,UKIP at its 2015 peak.
Despite the former Labour MP for the seat,Kerry Pollard, standing there in 2005,2015 and2017, he fell varyingly short. The 2019 vote share fell to below that seen in the 1980s, locally, for the party's candidate – the party leader was to the left of the party,Jeremy Corbyn.
The seat has had great fluctuation inLiberal Democrat vote share: 2001 and 2015 were ebbs at below 20% of the vote; in 2010 and 2017 the Liberal Democrat candidate, promisingly, took 4.4% and 10.7% less than the winning Conservative. Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper went on to win, in 2019. She became first member of a liberal party to represent the constituency sinceJohn Bamford Slack in early 1900s.
In December 2023, theLabour Party included the seat in its published list of 211 non-battleground seats, suggesting they did not see it as winnable.[4]
The Rural District of St Albans civil parishes of Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Peter Rural, and St Stephen.[7]
The Urban Districts of Barnet and East Barnet (formerly East Barnet Valley) and the Rural District of Elstree (formerly Barnet) formed the newBarnet Division. TheUrban District of Welwyn Garden City had been formed as a separate local authority which had previously been partly in theHitchin Division. Other marginal changes as a result of changes to local authority boundaries.
The Rural District of St Albans civil parishes of Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Peter Rural, St Stephen, and Wheathampstead.[8]
The Rural District of Welwyn was transferred fromHitchin and the parish ofWheathampstead from Hemel Hempstead. The Rural District of Hatfield was transferred to Barnet.
The Rural District of St Albans civil parishes of Colney Heath, London Colney, Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Stephen, and Wheathampstead.
The Urban District of Welwyn Garden City and the Rural District of Welwyn were transferred toHertford. (The parish of St Peter Rural had been divided into the parishes of Colney Heath and London Colney).
The District of St Albans wards of Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence, Colney Heath, Cunningham, Harpenden East, Harpenden North, Harpenden South, Harpenden West, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Redbourn, St Peter's, Sandridge, Sopwell, and Verulam.[10]
Minor changes: Colney Heath transferred from abolished South Hertfordshire; Wheathampstead transferred toWelwyn Hatfield.
The District of St Albans wards of Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence, Colney Heath, Cunningham, London Colney, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Park Street, St Peter's, St Stephen's, Sopwell, and Verulam; and
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022,[15][16] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the City of St Albans from the 2024 general election:
Batchwood; Bernards Heath; Clarence; Colney Heath; Cunningham; Hill End; London Colney; Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm (majority); Marshalswick West (nearly all); Park Street; St Peters; St Stephen (nearly all); Sopwell; Verulam (nearly all).[17]
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 2005 and 2010 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1979 and 1983 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1970 and February 1974 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful.
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1951 and 1955 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1945 and 1950 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1935 and 1945 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful
On 3 May 1852, the borough was disenfranchised after a Royal Commission found proof of extensive bribery. The electorate was incorporated intoHertfordshire.[77]
^Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales.The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
^abcdefghijCraig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974].British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 297.ISBN0-900178-27-2.
^abcdefghijCraig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969].British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 375.ISBN0-900178-06-X.
^New M.P. For St. Albans, The Times, October 06, 1943
Robert Beatson,A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)[1]
D Brunton & D H Pennington,Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)[2]
F W S Craig,British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
Henry Stooks Smith,The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
