The county of Hertfordshire in England is divided into twelve parliamentary constituencies. Each of the twelve elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent it at the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament in Westminster. As of the 2024 general election, seven of Hertfordshire's MPs are from the Labour Party, three are Conservatives, and two are Liberal Democrats. The county currently has one urban borough constituency (BC) â Watford - while the other eleven are classed as more rural county constituencies (CC).
Boundaries of the seats were amended by the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies carried out by the Boundary Commission for England, which came into effect from the 2024 general election. Each constituency is made up of whole or partial local government wards, which elect councillors at English local elections. Eleven are designated as county constituencies (in which candidates can spend more per head than their borough counterparts). One is a borough constituency.
For the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England opted to combine Hertfordshire with Bedfordshire as a sub-region of the East of England region, with the creation of the cross-county boundary constituency of Hitchin. As a result, Hitchin and Harpenden was abolished, with Harpenden being included in a new constituency named Harpenden and Berkhamsted, along with the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring, previously part of South West Hertfordshire - which in turn gained areas of Three Rivers District, primarily form Watford. These changes had knock-on effects in the rest of the county, with most of the rest of the constituencies undergoing relatively minor boundary changes, the only exceptions being North East Hertfordshire and Stevenage, which remained effectively unchanged (save minor realignments with new ward boundaries).
For the fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect ahead of the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England retained the same eleven Hertfordshire constituencies that had existed previously. It did however make slight boundary changes to reduce electoral disparity. The recommendations, which became law with the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, also ensured that local government wards in Hertfordshire would no longer be split between two Parliamentary constituencies.
Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019
The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Hertfordshire in the 2024 general election were as follows:
<sup>1</sup>1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDPâÂÂLiberal Alliance
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Included in Other
<sup>1</sup>1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDPâÂÂLiberal Alliance
A cell marked â (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.
<sup>1</sup>includes an area of Bedfordshire