Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)

Chipping Barnet is a constituency^{[n 1]} created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Dan Tomlinson of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]} It is part of the London Borough of Barnet, on the border with Hertfordshire.

Chipping Barnet
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary within Greater London
County	Greater London
Population	111,973 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	78,038 (2024 general election)
Major settlements	High Barnet/Chipping Barnet, Whetstone, New Barnet, East Barnet, Totteridge, Arkley, Brunswick Park.
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Dan Tomlinson (Labour Party)
Seats	One
Created from	Barnet

Boundaries

The seat was created from the parts of the former Barnet constituency which were in the London Borough of Barnet.

1974–1997: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Arkley, Brunswick Park, East Barnet, Hadley, and Totteridge.

1997–2010: As above plus Friern Barnet.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Brunswick Park, Coppetts, East Barnet, High Barnet, Oakleigh, Totteridge, and Underhill.

2024–present: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Barnet Vale, Brunswick Park, East Barnet, Edgwarebury, High Barnet, Totteridge & Woodside, Underhill and Whetstone.^[2][3]

Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the community of Friern Barnet was moved to the new constituency of Hornsey and Friern Barnet; to compensate, the Edgewarebury ward was transferred from Hendon.

Constituency profile

Barnet was once an elevated narrow projection of Hertfordshire into the county of Middlesex, and consisted of an agricultural market town.^[4] The town became well connected to central London by the London Underground network and is today commuter suburbia, with many of its properties semi-detached with substantial gardens as well as having many small parks and nature reserves. The area has few tower blocks for social housing.^{[citation needed]}

Electoral Calculus categorises the seat with a "Kind Yuppies" demographic, indicating well-educated younger voters who could vote for either the Conservatives or Labour but opposed Brexit.^[5]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[6][7][8]	Party
	1974	Reginald Maudling	Conservative
	1979	Sydney Chapman	Conservative
	2005	Theresa Villiers	Conservative
	2024	Dan Tomlinson	Labour

History

It was held by a Conservative since its creation for the February 1974 general election, and withstood the Labour landslide in 1997 by just over 2% (1,035 votes). However, this would come to a close after the 2024 general election, when Chipping Barnet was won by the Labour Party; it was the first time in the constituency's history that it was not represented by a Conservative MP.

In the 2019 general election, the seat was seen as an important potential gain for the Labour Party, due to Villiers' small majority and high-profile (as the Environment Secretary) and the seat's vote to remain in the 2016 European Union membership referendum.^{[9][10][11][12]} Nevertheless, Villiers retained the seat with a majority increased threefold, albeit still a small one.^[13] Villiers finally lost her seat at the 2024 election to Labour's Dan Tomlinson, the first Labour MP ever to hold the seat and the first to represent the area in Parliament since 1945.

Elections

Election results 1974-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Chipping Barnet^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Tomlinson	21,585	42.4	+2.1
	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	18,671	36.7	−10.8
	Reform UK	Hamish Haddow	3,986	7.8	N/A
	Green	David Farbey	3,442	6.8	+4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Durrant	2,614	5.1	−4.7
	Rejoin EU	Richard Hewison	379	0.7	N/A
	Independent	Kay Lauer	182	0.4	N/A
Majority			2,914	5.7
Turnout			50,859	65.2	−11.50
Registered electors			78,038
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[15]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	27,777	47.5
	Labour	23,568	40.3
	Liberal Democrats	5,745	9.8
	Green	1,261	2.2
	Others	71	0.1
Turnout		58,422	76.7
Electorate		76,187

General election 2019: Chipping Barnet^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	25,745	44.7	−1.6
	Labour	Emma Whysall	24,533	42.6	−3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Isabelle Parasram	5,932	10.3	+4.9
	Green	Gabrielle Bailey	1,288	2.2	−0.3
	Advance	John Sheffield	71	0.1	N/A
Majority			1,212	2.1	+1.5
Turnout			57,569	72.0	+0.2
Registered electors			79,960
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

General election 2017: Chipping Barnet^[18][19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	25,679	46.3	−2.3
	Labour	Emma Whysall	25,326	45.7	+11.6
	Liberal Democrats	Marisha Ray	3,012	5.4	+0.9
	Green	Phil Fletcher	1,406	2.5	−2.2
Majority			353	0.6	−13.9
Turnout			55,423	71.8	+3.7
Registered electors			77,218
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.9

General election 2015: Chipping Barnet^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	25,759	48.6	−0.2
	Labour	Amy Trevethan	18,103	34.1	+8.9
	UKIP	Victor Kaye	4,151	7.8	+5.0
	Green	Audrey Poppy	2,501	4.7	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Marisha Ray [23]	2,381	4.5	−15.7
	Independent	Mehdi Akhavan	118	0.2	N/A
Majority			7,656	14.5	−9.1
Turnout			53,013	68.1	+3.0
Registered electors			77,807
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.5

General election 2010: Chipping Barnet^[24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	24,700	48.8	+2.9
	Labour	Damien Welfare	12,773	25.2	−8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Barber	10,202	20.2	+4.9
	UKIP	James Fluss	1,442	2.8	+0.8
	Green	Kate Tansley	1,021	2.0	−0.8
	Independent	Philip Clayton	470	0.9	N/A
Majority			11,927	23.6	+9.5
Turnout			50,608	65.1	+2.3
Registered electors			75,120
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.77

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Chipping Barnet^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	19,744	46.6	+0.2
	Labour	Pauline A. Coakley-Webb	13,784	32.5	−7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Hooker	6,671	15.7	+2.1
	Green	Audrey M. Poppy	1,199	2.8	N/A
	UKIP	Victor Kaye	924	2.2	N/A
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Rainbow George Weiss	59	0.1	N/A
Majority			5,960	14.1	+7.7
Turnout			42,381	64.1	+3.7
Registered electors			66,222
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

General election 2001: Chipping Barnet^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Chapman	19,702	46.4	+3.4
	Labour	Damien Welfare	17,001	40.0	−0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Hooker	5,753	13.6	+1.2
Majority			2,701	6.4	+4.3
Turnout			42,456	60.4	−11.3
Registered electors			70,239
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.2

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Chipping Barnet^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Chapman	21,317	43.0	−14.0
	Labour	Geoff N. Cooke	20,282	40.9	+15.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Hooker	6,121	12.4	−3.7
	Referendum	Victor G. Ribekow	1,190	2.4	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	Brian L. Miskin	253	0.5	N/A
	ProLife Alliance	Brian D. Scallan	243	0.5	N/A
	Natural Law	Diane Derksen	159	0.3	−0.2
Majority			1,035	2.1	−29.0
Turnout			49,565	71.7	−6.9
Registered electors			69,088
	Conservative hold		Swing	−14.5

General election 1992: Chipping Barnet^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Chapman	25,589	57.0	−0.9
	Labour	Alan J. Williams	11,638	25.9	+6.9
	Liberal Democrats	David H. Smith	7,247	16.1	−6.9
	Natural Law	Diane Derksen	222	0.5	N/A
	Funstermentalist	Christopher V. Johnson	213	0.5	N/A
Majority			13,951	31.1	−3.8
Turnout			44,909	78.6	+8.6
Registered electors			57,153
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Chipping Barnet^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Chapman	24,686	57.9	+1.8
	Liberal	James Skinner	9,815	23.0	−3.1
	Labour	David Perkin	8,115	19.0	+3.0
Majority			14,871	34.9	+4.9
Turnout			42,616	70.0	−0.7
Registered electors			60,876
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Chipping Barnet^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Chapman	23,164	56.1	−1.0
	Liberal	Christopher Perkin	10,771	26.1	+10.5
	Labour	Nigel Smith	6,599	16.0	−9.3
	Ecology	E. Parry	552	1.3	N/A
	Independent	J. Hopkins	195	0.5	N/A
Majority			12,393	30.0	−1.8
Turnout			41,281	70.7	−4.9
Registered electors			58,423
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Chipping Barnet

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Chapman	25,154	57.1	+9.8
	Labour	Peter Dawe[32]	11,147	25.3	−3.1
	Liberal	David Ive[32]	6,867	15.6	−5.8
	National Front	Ronald Cole[32]	865	2.0	−0.9
Majority			14,007	31.8	+12.9
Turnout			44,033	75.6	+2.0
Registered electors			58,254
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Chipping Barnet

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Maudling	19,661	47.3	−0.7
	Labour	John Mills	11,795	28.4	+1.9
	Liberal	Nesta Wyn Ellis	8,884	21.4	−4.1
	National Front	Ronald Arthur Cole	1,207	2.9	N/A
Majority			7,866	18.9	−2.6
Turnout			41,547	73.6	−8.6
Registered electors			56,487
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Chipping Barnet

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Maudling	22,094	48.0
	Labour	John Mills	12,183	26.5
	Liberal	Nesta Wyn Ellis	11,714	25.5
Majority			9,911	21.5
Turnout			45,991	82.2
Registered electors			55,984
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.