Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)

Chipping Barnet
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Chipping Barnet in Greater London.
County	Greater London
Population	111,973 (2011 census)
Electorate	76,455 (December 2010)
Major settlements	High Barnet or Barnet
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of parliament	Theresa Villiers (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Barnet
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

Chipping Barnet is a constituency created in 1974 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Theresa Villiers of the Conservative Party.

The constituency is slightly more elevated than the surrounding areas. Barnet was once a narrow projection of Hertfordshire into the county of Middlesex, and consisted of an agricultural market town. The town became well connected to central London by the London Underground network and is today prime suburbia, with many of its properties semi-detached with substantial gardens as well as having many small parks and nature reserves. The area is largely bereft of tower blocks of social housing original purpose.

It has been 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). The 2015 result gave the seat the 92nd most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.

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-present: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Brunswick Park, Coppetts, East Barnet, High Barnet, Oakleigh, Totteridge, and Underhill.

For the 2010 general election, following a review of parliamentary representation and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that parts of Underhill ward and Coppetts ward be transferred to Chipping Barnet from the constituencies of Hendon and Finchley and Golders Green respectively. It also recommended that a small part of Mill Hill ward be transferred from Chipping Barnet to Hendon.