Elevated and bordering Greater London and Buckinghamshire, this part of Hertfordshire is for its residents mostly middle-class suburbia, an established haven for commuters who travel from the outer reaches of the London Underground's Metropolitan line or two railways from London which serve different parts of the seat: the West Coast Main Line and Aylesbury Line. A substantial proportion of land is occupied by farms and hillside woodland.[3]
Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[4]
The constituency was formed from the Watford Division of Hertfordshire, excluding the part comprising the Municipal Borough of Watford. It also included the parishes of Abbots Langley and Sarratt, transferred from Hemel Hempstead.
The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Bedmond, Carpenders Park, Chorleywood, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Langleybury, Maple Cross and West Hyde, Mill End, Money Hill, Moor Park, Northwood, Oxhey Hall, Rickmansworth, and Sarratt; and
The District of Dacorum wards of Berkhamsted Central, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon and Flaunden, Chipperfield, Kings Langley, and Northchurch.[7]
The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Chorleywood, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Maple Cross and West Hyde, Mill End, Money Hill, Moor Park, Northwood, Rickmansworth, and Sarratt; and
The District of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Berkhamsted Central, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon and Flaunden, Chipperfield, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, and Tring West.[8]
The District of Three Rivers wards of Chorleywood East, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Maple Cross and Mill End, Moor Park and Eastbury, Northwood, Penn, Rickmansworth, Rickmansworth West, and Sarratt; and
The District of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Berkhamsted Castle, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, and Tring West.[9]
Minor gain from Hemel Hempstead following revision of local authority wards.
The constituency saw major changes with the bulk of the parts currently in the Borough of Dacorum, including the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring, forming part of the newly created constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted. The Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield ward went to Hemel Hempstead in exchange for the Kings Langley ward. The parts of the District of Three Rivers not previously within the constituency were transferred primarily from Watford, with a small area from St Albans.
^A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^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.