Richmond Park constituency was created in 1997 from Richmond and Barnes, previously held by the ConservativeJeremy Hanley, and a northern section of the Kingston upon Thames seat, held by the former Chancellor of the ExchequerNorman Lamont. Hanley was selected as the Conservative candidate at the first election for the seat but lost to the Liberal Democrat, Jenny Tonge. The seat was held by the Liberal Democrats until 2010, when it was won by the Conservative candidate, Zac Goldsmith. In the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, the constituency is estimated to have voted to remain in the European Union by 72%. On 25 October 2016, Zac Goldsmith announced his resignation as an MP in protest against the Conservative government's decision to allow a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport. Goldsmith stood as an Independent candidate in the by-election held on 1 December, but was defeated by Sarah Olney, a Liberal Democrat, after the Conservative Party decided not to nominate its own candidate. It was the first by-election in the constituency since its creation in 1997. On 22 April 2017, Goldsmith won the Conservative nomination for Richmond Park and stood in the general election on 8 June, in which Olney also stood for re-election. Despite Olney gaining the largest increase in vote share between general elections in the country, and Goldsmith one of the largest falls, he regained the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of just 45 votes. It marked the shortest period of time that a defeated MP had been out of office before regaining a seat. Olney retook the seat in the 2019 general election, with a majority of nearly 8,000.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames wards of Barnes; East Sheen; Ham and Petersham; Kew; Mortlake; Palewell; Richmond Hill; and Richmond Town, and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Cambridge; Canbury; Coombe Hill; and Tudor. 2010–present: The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames wards of Barnes; East Sheen; Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside; Kew; Mortlake and Barnes Common; North Richmond; and South Richmond, and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Canbury; Coombe Hill; Coombe Vale; and Tudor. Richmond Park constituency stretches from Barnes in the north to Kingston upon Thames in the south, and includes the whole of East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Petersham and Ham. The boundaries also include the Royal Park itself. From Kingston Railway Bridge, the boundary follows the middle of the River Thames north to Hammersmith Bridge and then southeast as far as Barn Elms. From here it is bounded by the outside of Putney Common and the houses east of Hallam Road and Dyers Lane. At the south end of Dyers Lane the boundary runs along the Upper Richmond Road westwards as far as the Beverley Brook which it then follows south to the northern wall of Richmond Park itself. The boundary then follows the wall of the park as far as the Robin Hood Gate on the A3 road and follows the Beverley Brook south, until it turns west after Malden Golf Course. It then cuts across the golf course to Coombe Road, Coombe Vale, New Malden until the South West Main Line just west of New Malden station. Then the boundary curves north to follow the Kingston branch of the railway line as far as the railway bridge over the River Thames. This means that the constituency includes Coombe, Norbiton, and half of Kingston upon Thames.
Fifth Boundary Review
As part of its Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission made minor changes to re-align the constituency boundaries with the boundaries of the local government wards. This involved moving the entirety of the Beverley ward into Kingston and Surbiton. It had been split between the two constituencies after ward boundaries were changed in 2002. The public consultation on proposed changes across the boroughs of Kingston and Richmond received 11 submissions, of which ten were in support. The new boundaries came into effect at the 2010 general election.
