Oxford West and Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)

Oxford West and Abingdon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat.
History.
Creation.
The seat was created in 1983 as part of the reconfiguration of those in the county to avoid malapportionment, abolishing Oxford as a seat. It merged about half the city with the east of the former Abingdon seat.
MPs.
The Conservative John Patten (MP for Oxford in the 1979–83 Parliament), held the seat from its creation until he retired in 1997. The seat was gained by the Liberal Democrat, Evan Harris, who held the seat for thirteen years until the 2010 general election, when the Conservative Nicola Blackwood retook the seat in one of the most marginal results of that election. Blackwood held the seat until the 2017 general election when she was defeated by Liberal Democrat Layla Moran in another marginal result.
Contests.
The seat has been contested nine times, each of them general elections. At each contest the Labour party candidate has polled third—the peak share of votes to date being 20.2%, in 1997. The strongest victory, in share of the vote, was that of Harris of the Liberal Democrats in 2001, a 17.8% majority (in a seven-way contest).
The Green or predecessor Ecology Party stood in the first eight contests, in each losing the deposit paid.
Constituency profile.
The constituency includes the town of Abingdon, the village of Kidlington, and the western and northern parts of the city of Oxford, and some of the colleges of the University of Oxford. At the end of 2010, unemployment was the fifth lowest of the 84 South East constituencies, at 1.2% compared to a mean of 2.45%. The area has rapid transit connections to London, Reading and the commercial heart of Oxford, has large business and research parks and a choice of two major railway stations, and .
Boundaries and boundary changes.
1997–2010
Since 2010
Sources.
 