Hertsmere: MP, 2024 result and local figures
The MP for Hertsmere is Sir Oliver Dowden (Conservative), returned on 4 July 2024. On 4 July 2024 Oliver Dowden (Conservative) won 21,451 votes, 44.7% of the valid vote; Josh Tapper (Labour) came second with 13,459. 48,007 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 73,465, 65.3% of those registered. The majority was 7,992.
Key figures
What the figures show
Compared with other constituencies, Hertsmere has the 31st highest median house price of the 575 constituencies with this figure (£575,000); it also has the 49th highest median full-time pay for jobs based here of the 632 constituencies with this figure (£44,236 a year).
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £575,000 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £417,000. The highest March-year median in the series was £590,000, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 31st highest of 575 constituencies. 1,024 sales were registered in the period, against 1,314 in the year to March 2025.
Workplaces in Hertsmere accounted for 59,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 8,580 local units for March 2026.
Median annual pay for full-time work was £44,236 for jobs in Hertsmere and £44,763 for its residents (April 2025, ASHE). In April 2024 the residents' figure was £40,936. The residents' figure ranks 101st highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
Census 2021: 41,939 households, 884.4 people per square kilometre, 40.2% of workers based at home, 20.1% of adults retired.
In 2024/25, 19.7% of children under 16 in Hertsmere (4,159) lived in relative low income families once housing costs are taken off, says the DWP; the UK figure is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 9.5% in 2021/22 to 10.4% in 2024/25.
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 107,865; the estimate for 2014 was 101,716. Children under 16 numbered 21,066; people aged 65 and over, 20,766.
Survey estimates for April 2025 to March 2026 have 76.7% of working-age residents in employment, within a margin of 8.0 points. 19.9% were economically inactive.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 2,360 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 3.6%. September 2025 had 2,280.
MP
Sir Oliver Dowden, Conservative
- MP for Hertsmere since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 7 May 2015
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Sir Oliver Dowden on this site
In Parliament
The 5 most recent spoken contributions by Sir Oliver Dowden in Hansard, from 15 July 2026 to 12 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 142 spoken contributions by Sir Oliver Dowden since 4 July 2024.
Iran clearly views this country as its enemy, and I fear that it smells weakness. It has attempted to attack Diego Garcia, Akrotiri and now Fairford.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Many of my Jewish constituents have very grave concerns about the conduct of the current Israeli Government.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The problem is that the Argentinians can smell weakness because of our approach to the Iranians’ attacks on two British bases earlier this year.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I congratulate the First Secretary of State and welcome her to a very important role in government. I agree with a number of things that she said, particularly about strengthening the role of No. 10.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
When I was in government we conducted one of the largest exercises, Exercise Mighty Oak, which involved more than 4,000 people testing the effect of a power outage.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 27 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Dowden | Conservative | 21,451 | 44.7% | −20.2 |
| Josh Tapper | Labour | 13,459 | 28.0% | +6.9 |
| Darren Selkus | Reform UK | 6,584 | 13.7% | |
| Emma Matanle | Liberal Democrat | 3,710 | 7.7% | −3.2 |
| John Humphries | Green Party | 2,267 | 4.7% | +1.6 |
| Ray Bolster | Independent | 536 | 1.1% |
Result summary as published: Con hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Conservative 44.7% | Labour 28.0% | 7,992 | 65.4% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 64.9% | Labour 21.1% | 22,980 | 71.7% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Hertsmere covers wards in 2 local authority areas, listed by the number of wards in the constituency.
- Hertsmere E07000098
- Welwyn Hatfield E07000241
Who has power over Hertsmere
Every body that makes decisions for Hertsmere, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Hertsmere this page: Sir Oliver Dowden (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | mid-2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median house price | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Homes sold | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Households | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents per square kilometre | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Workers mainly working from home | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents aged 16+ who are retired | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Hertsmere?
Sir Oliver Dowden (Conservative), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Hertsmere?
The House of Commons Library records 21,451 votes for Oliver Dowden of Conservative and a majority of 7,992; 65.3% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Hertsmere?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 2,360, 3.6% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Hertsmere?
£575,000: the middle price of homes sold in the year to March 2026, published by the ONS from Land Registry records.
What is the average salary in Hertsmere?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £44,763 (April 2025).
How many children in Hertsmere live in low income families?
4,159 children under 16, 19.7%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Hertsmere?
107,865 in mid-2024, the latest ONS estimate.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.