Reading West and Mid Berkshire: MP, 2024 result and local figures
The MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire is Olivia Bailey (Labour), returned on 4 July 2024. Olivia Bailey took the seat for Labour in July 2024 with 16,273 votes (35.0%), ahead of Ross Mackinnon (Conservative) on 14,912. 46,551 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 68,781, 67.7% of those registered. The majority was 1,361.
Key figures
What the figures show
Median annual pay for full-time work was £40,564 for jobs in Reading West and Mid Berkshire and £45,759 for its residents (April 2025, ASHE). In April 2024 the residents' figure was £44,163. The residents' figure ranks 85th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 97,093; the estimate for 2014 was 93,392. Children under 16 numbered 18,968; people aged 65 and over, 19,165.
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £410,000 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £317,725. The highest March-year median in the series was £415,000, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 127th highest of 575 constituencies. 1,032 sales were registered in the period, against 1,331 in the year to March 2025.
Survey estimates for April 2025 to March 2026 have 80.3% of working-age residents in employment, within a margin of 5.6 points. 17.2% were economically inactive.
Census 2021: 37,931 households, 303.6 people per square kilometre, 40.4% of workers based at home, 22.0% of adults retired.
3,608 children in Reading West and Mid Berkshire were in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, the Department for Work and Pensions estimates: 19.0% of under-16s, where the UK share is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 10.5% in 2021/22 to 11.4% in 2024/25.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 1,670 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 2.8%. September 2025 had 1,715.
Workplaces in Reading West and Mid Berkshire accounted for 54,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 4,570 local units for March 2026.
MP
Olivia Bailey, Labour
- MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Olivia Bailey on this site
In Parliament
What Olivia Bailey said most recently in Parliament, word for word from Hansard (from 1 September 2026 to 22 October 2026). Hansard search returns 267 spoken contributions by Olivia Bailey since 4 July 2024.
It has been a real privilege to listen to so many powerful speeches this afternoon. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) reminded us to ask the question, “Have you done your part?” and told us never to be afraid to make noise, which are really important points.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for securing this debate.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
T2. My constituency is packed full of beautiful rural villages, but house prices are through the roof, and social housing stock is being sold off by housing associations such as the Sovereign Network Group. That is forcing my constituents out of the places where they grew up.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank my hon. and learned Friend for making an excellent speech, which I agree with wholeheartedly. Before he finishes, does he agree that it is also important for us to reflect on the intersectional nature of hate crime?
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank my right hon. Friend for the statement, which will be welcomed by my constituents after a period of great anxiety, and I also thank him for his engagement with me over the summer.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivia Bailey | Labour | 16,273 | 35.0% | +12.1 |
| Ross Mackinnon | Conservative | 14,912 | 32.0% | −24.8 |
| Kathrin Bosley | Reform UK | 6,260 | 13.4% | |
| Helen Belcher | Liberal Democrat | 5,103 | 11.0% | −5.9 |
| Carolyne Culver | Green Party | 3,169 | 6.8% | +3.4 |
| Adrian Abbs | Independent | 562 | 1.2% | |
| Adie Peppiatt | Independent | 272 | 0.6% |
Result summary as published: Lab gain from Con. 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 | Labour 35.0% | Conservative 32.0% | 1,361 | 67.7% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 56.8% | Labour 22.9% | 16,758 | 70.6% |
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
Reading West and Mid Berkshire covers wards in 2 local authority areas, listed by the number of wards in the constituency.
- West Berkshire E06000037
- Reading E06000038
Who has power over Reading West and Mid Berkshire
Every body that makes decisions for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, 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
- Reading West and Mid Berkshire this page: Olivia Bailey (Labour) 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 Reading West and Mid Berkshire?
Olivia Bailey (Labour), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Reading West and Mid Berkshire?
The House of Commons Library records 16,273 votes for Olivia Bailey of Labour and a majority of 1,361; 67.7% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Reading West and Mid Berkshire?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 1,670, 2.8% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Reading West and Mid Berkshire?
£410,000: 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 Reading West and Mid Berkshire?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £45,759 (April 2025).
How many children in Reading West and Mid Berkshire live in low income families?
3,608 children under 16, 19.0%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Reading West and Mid Berkshire?
97,093 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.