Harpenden and Berkhamsted crosses parts of Hertfordshire and is centred on the two commuter towns in its name. Harpenden lies north of St Albans, while Berkhamsted sits farther west in the Bulbourne valley near the Chiltern Hills. The constituency also contains villages and smaller communities between and around the two towns. Both centres have strong rail connections to London, but substantial green-belt land, farmland and woodland separate much of the settlement pattern. The Grand Union Canal and railway corridor are prominent around Berkhamsted, while Harpenden has a more open suburban setting. Overall, the seat combines two distinct towns with a significant rural and village hinterland.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population96,779
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationEast of England
Age profile
0 to 1723.9% · 23,107 people
18 to 245.2% · 5,041 people
25 to 348.3% · 8,077 people
35 to 4920.4% · 19,776 people
50 to 6421.5% · 20,793 people
65 and over20.7% · 19,985 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
38,513 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners75.3% · 29,017 households
Private renters12.9% · 4,980 households
Social renters11.2% · 4,327 households
Other tenure0.5% · 189 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
38,512 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households26.6% · 10,230 households
Families with dependent children33.4% · 12,848 households
Other single-family households37.7% · 14,508 households
Other household types2.4% · 926 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
95,141 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: England & Wales
Day-to-day activities limited a lot4.4% · 4,171 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little8.4% · 8,022 people
Not disabled under the Equality Act87.2% · 82,948 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
This constituency in Parliament
A high-confidence subset of current-session parliamentary records from this constituency's current MP where the full constituency name is stated explicitly in the written question, debate title or recorded section.
This is not a complete record of every local issue raised in Parliament. Project Open Gov does not currently infer a constituency connection from the MP relationship alone, speech text, nearby place names or other local entities.
Written question24 June 2026
Heating: Housing
Raised by Victoria Collins MP
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to upgrade homes to make them cheaper to heat in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department have taken to improve NHS urgent referral delays to ensure that cancer patients do not have to wait more than 62 days to start treatment in Harpenden…
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce inequalities in health outcomes in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency,
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of PE funding in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to address the recruitment and retention of teachers in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department is taking to support young people not in education employment or training, in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funding and support for unpaid carers in Harpenden and Berkhamsted to enable them to remain in employment and/or education.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the cost of energy bills in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of women waiting for NHS treatment in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce inequalities in health outcomes in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the announcement on 26 May 2026 of the cancellation of later-stage Project Gigabit contracts, what steps she is taking to prevent rural and hard-to-reach communities f
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the announcement of the cancellation of later-stage Project Gigabit contracts on 26 May 2026, when improved broadband access will be delivered in Harpenden and Berkham
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage early diagnosis of bowel cancer in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, following the announcement on 26 May 2026 regarding the cancellation of later-stage Project Gigabit contracts, how many premises in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency will no longer
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to support unpaid carers of family members living with dementia in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency; and what recent assessment he has made of the…
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether the NHS target of treating 85% of cancer patients within 62 days is being met in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his department has made of the impact of the Iran War on heating oil costs for houses and businesses in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made on the ability of Local Authorities to effectively halt unauthorised planning developments in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to encourage small businesses to offer apprenticeships for young people in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 1 October 2026
Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership
Signatures in this constituency420
Signatures nationally196,369
Government response published · Debate scheduled for 14 September 2026
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded28
Total awarded£1,493,258
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 10 June 2026
CF - Solar Panels - Clubhouse
Berkhamsted Bowls Club
£9,000
Sport England · Sport
About this award
This project will install high-efficiency solar panels to reduce the organisations carbon footprint and redirect energy costs back into the club.
National Lottery grantAwarded 14 May 2026
Wigginton Poors Allotments Charity
Wigginton Poors Allotments Charity
£8,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Wigginton Poors Allotments Charity - Environment - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 7 May 2026
Parish Hall Energy Efficiency Upgrades
Corpus Christi RC Church Tring
£20,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Corpus Christi RC Church Tring - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 24 April 2026
Well-being in Nature
TheRainbow CIC
£16,920
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
TheRainbow CIC - Children & Young People - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 22 April 2026
A Foodbank Plus service for St Albans District
St Albans and District Foodbank
£412,545
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
St Albans and District Foodbank - Health & Wellbeing - RC London and South East Region
23 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
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