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Parliamentary constituency

Reading Central

Current MP, latest election result, geographic context and official constituency information.

At a glance

Current MP
Matt Rodda
Party
Labour
Latest election
4 July 2024
Electorate
73,600
Turnout
61.5%
Majority
12,637

Where is Reading Central?

The map shows this constituency alongside neighbouring parliamentary constituencies for geographic context.

Reading Central Earley and Woodley Wokingham Henley and Thame North East Hampshire Wycombe Reading West and Mid Berkshire Bracknell Maidenhead Surrey Heath Didcot and Wantage Beaconsfield Newbury England
Reading Central

Boundary data: ONS Open Geography Portal.

Local context

About this constituency

Reading Central is a constituency in the South East region of England. The seat has been held by Matt Rodda (Labour) since July 2024.

Current MP

Matt Rodda MP

Labour

Represents Reading Central in the House of Commons.

Latest election

2024 General Election

Held on 4 July 2024

Winning party
Labour
Majority
12,637
Turnout
61.5%
Full candidate result (7 candidates)
CandidatePartyVotesShareChange
Matt RoddaElectedLabour21,59847.7%-4.9%
Raj SinghConservative8,96119.8%-16.6%
Dave McElroyGreen Party6,41714.2%11.1%
Henry WrightLiberal Democrat3,9638.8%2.4%
Andrew WilliamsReform UK3,9048.6%7.5%
Michael TurbervilleIndependent2270.5%
Adam GillmanTrade Unionist and Socialist Coalition2210.5%

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 Reading Central, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.

Estimated population122,660
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationSouth East

Age profile

0 to 1720.3% · 24,959 people
18 to 2411.7% · 14,400 people
25 to 3418.4% · 22,617 people
35 to 4923.1% · 28,309 people
50 to 6415.0% · 18,456 people
65 and over11.3% · 13,919 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.

46,387 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners48.1% · 22,320 households
Private renters37.3% · 17,283 households
Social renters13.3% · 6,153 households
Other tenure1.4% · 631 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.

46,385 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households29.8% · 13,832 households
Families with dependent children28.9% · 13,395 households
Other single-family households30.7% · 14,235 households
Other household types10.6% · 4,923 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.

116,335 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: England & Wales
Day-to-day activities limited a lot4.6% · 5,308 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little8.4% · 9,734 people
Not disabled under the Equality Act87.1% · 101,293 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 ↗

Petitions

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 12 September 2026

Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership

Signatures in this constituency443
Signatures nationally244,689

Government response published · Debate scheduled for 29 June 2026

Open petitionCloses 1 October 2026

Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership

Signatures in this constituency400
Signatures nationally196,369

Government response published · Debate scheduled for 14 September 2026

Open petitionCloses 20 November 2026

Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks

Signatures in this constituency275
Signatures nationally118,715

Government response published · 100,000-signature debate threshold reached

Open petitionCloses 6 September 2026

Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office

Signatures in this constituency187
Signatures nationally206,593

Government response published · Debate scheduled for 6 July 2026

Open petitionCloses 24 September 2026

Legislate to ban FPNs and prosecutions related to school attendance

Signatures in this constituency148
Signatures nationally129,565

Government response published · 100,000-signature debate threshold reached

View 74 more petitions
Open petitionCloses 17 October 2026

Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills

Signatures in this constituency143
Signatures nationally110,856

Government response published · Debate scheduled for 6 July 2026

Open petitionCloses 21 October 2026

Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases

Signatures in this constituency104
Signatures nationally105,312

Government response published · Debate scheduled for 19 October 2026

Open petitionCloses 10 October 2026

Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth

Signatures in this constituency86
Signatures nationally112,993

Government response published · Debate scheduled for 7 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 recorded83
Total awarded£6,282,339

Most recent awards

National Lottery grantAwarded 22 June 2026

Sustaining the environment and our community

Green Ways

£19,800

The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment

About this award

Green Ways - Environment - National Lottery Awards for All England

National Lottery grantAwarded 18 June 2026

Developing Strategy and Expanding Outputs at The Engine Shed

The Engine Shed

£19,935

The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment

About this award

The Engine Shed - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England

National Lottery grantAwarded 9 June 2026

Extension 2027-28: CultureMix Arts Ltd

Culturemix Arts

£177,806

Arts Council England · Arts

About this award

Extension 2027-28: CultureMix Arts Ltd - Music - NPO 2023-26

National Lottery grantAwarded 9 June 2026

Extension 2027-28: Readipop

Readipop

£121,260

Arts Council England · Arts

About this award

Extension 2027-28: Readipop - Music - NPO 2023-26

National Lottery grantAwarded 9 June 2026

Extension 2027-28: Museum of English Rural Life

University of Reading

£324,871

Arts Council England · Arts

About this award

Extension 2027-28: Museum of English Rural Life - Museums - NPO 2023-26

78 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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