Frequently Asked Questions — Reading East Constituency

Who won the Reading East constituency election in 2005?

Conservative gained Reading East constituency at the 5 May 2005 General Election, taking the seat from Labour. Conservative won with a majority of 475 votes (1.1%). Turnout was 60.3%.

What was the swing in Reading East at the 2005 election?

The swing in Reading East was 5.8% from LAB to CON — a significant shift towards CON. Swing is calculated using the Butler two-party formula: the average of the change in winner's vote share and the fall in the runner-up's vote share compared to the previous election here.

What does swing mean in UK elections?

Swing measures how much support has shifted between two parties compared to a previous election. The Butler swing formula — used in British election reporting since the 1950s — takes the average of the gain in the winner's vote share and the loss in the runner-up's. A 5% swing is considered large at ward level; anything above 10% is exceptional. The swing figure for Reading East in 2005 is shown in the statistics above.