Reading East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Matt Rodda, of the Labour Party. The seat is one of two won by a Labour candidate in 2017 from a total of eight covering its county. Rodda's 2017 win was one of 30 net gains of the Labour Party. The seat has been relative to others a semi-marginal seat and major-swing seat since 2010 as well as a swing seat as its winner's majority has not exceeded 12.9% of the vote since the 15.2% majority won in that year. The seat has changed hands once since that year.
The seat contains the University of Reading and the residential areas surrounding it. The Thames Valley Business Park is in another part of the seat, hosting multinational and cutting-edge technology companies in the software and advanced computer science areas. Adjoining the redeveloped heart of town are a handful mid-rise blocks of ex-council flats and serried ranks of former relatively philanthropic biscuit, brick and seeds manufacturing/processing workers' neat terraces towards the south-centre and east of the town, including firmly Labour-held wards. The suburban north bank of the Thames section takes in Caversham, forming four wards, whilst Earley and Woodley, adding a further three wards, make up strongly-leaning Conservative wards. Intermediate wards such as Redlands and Park have three or four-party politics and have been served by multiple Green Party and Liberal Democrat councillors. Most of the University's students live in Reading East, which is severed from the most part of Reading West by a high speed link road and the River Kennet.
Boundaries and boundary changes
1983–1997: Formed as a county constituency, largely from parts of the abolished constituency of Reading South. it also incorporated parts of the abolished borough constituency of Reading North, including Caversham. It comprised the Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Caversham, Church, Park, Peppard, Redlands, Thames, and Whitley, and the District of Wokingham wards of Arborfield, Barkham, Finchampstead, Shinfield, and Swallowfield. 1997–2010: For the 1997 general election, the constituency lost its southern areas comprising the parts of the District of Wokingham to the County Constituencies of Wokingham and Bracknell, but gained other parts of Wokingham to the east of the Reading. The boundary with Reading West was realigned, gaining Katesgrove ward and losing Whitley ward. It was redesignated as a Borough Constituency. The revised constituency comprised the Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Caversham, Church, Katesgrove, Park, Peppard, Redlands, and Thames, and the District of Wokingham wards of Bulmershe, Loddon, South Lake, and Whitegates. 2010–present: The Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Caversham, Church, Katesgrove, Mapledurham, Park, Peppard, Redlands, and Thames, and the District of Wokingham wards of Bulmershe and Whitegates, Loddon, and South Lake. Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards. Reading East is bordered by Reading West, Henley, Maidenhead, and Wokingham.
