The seat comprises the two eponymous towns, with modest hills surrounding them, in the upper valley of the River Avon. The towns of Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa are still distinct, however, and form, in the modern seat, a urban area. Both towns are relatively affluent, although there are pockets of deprivation in Leamington. Warwick, with its historic castle, is an internationally advertised tourist destination, while Leamington's economy is more dependent on storage, distribution, manufacturing, processing, engineering and industry. Leamington is also more ethnically diverse and is home to some students of the University of Warwick that lies close to Coventry. Unemployment claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.2% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.
Boundaries
2010–present: The District of Warwick wards of Bishop's Tachbrook, Brunswick, Budbrooke, Clarendon, Crown, Manor, Milverton, Warwick North, Warwick South, Warwick West, Whitnash, and Willes. The 2010 boundary changes reduced the constituency's area by removing outlying villages, reflecting population and housing growth. 1997–2010: The District of Warwick wards of Bishop's Tachbrook, Brunswick, Budbrooke, Clarendon, Crown, Cubbington, Lapworth, Leek Wootton, Manor, Milverton, Radford Semele, Warwick North, Warwick South, Warwick West, Whitnash, and Willes, and the District of Stratford-on-Avon wards of Henley, Tanworth, and Tanworth Earlswood. 1983–1997: The District of Warwick wards of Bishop's Tachbrook, Brunswick, Budbrooke, Clarendon, Crown, Cubbington, Lapworth, Leek Wootton, Manor, Milverton, Radford Semele, Warwick North, Warwick South, Warwick West, Whitnash, and Willes. 1974–1983: As 1950 but with redrawn boundaries. 1950–1974: The Boroughs of Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa, the Urban District of Kenilworth, and the Rural District of Warwick. 1918–1950: The Boroughs of Warwick, Royal Leamington Spa, and Stratford-on-Avon, the Urban District of Kenilworth, the Rural Districts of Warwick and Alcester, and parts of the Rural Districts of Stratford-on-Avon and Brailes.
History
The constituency was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, partially replacing the earlier and ancient Warwick constituency which until that year had sent two MPs to Westminster. ;Political history Represented by Conservatives from 1910–1997, the seat was for much of this time a safe seat, seeing frequent majorities of more than 10,000 votes, and the seat was uncontested in both 1918 and 1922. The seat had not been expected to change hands in the 1997 general election: as such James Plaskitt's defeat of Dudley Smith was a Portillo moment, without the decapitation of a government frontbencher. Plaskitt increased his majority in the 2001 election, but on a lower turnout. In the 2005 election, Warwick and Leamington was 85th on the Conservative list of target seats, meaning that to gain it they would have required a somewhat greater swing than was seen nationally. With a greater swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats, Plaskitt narrowly held the seat with a majority slashed from nearly 6,000 votes to only 266. However, minor boundary changes in Labour's favour took effect at the 2010 general election and the winner was variously predicted. In the event the seat was gained by a Conservative, Chris White, with a majority of 7% of the vote. On this occasion the Conservative Party was the main beneficiary from swings away from the Labour Party and the Green Party. White held the seat in 2015 with an increased majority of 6,606. Labour's Matthew Western won the seat from the Conservatives on a swing of 7.6% in the 2017 election, overturning a 6,606 vote lead. This made Matt Western just the second Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington in the seat's history. In 2019, Western held the seat with a slightly reduced majority. ;Prominent members From 1923 until 1957 the seat was represented by Anthony Eden, who was Prime Minister from 1955-57. In part of the early 1920s, the Solicitor General for England and Wales, then Attorney General for England and Wales represented the seat, Sir Ernest Pollock – Eden's successor was also in these senior positions, Sir John Hobson, in the part of early 1960s.
General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
