Liberal Democrat candidate Edward Davey by the very narrow margin of 56 votes. In the 2011 referendum on whether the UK should adopt the Alternative Vote (AV) system, the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, which covers most of the constituency, voted against the proposal by 60.5%. Davey held on to the seat until the general election of 2015, when he was defeated by the Conservative James Berry during the national Liberal Democrat vote collapse. The 2015 result gave the seat the 26th most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority. In the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, the borough voted to remain in the European Union by 61.6%. Davey, now knighted, regained the seat for the Liberal Democrats in the 2017 general election with the eighth largest vote share increase for the party nationally. The local council, which covers most of the constituency, alternates between Liberal Democrat majority control (1994–1998 and 2002–2014) and no overall control (1986–1994 and 1998–2002). However, in 2014, it became a Conservative-majority council; the last Conservative administration was between 1964 and 1986. Traditionally, the southern wards vote for the Liberal Democrats, whereas the north and north-eastern wards vote for the Conservatives, with some Labour representation in the Norbiton ward. In all seven elections since its establishment, Kingston and Surbiton has voted for a candidate from the same party as the neighbouring constituency of Twickenham, which was established at the same time. Both seats have seen one Conservative win and six Liberal Democrat wins. Profile The seat is a majority middle-class suburbia, much like its neighbouring constituencies of Wimbledon, Richmond Park and Twickenham. The area has a long-established large urban kernel in Kingston town centre, where waves of public initiatives and spending have overhauled much of the area's cohort of ex-council housing and social housing. This is similar to the proportion of such housing stock in the London Boroughs of Merton and Sutton adjoining. The highly commercial town with ancient-founded markets and a public riverside by the River Thames has enjoyed continued economic diversity and prosperity and saw in 2007 a total retail spend of £23.71 billion, placing it 12th among UK towns and cities. Members of Parliament Elections Elections in the 2010s Elections in the 2000s Elections in the 1990s See also List of parliamentary constituencies in London Notes References External links Politics Resources (Election