Although this constituency is called Hemel Hempstead, like many other seats named after towns, there is also a lot of surrounding countryside included within its boundaries. It lies in the west of Hertfordshire, within Dacorum Borough Council, and was one of several New Towns in the county to fall to Labour in 1997.
Hemel Hempstead itself is about 25 miles outside of central London and was designated a New Town at the end of the 1940s. A classic planned town, it has seen substantial development in the last decade: the Marlowes Centre, a covered shopping complex, was opened and then the traditional open market was totally redeveloped.
Nevertheless, there has been a settlement here for centuries: it grew as a country market town and was granted its first borough charter by Henry VIII; in addition, during the 19th Century, in Apsley, the industrial revolution in papermaking was masterminded. Today, Kodak and Dixons have their national headquarters here.