Reigate is situated at the foot of Colley Hill and Reigate Hill on the North Downs in Surrey. It is a market town, with a long and distinguished history, which was once used as a stopover for travellers on the Pilgrims Way. The town itself is surrounded by pleasant countryside and a number of pretty rural villages, such as Brockham, Betchworth, Charlwood and Buckland. Some of the local streets have retained their historic facades to this day, but in recent years, a number of modern offices have sprung up around the station area.
The electorate has tended to vote Conservative in both general and local elections. In fact the Tories hold all the parliamentary seats in the county of Surrey.
Prior to the last election, the sitting MP, Sir George Gardiner, failed to win his party’s nomination, but stood under the banner of the Referendum party. He obtained 7% of the vote, the fourth best result for the Referendum party in Britain. Nontheless, Conservative candidate Crispin Blunt was still elected with a 7,741 vote majority.