The constituency covers the south western quarter of the presently constituted county of Oxfordshire, between Oxford and Swindon. The main towns are Didcot and Wallingford from the South Oxfordshire district and Faringdon and Wantage from the Vale of White Horse.
Robert Jackson has held Wantage for the Tories since its creation in 1983.
The town's buildings are mostly 17th and 18th century with narrow cobbled streets and passages. Wantage lies at the foot of the Downs and there are numerous racing stables in surrounding villages. Nearby is the historic, probably pre-Roman, Ridgeway track running from Ashbury to Streatley on the Thames.
Wantage is in the heart of an area full of high technology companies, including AEA Technology, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Culham Laboratory, Esso Research Centre and the Williams Motor Racing Centre.
The Oxford Transport Strategy is said to have had significant repercussions on the people of Wantage, reportedly causing delays and difficulties for those living in Wantage to enter Oxford.