The
House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 set up Boundaries Commissions to carry out periodic reviews of the distribution of parliamentary constituencies. It also authorised an initial review to subdivide abnormally large constituencies (those exceeding an electorate of 100,000) in time for the
1945 election.[1] This was implemented by the Redistribution of Seats Order 1945 under which Hertfordshire was allocated an additional seat. As a consequence, the new County Constituency of Barnet was formed from the
St Albans constituency, comprising the Urban Districts of
Barnet and
East Barnet, and the
Rural District of Elstree.[2]
In 1965 the Barnet and East Barnet urban districts were transferred to
Greater London, becoming part of the
London Borough of Barnet, while Elstree Rural District remained part of Hertfordshire. This did not affect parliamentary boundaries for nine years, however.
When seats were next redistributed, with effect from the
February 1974 general election, the Greater London parts of the old constituency moved to the new Borough Constituency of
Chipping Barnet. The Elstree Rural District was transferred to the new County Constituency of
South Hertfordshire.[3]