Two of the Three Rivers wards, Carpenders Park and Oxhey Hall, are to the south of Watford town and include mostly prosperous, elevated, commuter villages.

The remaining three, Abbots Langley, Langleybury and Leavesden, are to the north of Watford, the first of which is a large village, and is mixed in character and levels of income.

The borough is also the UK base of many multinationals including C. H. Robinson, Total Oil, TK Maxx, Costco, Vinci and Beko appliances.

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 3.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

Upon this act, it took up the western division of the county; however, later seats such as South West Hertfordshire, established in 1950, have reduced its reach, as settlements in those areas, and Watford itself, have grown.

Watford saw considerable Liberal Democrat opposition in 2005, achieving second place, taking many Labour votes with the Conservative candidate close behind.

[22][23] The public selected his former campaign manager Ian Oakley, who had been a candidate for Newport East in 2001 in the first Open Primary to be organised by the Conservative Party in November 2006.

In July 2008, Oakley, withdrew candidature after being arrested for conducting a campaign of harassment against the local Liberal Democrats,[24][25] for which he was convicted and given an 18-week suspended prison sentence and 12-month supervision order on 13 October 2008.