Erith and Thamesmead (UK Parliament constituency)

Erith and Thamesmead
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of Erith and Thamesmead in Greater London.
County Greater London
Electorate 69,718 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Teresa Pearce (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Woolwich and Erith & Crayford
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency London

Erith and Thamesmead /ˈɪərᵻθ ənd tɛmzmiːd/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Teresa Pearce of the Labour Party (UK). It covers the areas of Erith and Thamesmead in the southeast of Outer London by the River Thames near the border of Greater London and Kent.[n 1] It has been a safe seat for Labour since 1997.

History

It was created for the 1997 general election from parts of the old Woolwich and Erith and Crayford constituencies.

John Austin was the MP for this constituency from its creation for the 1997 general election until he stepped down at the 2010 election. The seat was then held for Labour by a local activist Teresa Pearce, who defeated the Conservatives candidate Colin Bloom, a councillor for Bickley Ward in Bromley. This was also the constituency in the 2010 General Election which, when declared, saw a hung parliament result confirmed. Pearce increased her majority in the 2015 General Election.

2010 Labour selection controversy

In April 2009, an investigation took place into the tampering of ballot boxes and abuse of the postal vote system used for the selection of the prospective Labour candidate for Erith and Thamesmead. A rerun of the candidate selection ballot resulted in victory for Teresa Pearce.[2]

Boundaries

1997-2010: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Eynsham, Glyndon, Lakedale, St Nicholas, and Thamesmead Moorings.

2010-present: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Lesnes Abbey, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead, and Thamesmead Moorings.

The cross-border constituency of Erith and Thamesmead currently stretches from Plumstead, and Abbey Wood in the west, to Lesnes Heath, and Erith in the east. The Conservatives' strongest wards are in the Bexley part of the seat, in particular Northumberland Heath Ward. The remaining wards from Bexley and Greenwich have traditionally seen more support for the Labour Party, in both local and national elections.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that parts of Glyndon ward and Colyers ward be transferred from Erith and Thamesmead to the constituencies of Greenwich and Woolwich and Bexleyheath and Crayford respectively; that part of Plumstead ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Eltham; and that parts of Lesnes Abbey ward, Nothumberland Heath ward and Erith ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Bexleyheath and Crayford.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[3] Party
1997 John Austin Labour
2010 Teresa Pearce Labour

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Erith and Thamesmead[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Teresa Pearce 21,209 49.8 +4.9
Conservative Anna Firth 11,684 27.4 −4.0
UKIP Ronie Johnson 7,368 17.3 +14.6
Liberal Democrat Simon Waddington 972 2.3 −9.8
Green Ann Garrett 941 2.2 +1.4
Christian Peoples Sidney Cordle 255 0.6 −0.3
English Democrats Graham Moore 188 0.4 −0.7
Majority 9,525 22.4 +9
Turnout 42,617 60.5 +0.3
Labour hold Swing +4.4
General Election 2010: Erith and Thamesmead[6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Teresa Pearce 19,068 44.9 −7.7
Conservative Colin Bloom 13,365 31.5 +5.0
Liberal Democrat Alex Cunliffe 5,116 12.0 −0.8
BNP Kevin Saunders 2,184 5.1 +0.9
UKIP Pamela Perrin 1,139 2.7 −1.1
English Democrats Laurence Williams 465 1.1 N/A
Independent Abbey Akinoshun 438 1.0 N/A
Christian Peoples Sidney Cordle 379 0.9 N/A
Green Marek Powley 322 0.8 N/A
Majority 5,703 13.4 −17.1
Turnout 42,476 60.8 +7.1
Labour hold Swing −6.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Erith and Thamesmead[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Austin 20,483 54.4 −4.9
Conservative Chris R. Bromby 8,983 23.9 −1.9
Liberal Democrat Steven T. Toole 5,088 13.5 +2.1
BNP Brian Ravenscroft 1,620 4.3 N/A
UKIP Barrie R. Thomas 1,477 3.9 N/A
Majority 11,500 30.5 −2.0
Turnout 37,651 52.3 +2.1
Labour hold Swing −7.7
General Election 2001: Erith and Thamesmead[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Eric Austin 19,769 59.3 −2.8
Conservative Mark James Brooks 8,602 25.8 +5.6
Liberal Democrat Barry James Kempton 3,800 11.4 −0.6
Socialist Labour Hardev Singh Dhillon 1,180 3.5 N/A
Majority 11,167 33.5
Turnout 33,351 50.2 -15.3
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Erith and Thamesmead[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Eric Austin 25,812 62.1 N/A
Conservative Nadhim Zahawi 8,388 20.2 N/A
Liberal Democrat Alex H.C. Grigg 5,001 12.0 N/A
Referendum John E. Flunder 1,394 3.4 N/A
BNP Victor J. Dooley 718 1.7 N/A
UKIP M.L. Jackson 274 0.7 N/A
Majority 17,424 41.9 N/A
Turnout 41,587 65.6 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

See also

Notes

Notes
  1. ↑ As with all constituencies, Erith and Thamesmead elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
  1. ↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Kite, Melissa (18 April 2009). "Labour ballot box tampering row deepens - Telegraph". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  3. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)
  4. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  5. ↑ http://democracy.bexley.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=93&RPID=9646333 9Jul15
  6. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. ↑ http://www.bexley.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=6479&p=0
  8. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Coordinates: 51°29′38″N 0°07′55″E / 51.494°N 0.132°E / 51.494; 0.132

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, January 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.