Poplar and Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)

Poplar and Limehouse
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Poplar and Limehouse in Greater London.
County	Greater London
Electorate	74,919 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of parliament	Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Poplar & Canning Town, Bethnal Green & Bow
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

Poplar and Limehouse is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Jim Fitzpatrick, a member of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

History

A number of alternative names, including "Tower Hamlets South" and "Poplar and Millwall" were rejected following public consultation. The predecessors to this constituency (see history of boundaries) since 1992 have elected Labour party representatives.

Boundaries

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which proposed the seat's creation for General Election 2010 since which it has electoral wards:

• Blackwall and Cubitt Town, Bromley-by-Bow, East India and Lansbury, Limehouse, Mile End East, Millwall, St Katharine’s and Wapping, and Shadwell within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

History of boundaries

• Before 2010 this constituency covered an area almost a mirror of the old Poplar and Canning Town constituency, with new additions being the western end of Shadwell Ward and in the west the whole of St Katharine's & Wapping Ward which used to be part of Bethnal Green and Bow.
• The areas of the old constituency that were in the London Borough of Newham were removed and transferred to East Ham (5.1% of Poplar and Canning Town) and West Ham (24.9%).^[2]

Constituency profile

While the constituency and its predecessor seats covering the Isle of Dogs have consistently been won by Labour since the 1920s, the district has changed vastly over this time, and great wealth and considerable poverty now coexist side by side.

Once home to shipping and heavy industry, the Docklands area was derelict for many years, before rejuvenation began in the late 1980s. Now the area around Canary Wharf is one of the country's largest financial districts and has several landmark skyscrapers, such as One Canada Square.

The redevelopment of the Docklands has led to the creation of luxury housing in the constituency, which has altered the demographics somewhat. However, in parts of the Isle of Dogs and in the areas north, east and west of Poplar there are still areas of high deprivation.

At the end of 2012, 6% of the population of the constituency were unemployment claimants, ranking sixth among London seats (the highest percentage was Tottenham at 7.9%), and above the London-wide average of 3.9%.^[3]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[4]	Party
	2010	Jim Fitzpatrick	Labour

Election results

General Election 2015: Poplar and Limehouse[5][6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Fitzpatrick[7]	29,886	58.5	+18.6
	Conservative	Chris Wilford[7]	12,962	25.4	-1.7
	UKIP	Nicholas McQueen[7]	3,128	6.1	+4.9
	Green	Maureen Childs[7]	2,463	4.8	+3.9
	Liberal Democrat	Elaine Bagshaw[8]	2,149	4.2	-6.9
	TUSC	Hugo Pierre[7]	367	0.7	+0.7
	Red Flag Anti-Corruption	Rene Claudel Mugenzi[7]	89	0.2	+0.2
Majority			16,924	33.1	+20.2
Turnout			51,044	62.2	-0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.1

This constituency was fought for the first time at the 2010 general election.

General Election 2010: Poplar and Limehouse[9][10][11][12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Fitzpatrick*	18,679	40.0	+4.7
	Conservative	Tim Archer	12,649	27.1	+2.6
	Respect	George Galloway*	8,460	17.5	-0.7
	Liberal Democrat	Jonathan Fryer	5,209	11.2	-2.8
	UKIP	Wayne Lochner	565	1.2	+1.2
	English Democrats	Andrew Osborne	470	1.0	+1.0
	Green	Chris Smith	449	1.0	-1.7
	Independent	Kabir Mahmud	293	0.6	+0.6
	Independent	Mohammed Hoque	167	0.4	+0.4
	Independent	Jim Thornton	59	0.1	+0.1
Majority			6,030	12.9
Turnout			46,700	62.3	+12.2
	Labour win (new seat)

* Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London

Notes and references

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency 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. http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/index.html?bdy_nolon_summary.html
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)
5. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
6. http://moderngov.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=114&RPID=5713241 9Jul15
7. http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=8fb32d5a-f086-4374-ad69-239638f00240&version=-1
8. http://www.libdems.org.uk/general_election_candidates#London
9. Statement of Persons Nominated, Tower Hamlets Council
10. Poplar and Limehouse, UKPollingReport
11. ED Candidate list
12. BBC News (2010-05-07). Election 2010 | Constituency | Poplar & Limehouse. Retrieved 2010-05-07.

External links

• Tim Archer
• Jim Fitzpatrick
• Jonathan Fryer
• George Galloway
• Andrew Osborne
• Jim Thornton
• Kabir Mahmud
• Documentary on the 2010 election by Catch21

Coordinates: 51°30′N 0°01′W / 51.50°N 0.02°W