East Ham (UK Parliament constituency)

East Ham is a constituency in the London Borough of Newham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its creation in 1997 by Stephen Timms of the Labour Party.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the seat was subject to boundary changes, with the Beckton and Royal Docks wards being transferred from East Ham to West Ham and Beckton.

History

Predecessor seats and constituent wards

The seat was formed in 1997 when Newham North East and part of Newham South were replaced by the seat.

East Ham's wards have long been Labour strongholds. Ron Leighton (Lab) was MP for the old Newham North East from 1979 until his death in 1994.

Summary of results

Stephen Timms (Lab) has represented the seat since its creation in 1997. At the 2010 general election, Timms received the most votes of any MP (35,471) and largest majority (27,826) of any MP. The seat has the second-highest numerical majority and fourth-highest percentage of majority in the country, behind other staunch Labour "safe seats" in Merseyside. Every component ward has only Labour councillors (resulting from local elections) and the party's general election candidate has achieved an absolute majority in the five elections since creation, against a wide assortment of political parties.

The RESPECT Coalition stood a candidate once, hoping to benefit from opposition to the Iraq war in the 2005 general election which saw elsewhere their first MP, and took second place.

Constituency profile

Just north of the River Thames is the seat of East Ham. The constituency contains the King George V and the Royal Albert Docks, and London City Airport.

The area benefits from the Thames Gateway regeneration of the London Riverside area. The Silvertown Quays redevelopment will create an innovative quarter and an estimated 21,000 jobs.

Three quarters of the population are non-white; over a third are Muslim and more than half are Asian - the fourth highest proportion of any constituency in England and Wales, according to ONS 2011 Census figures. There is also a large black population.

Unemployment is significantly higher than the national average of 3.5%. In the constituency 9.9% of people are unemployed.

At the 2018, 2014 and 2010 council elections, Labour won all of the seats in the constituency. One of the safest Labour seats in the country, Stephen Timms has been MP since 1994.

The population of Newham has grown significantly in the 21st century so its represention increased from two seats to three in the 2023 boundary review. This reduced the area covered by the East Ham seat.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Newham wards of Castle, Central, Greatfield, Kensington, Little Ilford, Manor Park, Monega, St Stephen's, South, and Wall End.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Newham wards of Beckton, Boleyn, East Ham Central, East Ham North, East Ham South, Green Street East, Little Ilford, Manor Park, Royal Docks, and Wall End.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward boundaries in place on 1 December 2020, the Beckton and Royal Docks wards were transferred to West Ham and Beckton in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range.

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Newham from the 2024 general election:

• Boleyn; East Ham; East Ham South, Green Street East; Little Ilford; Manor Park; Plashet; Wall End; and small parts of Forest Gate South and Plaistow North.

The constituency covers north-eastern parts of Newham, including East Ham, Little Ilford, Manor Park and Plashet.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

This was the largest numerical majority of any seat in the 2010 general election.

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

References

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• East Ham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• East Ham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK