East Ham (UK Parliament constituency)

East Ham
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of East Ham in GreaterLondon.
County	Greater London
Electorate	91,531 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament	Stephen Timms (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Newham North East, Newham South
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

East Ham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in the London Borough of Newham. It was formed in 1997 when Newham North East was merged with part of Newham South.

Constituency Profile

Comprising the eastern part of the London Borough of Newham, East Ham is, as at 2010, the safest Labour seat in London and 6th safest in the country overall. Every component ward elects Labour councillors at local elections and has done more or less continually since the 1970s, and the only significant opposition in recent years has come from far-left fringe parties.

The constituency takes in several run-down working class areas, including Beckton, Silvertown and East Ham itself. London City Airport is within the seat, as are the former Royal Docks where modern luxury housing is springing up, though not yet sufficiently to change the overall character of the seat. Confusingly, West Ham United FC's ground is also located (just) within the East Ham seat.

Around two thirds of the seat are non-white, and more than 40% of the population are immigrants to the UK.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the eastern half of Newham, including East Ham, Beckton, Little Ilford and Manor Park.

It comprises ten wards: Beckton, Boleyn, East Ham Central, East Ham North, East Ham South, Green Street East, Little Ilford, Manor Park, Royal Docks and Wall End.

History

East Ham is generally considered a safe Labour seat; Labour's Ron Leighton was MP for the old Newham North East from 1979 until his death in 1994, Stephen Timms has represented the seat since. The constituency has the largest proportion of non-white people in the UK; there is a significant Asian population, many of whom are Muslims. As a result the RESPECT Coalition targeted it for the 2005 election, hoping to benefit from opposition to the Iraq war, and taking second place. In 2010, Stephen Timms received the most individual votes of any MP (35,471), and has the largest majority (27,826) of any MP in the current parliament.

Member of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Stephen Timms	Labour

Election results

2010 Elections

General Election 2010: East Ham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	35,471	70.4	+16.8
	Conservative	Paul Shea	7,645	15.2	+1.4
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Brice	5,849	11.6	+0.8
	English Democrats	Barry O'Connor	822	1.6	+1.6
	Green	Judy Maciejowska	586	1.2	+1.2
Majority			27,826	55.2	+22
Turnout			50,373	55.6	+8.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.7

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

2005 Elections

General Election 2005: East Ham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	21,326	53.9	-19.2
	Respect	Abdul Khaliq Mian	8,171	20.7	N/A
	Conservative	Sarah Macken	5,196	13.1	+3.9
	Liberal Democrat	Ann Haigh	4,296	10.9	+3.9
	Christian Peoples	David Bamber	580	1.5	N/A
Majority			13,155	33.2	-23.2
Turnout			39.569	50.7	-1.6
	Labour hold		Swing

2001 Elections

General Election 2001: East Ham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	27,241	73.1
	Conservative	Peter Campbell	6,209	16.7
	Liberal Democrat	Bridget Fox	2,600	7.0
	Socialist Labour	Roderick Finlayson	783	2.1
	UKIP	Johinda Pandhal	444	1.2
Majority			21,032	56.4
Turnout				52.3
	Labour hold		Swing

1997 Election

General Election 1997: East Ham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	25,779	64.6	N/A
	Conservative	Angela Bray	6,421	16.1	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Imran Khan	2,697	6.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Mike Sole	2,599	6.5	N/A
	BNP	Colin Smith	1,258	3.2	N/A
	Referendum Party	J. McCann	845	2.1	N/A
	National Democrats	Graham Hardy	290	0.7	N/A
Majority			19,358		N/A
Turnout				60.8	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London