Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
Hornchurch | |
---|---|
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundary of Hornchurch in Greater London for the 2005 general election | |
County | Greater London |
1945–2010 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Romford |
Replaced by | Hornchurch and Upminster, Dagenham and Rainham |
Hornchurch was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. At the 2010 general election parts formed the new seats of Hornchurch and Upminster; and Dagenham and Rainham.
Boundaries
1945–1974: The Urban District of Hornchurch.
1974–1983: The London Borough of Havering wards of Elm Park, Hacton, Hylands, Rainham, St Andrew's, and South Hornchurch.
1983–2010: The London Borough of Havering wards of Airfield, Elm Park, Hacton, Hylands, Rainham, St Andrew's, and South Hornchurch.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Hornchurch1945.png/300px-Hornchurch1945.png)
The seat encompassed Hornchurch, Rainham, Elm Park and the village of Wennington. It bordered on the other London constituencies of Romford and Upminster and like them, was part of the London Borough of Havering.
History
The south of the constituency has been seen as a site for building large entertainment centres on Rainham's large marshland area, and was viewed as a potential site for the European Disneyland project, although it was considered much less suitable than the current position near Paris. There have been plans to build a casino but permission is yet to be granted.
Hornchurch is a predominantly suburban and Conservative-voting area, but the seat is seen as a swing seat due to Rainham and Elm Park's working class voters and because the wealthiest Emerson Park area of Hornchurch does not form part of the constituency, instead forming part of Upminster constituency.
The Conservative Robin Squire was elected to Parliament as the member for Hornchurch on 3 May 1979, in one of the most surprising results of that election. Labour-held Hornchurch had not been a marginal seat and Squire had not expected to win it. However, he gained the seat from Alan Lee Williams with a majority of just 769 on a "freak" swing of 8.5% to his party. During the Thatcher years (1979 to 1990) Squire was considered to be a prominent "wet", opposed to the Conservative government's economic and employment policies. After Mrs Thatcher left office in 1990, Squire's political position strengthened and he held junior ministerial posts until the fall of the Major government in 1997. Squire was defending a majority of 9,165 - his personal popularity plus his prominence as a Minister led him to believe that he would hold the seat, but he lost to Labour's John Cryer with a 16% swing and a Labour majority of 5,680. Squire stood against Cryer again in the 2001 general election but was again defeated by a significant majority.
The constituency was abolished for the 2010 election. The areas of the constituency covered by the Elm Park, South Hornchurch, and Rainham and Wennington wards in the London Borough of Havering were merged with Dagenham to form a cross-borough Dagenham and Rainham constituency. Hacton and St Andrews wards in Hornchurch merged with Upminster to form Hornchurch and Upminster. Hylands ward in Hornchurch merged with Romford. Prior to the change in boundaries the new seats were predicted to be marginal Labour and safe Conservative respectively if they followed the voting patterns of the previous Dagenham, Upminster and Romford constituencies.[1]
Members of Parliament
Election | Member [2] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1945 | Geoffrey Bing | Labour |
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1955 | Godfrey Lagden | Conservative |
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1966 | Alan Lee Williams | Labour |
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1970 | John Loveridge | Conservative |
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Feb 1974 | Alan Lee Williams | Labour |
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1979 | Robin Squire | Conservative |
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1997 | John Cryer | Labour |
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 2005 | James Brokenshire | Conservative |
2010 | constituency abolished: see Hornchurch and Upminster, Dagenham and Rainham & Romford |
Elections
Elections in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Geoffrey Bing | 26,856 | 56.0 | N/A | |
Conservative | John Theadore de Horne Vaizey | 15,100 | 31.5 | N/A | |
Liberal | Norman Clarke Jones | 5,807 | 12.1 | N/A | |
Independent | Violet Van der Elst | 232 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,756 | 24.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 47,995 | 72.3 | N/A | ||
Labour win (new seat) |
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Geoffrey Bing | 28,463 | 46.1 | −9.9 | |
Conservative | James Wentworth−Day | 26,696 | 43.2 | +11.7 | |
Liberal | Nancy Seear | 6,653 | 10.8 | −1.3 | |
Majority | 1,767 | 2.9 | −21.6 | ||
Turnout | 61,812 | 85.7 | +13.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −10.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Geoffrey Bing | 30,101 | 47.4 | +1.3 | |
Conservative | James Wentworth−Day | 28,976 | 45.6 | +2.4 | |
Liberal | Nancy Seear | 4,771 | 7.0 | −3.8 | |
Majority | 1,125 | 1.8 | −1.1 | ||
Turnout | 63,848 | 86.3 | +0.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −0.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Lagden | 29,205 | 46.2 | +0.6 | |
Labour | Geoffrey Bing | 27,833 | 44.1 | −3.3 | |
Liberal | Donald S. Paterson | 6,117 | 9.7 | +2.7 | |
Majority | 1,372 | 2.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 63,155 | 82.0 | −4.3 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +2.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Lagden | 34,852 | 47.5 | +1.3 | |
Labour | Jo Richardson | 27,530 | 37.5 | −6.6 | |
Liberal | Lyndon H. Jones | 11,056 | 15.1 | +5.4 | |
Majority | 7,322 | 10.0 | +7.8 | ||
Turnout | 73,438 | 83.9 | +1.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.0 |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Lagden | 30,933 | 41.6 | −5.9 | |
Labour | Trevor Williams | 30,699 | 41.3 | +3.8 | |
Liberal | Ralph Taylor | 12,725 | 17.1 | +2.0 | |
Majority | 234 | 0.3 | −9.7 | ||
Turnout | 74,357 | 81.9 | −2.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −4.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alan Lee Williams | 38,406 | 52.1 | +10.8 | |
Conservative | Godfrey Lagden | 35,373 | 47.9 | +6.3 | |
Majority | 3,033 | 4.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 73,779 | 81.1 | −0.8 | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.3 |
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Loveridge | 36,124 | 49.7 | +1.8 | |
Labour | Alan Lee Williams | 30,294 | 41.7 | −10.4 | |
Liberal | Bryan G. Sell | 6,227 | 8.6 | New | |
Majority | 5,830 | 8.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 72,645 | 72.8 | −8.3 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +6.1 |
Note: This constituency underwent boundary changes after the 1970 election, so was notionally a Labour seat.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alan Lee Williams | 21,763 | 45.0 | −3.7 | |
Conservative | J. Jackson | 15,567 | 32.2 | −7.5 | |
Liberal | B. McCarthy | 10,391 | 21.5 | +12.9 | |
PEOPLE | B. Percy−Davis | 619 | 1.3 | New | |
Majority | 6,196 | 12.8 | +4.8 | ||
Turnout | 48,340 | 80.8 | +8.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alan Lee Williams | 21,336 | 48.5 | +3.5 | |
Conservative | Robin Squire | 14,535 | 33.1 | +0.9 | |
Liberal | B.G. McCarthy | 7,284 | 16.6 | −4.9 | |
PEOPLE | B. Percy−Davis | 797 | 1.8 | +0.5 | |
Majority | 6,801 | 15.5 | +2.7 | ||
Turnout | 43,952 | 72.7 | −8.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robin Squire | 21,340 | 44.9 | +11.8 | |
Labour | Alan Lee Williams | 20,571 | 43.3 | −5.2 | |
Liberal | C. Lewcock | 4,657 | 9.8 | −6.8 | |
National Front | A. Harris | 994 | 2.1 | New | |
Majority | 769 | 1.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 47,562 | 78.1 | +4.4 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +8.5 |
Elections in the 1980s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robin Squire | 21,393 | 47.0 | +2.1 | |
Labour | Alan Williams | 12,209 | 26.9 | −16.4 | |
SDP | J. Martin | 11,251 | 24.7 | +14.9 | |
National Front | A.M. Joyce | 402 | 1.2 | New | |
Ecology | Michael Crowson | 219 | 0.5 | New | |
Majority | 9,184 | 20.2 | +18.6 | ||
Turnout | 45,474 | 73.7 | −4.4 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +9.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robin Squire | 24,039 | 51.2 | +4.2 | |
Labour | Alan Williams | 13,345 | 28.4 | +1.5 | |
SDP | Mark Long | 9,609 | 20.4 | −4.3 | |
Majority | 10,694 | 22.8 | +2.6 | ||
Turnout | 44,712 | 75.3 | +1.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.4 |
Elections in the 1990s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robin Squire | 25,817 | 53.5 | +2.3 | |
Labour | Leonie Cooper | 16,652 | 34.5 | +6.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Barry J. Oddy | 5,366 | 11.1 | –9.3 | |
Independent Ind SD | Terrence F. Matthews | 453 | 0.9 | New | |
Majority | 9,165 | 19.0 | –3.8 | ||
Turnout | 48,288 | 79.8 | +4.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –1.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Cryer | 22,066 | 50.2 | +15.7 | |
Conservative | Robin Squire | 16,386 | 37.3 | –16.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Rabi Martins | 3,446 | 7.8 | –3.3 | |
Referendum | Rory E.B. Khilkoff-Bouldi | 1,595 | 3.6 | New | |
Independent | Jenny Trueman | 259 | 0.6 | New | |
ProLife Alliance | Joseph Sowerby | 189 | 0.4 | New | |
Majority | 5,680 | 12.9 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 43,941 | 72.8 | –7.0 | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +16.0 |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Cryer | 16,514 | 46.4 | –3.8 | |
Conservative | Robin Squire | 15,032 | 42.3 | +5.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Sarah E. Lea | 2,928 | 8.2 | +0.4 | |
UKIP | Lawrence Webb | 893 | 2.5 | New | |
Third Way | David Durant | 190 | 0.5 | New | |
Majority | 1,482 | 4.1 | −8.8 | ||
Turnout | 35,557 | 58.3 | –14.5 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –4.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Brokenshire | 16,355 | 42.8 | +0.5 | |
Labour | John Cryer | 15,875 | 41.6 | –4.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Nathaniel Green | 2,894 | 7.6 | –0.6 | |
BNP | Ian Moore | 1,313 | 3.4 | New | |
UKIP | Laurence Webb | 1,033 | 2.7 | +0.2 | |
Residents | Malvin P. Brown | 395 | 1.0 | New | |
Third Way | Graham K. Williamson | 304 | 0.8 | +0.3 | |
Majority | 480 | 1.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 38,169 | 63.5 | +5.2 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +2.6 |
See also
Notes
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 4)
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.