Leicester_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Leicester East (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards
Leicester East is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since December 2019 by Claudia Webbe, who was elected as a Labour MP, but now sits as an Independent due to her suspension and subsequent expulsion from the party in November 2021 after she was convicted of harassment.[2][3]
| Leicester East | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundaries since 2024 | |
Boundary of Leicester East in the East Midlands | |
| County | Leicestershire |
| Electorate | 74,377 (December 2010)[1] |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1974 (1974) |
| Member of Parliament | TBC (TBC) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Leicester South East Leicester North East |
| 1918–1950 | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Leicester |
| Replaced by | Leicester South East Leicester North East |
Historic
1918–1950: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Latimer, Spinney Hill, and West Humberstone.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Charnwood, Evington, Humberstone, and Latimer.
1983–2010: The City of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Charnwood, Coleman, Evington, Humberstone, Latimer, Rushey Mead, Thurncourt, and West Humberstone.
2010–2024: The City of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Charnwood1, Coleman, Evington, Humberstone & Hamilton, Latimer, Rushey Mead, and Thurncourt.
1 Further to a local government boundary review that became effective in May 2015,[4] the newly created Troon ward replaced the old Charnwood ward covering the Northfields Estate and the adjacent Industrial Estate Area to the north, of which it takes its name.
Current
Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was adjusted slightly to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring polling district EVF in Evington ward to Leicester South.[5]
This is an urban constituency, much of which is densely developed, whether as housing, retail or industry. The seat does not include central Leicester, skirting its ring road, but is served by buses and cycle routes into Leicester City Centre, which is within normal walking distance of the division's south-west quarter. The boundaries include a golf course situated in the south-east and a large municipal garden in the north-west.
Leicester East has an extremely high South Asian population. Almost a third of the population is Hindu, and the majority of the others of Asian ethnicity are of Muslim or Sikh faiths. Those of mixed ethnicities are gradually increasing – to 3.1% of the population in 2011.
First creation
The seat was created in 1918 and for the next four years was served by Sir Gordon Hewart KC, who resigned to become Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. In 1950 the area was divided between Leicester North East and Leicester South East.
Second (current) creation
The constituency was re-created in 1974.
- Summary of results
Leicester East has been won by the Labour Party's candidate in 10 of 11 elections since it was re-created. Its MP from 1987 to 2019, Keith Vaz, won an absolute majority of votes from the 1992 general election onward. The result in 2015 made the constituency the 37th-safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage majority.[7] It had been narrowly won by Conservative Party candidate Peter Bruinvels at the height of his party's popularity in 1983.[n 2] The following election saw Keith Vaz regain the seat for Labour; he held it at every election thereafter, and since 1992 always won by margins of over 20% and 11,000 votes until he stood down at the 2019 general election. Vaz won his highest majority ever, 22,428 votes (42.8%), in 2017. In 2019 Labour held the seat with a substantially reduced majority of 6,019, down from 22,428 – a swing of 15%.
- Opposition parties
The candidate fielded by the Conservative Party has been runner-up in every election save for Bruinvels' win in 1983. The candidate of UKIP took third place in 2015, for the first time; her 2010 counterpart had won 1.5% of the vote, the party not having previously stood in the constituency. The pro-UKIP swing between the 2010 and 2015 elections, of 7.4%, was less than the national average of 9.5%. Susan Cooper was 1.8% away from second place in 2005, giving the best result of a Liberal Democrat to date, attracting just under one fifth of the vote.
- Turnout
Turnout in the recreated seat has ranged between 78.7% in 1992 to 62.1% in 2001.
MPs 1885–1983
Leicester prior to 1918
MPs since 1974
Leicester South East and Leicester North East prior to 1974
| Year | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Tom Bradley | Labour | |
| 1981 | SDP | ||
| 1983 | Peter Bruinvels | Conservative | |
| 1987 | Keith Vaz | Labour | |
| 2019 | Claudia Webbe | Labour | |
| 2020 | Independent | ||
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Malihah Adam | ||||
| Independent | Nagarjun Agath | ||||
| Labour | Rajesh Agrawal | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Zuffar Haq | ||||
| Green | Mags Lewis | ||||
| Independent | Khandu Patel | ||||
| Conservative | Shivani Raja | ||||
| Reform UK | Raj Solanki | ||||
| One Leicester | Keith Vaz[10] | ||||
| Independent[n 3] | Claudia Webbe[12] | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Claudia Webbe | 25,090 | 50.8 | –16.2 | |
| Conservative | Bhupendra Dave | 19,071 | 38.6 | +14.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nitesh Dave | 2,800 | 5.7 | +3.1 | |
| Brexit Party | Tara Baldwin | 1,243 | 2.5 | N/A | |
| Green | Melanie Wakley | 888 | 1.8 | -0.2 | |
| Independent | Sanjay Gogia | 329 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,019 | 12.2 | –30.6 | ||
| Turnout | 49,421 | 63.0 | –4.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –15.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 35,116 | 67.0 | +5.9 | |
| Conservative | Edward Yi He | 12,688 | 24.2 | +1.2 | |
| Independent | Sujata Barot | 1,753 | 3.3 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nitesh Dave | 1,343 | 2.6 | 0.0 | |
| Green | Melanie Wakley | 1,070 | 2.0 | –1.1 | |
| Independent | Ian Fox | 454 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 22,428 | 42.8 | +4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 52,424 | 67.4 | +3.7 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +2.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 29,386 | 61.1 | +7.4 | |
| Conservative | Kishan Devani | 11,034 | 23.0 | –1.5 | |
| UKIP | Susanna Steptoe | 4,290 | 8.9 | +7.4 | |
| Green | Nimit Jethwa | 1,468 | 3.1 | +1.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Dave Raval | 1,233 | 2.6 | –11.6 | |
| TUSC | Michael Barker | 540 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Tom Darwood | 117 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 18,352 | 38.2 | +8.9 | ||
| Turnout | 48,599 | 63.7 | –2.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 25,804 | 53.8 | −5.0 | |
| Conservative | Jane Hunt | 11,722 | 24.4 | +4.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ali Asghar | 6,817 | 14.2 | −2.3 | |
| BNP | Colin Gilmore[16] | 1,700 | 3.5 | N/A | |
| Green | Mo Taylor[17] | 733 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| UKIP | Felicity Ransome | 725 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| Unity For Peace And Socialism | Avtar Sadiq | 494 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 14,082 | 29.3 | –9.6 | ||
| Turnout | 47,995 | 65.8 | +3.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −4.8 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 24,015 | 58.1 | +0.5 | |
| Conservative | Suella Fernandes | 8,139 | 19.7 | −4.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Cooper | 7,052 | 17.1 | +4.8 | |
| Veritas | Colin Brown | 1,666 | 4.0 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | Valerie Smalley | 434 | 1.1 | −1.0 | |
| Majority | 15,876 | 38.4 | +5.3 | ||
| Turnout | 41,306 | 62.2 | +0.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +2.6 | |||
In 2005 this seat bucked the national trend as there was a swing to Labour whereas the national swing was 2.5% to the Conservatives.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 23,402 | 57.6 | −7.9 | |
| Conservative | John Mugglestone | 9,960 | 24.5 | +0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harpinder Athwal | 4,989 | 12.3 | +5.3 | |
| Socialist Labour | David Roberts | 837 | 2.1 | +1.1 | |
| BNP | Clive Potter | 772 | 1.9 | N/A | |
| Independent | Shirley Bennett | 701 | 1.7 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 13,442 | 33.1 | –8.4 | ||
| Turnout | 40,661 | 62.1 | −7.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –4.2 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 29,083 | 65.5 | +9.2 | |
| Conservative | Simon Milton | 10,661 | 24.01 | –9.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jay Matabudul | 3,105 | 6.99 | −1.1 | |
| Referendum | Philip Iwaniw | 1,015 | 2.29 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | Sohan Singh Sidhu | 436 | 0.98 | N/A | |
| Independent | Neil Slack | 102 | 0.23 | N/A | |
| Majority | 18,422 | 41.49 | +18.9 | ||
| Turnout | 44,402 | 69.11 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | +9.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 28,123 | 56.3 | +10.1 | |
| Conservative | Jeffery C. Stevens | 16,807 | 33.7 | −8.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sheila A. Mitchell | 4,043 | 8.1 | −3.3 | |
| Green | Murray R. Frankland | 453 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Independent | Dennis J. Taylor | 308 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | ASK Mahaldar | 186 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 11,316 | 22.6 | +18.9 | ||
| Turnout | 49,920 | 78.7 | +0.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +9.5 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keith Vaz | 24,074 | 46.2 | +9.2 | |
| Conservative | Peter Bruinvels | 22,150 | 42.5 | +3.6 | |
| SDP | Aileen Ayres | 5,935 | 11.4 | –9.7 | |
| Majority | 1,924 | 3.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 52,159 | 78.59 | |||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Peter Bruinvels | 19,117 | 38.9 | –2.3 | |
| Labour | Patricia Hewitt | 18,184 | 37.0 | –9.9 | |
| SDP | Tom Bradley | 10,362 | 21.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | RV Ganatra | 970 | 2.0 | N/A | |
| BNP | RL Sutton | 459 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 933 | 1.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,092 | 73.2 | –2.4 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +3.8 | |||
Elections in the 1970s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Tom Bradley | 23,844 | 46.9 | +2.1 | |
| Conservative | M Waterhouse | 20,988 | 41.3 | +4.8 | |
| Liberal | B Andrews | 4,623 | 9.1 | –3.2 | |
| National Front | BJ Calver | 1,385 | 2.7 | –3.7 | |
| Majority | 2,856 | 5.6 | –2.6 | ||
| Turnout | 50,840 | 75.6 | +3.3 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +1.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Tom Bradley | 20,688 | 44.8 | +0.1 | |
| Conservative | KG Reeves | 16,877 | 36.5 | –8.3 | |
| Liberal | W Capstick | 5,668 | 12.3 | N/A | |
| National Front | A Reed-Herbert | 2,967 | 6.4 | −1.1 | |
| Majority | 3,811 | 8.3 | +5.4 | ||
| Turnout | 46,200 | 72.3 | –5.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +4.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Tom Bradley | 23,474 | 47.7 | N/A | |
| Conservative | K.G. Reeves | 22,061 | 44.8 | N/A | |
| National Front | K. Sanders | 3,662 | 7.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,413 | 2.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,199 | 77.8 | N/A | ||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Elections in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Terence Donovan | 28,414 | 56.94 | ||
| Conservative | Abraham Lyons | 15,182 | 30.42 | ||
| Liberal | David Goodwillie Galloway | 6,306 | 12.64 | ||
| Majority | 13,232 | 26.52 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,902 | 76.05 | |||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1930s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Abraham Lyons | 20,442 | 49.28 | ||
| Labour | Frederick Gould | 17,532 | 42.62 | ||
| Liberal | Frederick Lawson | 3,509 | 8.46 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,910 | 6.66 | |||
| Turnout | 41,483 | 70.18 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Abraham Lyons | 30,265 | 68.67 | ||
| Labour | Frank Wise | 13,811 | 31.33 | ||
| Majority | 16,454 | 37.34 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 44,076 | 79.10 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1920s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Frank Wise | 22,533 | 50.8 | +1.5 | |
| Unionist | John Loder | 13,801 | 31.1 | −19.6 | |
| Liberal | Frederick Lawson | 8,054 | 18.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,732 | 19.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 44,388 | 81.6 | +2.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 54,364 | ||||
| Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +1.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | John Loder | 16,090 | 50.7 | +22.7 | |
| Labour | George Banton | 15,669 | 49.3 | +4.5 | |
| Majority | 421 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 31,759 | 79.6 | +3.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 39,906 | ||||
| Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | +9.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Banton | 13,162 | 44.8 | −2.9 | |
| Unionist | Arthur Evans | 8,247 | 28.0 | N/A | |
| Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 7,998 | 27.2 | −25.1 | |
| Majority | 4,915 | 16.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 29,407 | 76.1 | −0.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 38,658 | ||||
| Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | +11.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal | Arthur Evans | 15,164 | 52.3 | N/A | |
| Labour | George Banton | 13,850 | 47.7 | +20.6 | |
| Majority | 1,314 | 4.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 29,014 | 76.9 | +11.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 37,749 | ||||
| National Liberal gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Banton | 14,062 | 52.9 | +25.8 | |
| National Liberal | Albert E. Marlow | 8,710 | 32.7 | −40.2 | |
| Liberal | Ronald Wilberforce Allen | 3,825 | 14.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 5,352 | 20.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 26,597 | 71.3 | +5.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 37,319 | ||||
| Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | +33.0 | |||
Election in the 1910s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Liberal | Gordon Hewart | 18,024 | 72.9 | |
| Labour | George Banton | 6,697 | 27.1 | ||
| Majority | 11,327 | 45.8 | |||
| Turnout | 24,721 | 65.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 37,687 | ||||
| Liberal win (new seat) | |||||
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
- A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
- Soon thereafter, a lay canon, Peter Bruinvels, served the seat 1983–1987.
- Webbe is contesting the election as an Independent, but has received endorsement by the Workers Party of Britain.[11]
- "2011 Electorate Figures". Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- Walker, Peter; Syal, Rajeev (28 September 2020). "Labour suspends MP Claudia Webbe over harassment charge". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- Mack, Tom (4 November 2021). "MP Claudia Webbe expelled from Labour Party after being handed suspended prison sentence". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- LGBCE. "Leicester | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 1 East Midlands.
- "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
- "Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll - Leicester East" (PDF). Leicester City Council. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- Patel, Asha (7 June 2024). "Keith Vaz to stand as MP for Leicester East". Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- "General election 2024". Workers Party of Britain. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- "Leicester MP Claudia Webbe will fight again for her seat in Westminster". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- "Leicester East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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- "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- "Full slate in Leicestershire as BNP candidate nominated in Leicester East". BNP. March 2010. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010.
- "Green Candidate Mo Taylor for Leicester East". Green Party. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "Election Data 1997". 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.
- "General Election 1992". Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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- Craig, F.W.S. (1969). British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications.