Walthamstow_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

Walthamstow (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Walthamstow (Contemp. and Cons. RP: /wɔːlθəmstəʊ/, Est. Eng.: /woːwfm̩stɐʏ/) is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Greater London created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Stella Creasy, a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, in political union with the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Quick Facts County, Electorate ...

Walthamstow
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Walthamstow in
County	Greater London
Electorate	64,482 (December 2010)^[1]
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Stella Creasy (Labour Co-op)
Seats	One
Created from	Walthamstow East Walthamstow West
1885–1918
Seats	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	South Essex
Replaced by	Walthamstow East and Walthamstow West, Leyton East, Leyton West, and Epping

An earlier version of the constituency existed covering a significantly different area (1885–1918) and was among the vast majority by that time returning one member to the House of Commons.

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

1885–1918

Walthamstow in Essex, 1885–1918

The South-Western or Walthamstow Division of the parliamentary county of Essex was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the existing seat of South Essex was divided into three single-member constituencies.

The constituency consisted of the three civil parishes of Leyton, Woodford and Walthamstow. The area lay on the periphery of the London conurbation and became increasingly suburban over its existence.

The seat was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1918. Two new constituencies were created with Walthamstow Urban District divided between Walthamstow East and Walthamstow West.^[2]

From 1974

1974–1983: The London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Higham Hill, High Street, Hoe Street, St James Street, and Wood Street.

1983–1997: As above plus Lloyd Park.

1997–2010: As above plus Chapel End and Lea Bridge.

2010–2022: The London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Chapel End, Higham Hill, High Street, Hoe Street, Lea Bridge, Markhouse, William Morris, and Wood Street.

Walthamstow from 2024

2022–present: Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022,^[3]^[4] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Waltham Forest:

Chapel End; Higham Hill; High Street; Hoe Street (most); Lea Bridge; Markhouse; St James; William Morris; Wood Street; Upper Walthamstow (part); and small parts of Hale End and Highams Park South, Larkswood, and Leyton.^[5]

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency (as defined by the ward structure in existence on 1 December 2020) was unchanged.^[6]

History

The seat has been represented by the Labour Party since 1992, before which it was won on a marginal majority in 1987 by a Conservative, having until then (since its 1974 recreation as a seat) been served by one Labour MP, Eric Deakins.

In 2015, Creasy's re-election saw Walthamstow become Labours' second-safest London seat, and tenth-safest nationally.^[7]

Prominent frontbenchers

Stella Creasy, the present member, was the Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention.

Constituency profile

The seat is the part of Outer London closest to Stratford, with its international rail connections, major city shopping centre and London's Olympic Park. To the East the seat borders Walthamstow Forest and Gilbert's Slade, thin sections of Epping Forest, and to the West, the Lea Valley. The eponymous district had as its open space feature a greyhound racing track, which has been redeveloped into a modernist housing and green space scheme. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly higher than the national average of 3.8% and Greater London average of 4%, at 7.2% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[8]

Members of Parliament

More information Year, Member ...

Year		Member^[9]	Party
	1885	Edward Buxton	Liberal
	1886	William Makins	Conservative
	1892	Edmund Widdrington Byrne	Conservative
	1897	Sam Woods	Liberal
	1900	David John Morgan	Conservative
	1906	John Simon	Liberal
1918		Constituency abolished
Feb 1974		Constituency recreated
	Feb 1974	Eric Deakins	Labour
	1987	Hugo Summerson	Conservative
	1992	Neil Gerrard	Labour
	2010	Stella Creasy	Labour Co-op