Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Enfield, Southgate
Borough constituency
Enfield, Southgate shown within Greater London
Created: 1983
MP: David Burrowes
Party: Conservative
Type: House of Commons
County: Greater London
EP constituency: London

Enfield, Southgate is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The seat covers eight of the 21 council wards in the Borough of Enfield. These eight wards are part of the more prosperous, leafy and suburban western side of the borough.

The wards of Grange, Winchmore Hill, Southgate, Southgate Green, Highlands and Cockfosters are all strongly Conservative, in line with the east-west divide in the borough, often put down to the fact the six wards above, and the western side as a whole, is one of the leafiest and middle-class areas in London, while the Cockfosters ward is considered by many to be in the countryside.

All this, and the absence of any significant council housing in the constituency, made it surprising that the constituency ever went Labour. Boundary changes to come into effect at the next general election will strengthen the Conservative vote, according to estimates.

[edit] History

Prior to the 1983 general election, this constituency was known as Southgate.

Enfield, Southgate had always been regarded as an ultra-safe Conservative seat, up until 1997, it had never had an MP of any other party than the Conservatives in its entire history.

Enfield, Southgate gained especial attention in the 1997 general election when the Secretary of State for Defence Michael Portillo was unexpectedly defeated on a massive swing. Portillo had been widely expected to contest the Conservative leadership and his defeat was taken by many to epitomise the Labour party landslide victory. The victorious candidate, Stephen Twigg, increased his majority at the following election and some believed the seat was safe as he began a rise through the ministerial ranks.

However in the 2005 general election Twigg's majority was the largest overturned by the Conservatives. For many in the party it represented a sign of the party's recovery and overturning of the 1997 results,though somewhat surprisingly the Conservatives did not take the neighbouring seat of Enfield North,which Labour held with a lower majority (just over 2,000 votes) in 2001;there was very little swing in 2005 there (0.6 %) compared to Southgate (8.7 %).

[edit] Members of Parliament (Southgate 1950-83, Enfield Southgate since 1983)

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Election results

General Election 2005: Enfield, Southgate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Burrowes 18,830 44.6 +6.0
Labour Stephen Twigg 17,083 40.5 −11.3
Liberal Democrats Ziz Kakoulakis 4,724 11.2 +4.2
Green Trevor Doughty 1,083 2.6 +1.0
UKIP Brian Hall 490 1.2 +0.5
Majority 1,747 4.1
Turnout 42,210 66.4 +2.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +8.7
General Election 2001: Enfield, Southgate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Twigg 21,727 51.8 +7.6
Conservative John Flack 16,181 38.6 -2.5
Liberal Democrats Wayne Hoban 2,935 7.0 -3.7
Green Elaine Graham-Leigh 662 1.6 N/A
UKIP Roy Freshwater 298 0.7 N/A
Independent (politician) Andrew Malakouna 105 0.3 -0.2
Majority 5,546 13.2
Turnout 41,908 63.5 -7.1
Labour hold Swing

Note: Malakouna described himself as 'Mal - Voice of the People'.

General Election 1997: Enfield, Southgate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Twigg 20,570 44.2 +18.0
Conservative Michael Portillo 19,137 41.1 -16.8
Liberal Democrats Jeremy Browne 4,966 10.7 -3.8
Referendum Party N.L. Luard 1,342 2.9 N/A
Independent Democrat A.J. Storkey 289 0.6 N/A
Independent (politician) Andrew Malakouna 229 0.5 N/A
Majority 1,433 3.1
Turnout 70.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +17.4

Note: Malakouna described himself as 'Mal - Voice of the People'.

General Election 1992: Enfield, Southgate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Portillo 28,422 58.0 -0.8
Labour Karen Livney 12.859 26.2 +7.3
Liberal Democrats Kevin Keane 7,080 11.2 -6.5
Green Mrs. M.C.P.H. Hollands 696 1.4 0.0
Majority 15,563 31.8 -6.1
Turnout 49,057 76.3 +3.7
Conservative hold Swing -4.1
General Election 1987: Enfield, Southgate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Portillo 28,445 58.8 +9.2
Liberal Nick Harvey 10,100 20.9 -14.7
Labour R. Course 9,114 18.9 +7
Green S. Rooney 696 1.4 N/A
Majority 18,345 37.9
Turnout 48,355 72.6
Conservative hold Swing
1984 by-election: Enfield, Southgate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Portillo 16,684 49.6 -8.5
Liberal Timothy Slack 11,973 35.6 +12.2
Labour Peter Hamid 4,000 11.9 -6
Turkish Troops Out of Cyprus Andreas Polydrou 687 2 N/A
Nationalist Party James Kershaw 80 0.2 N/A
English National Party Raymond Shenton 78 0.2 N/A
Abolish Gt. London, Restore Middlesex Iain Burgess 50 0.2 N/A
Captain Rainbow's Universal Party George Weiss 48 0.2 N/A
Death off Roads: Freight on Rail Helen Anscomb 45 0.1 N/A
Majority 4,711
Turnout 33,645
Conservative hold Swing -1.27

[edit] See also

Constituencies in Greater London
Labour

Barking | Battersea | Brent North | Brent South | Brentford and Isleworth | Camberwell and Peckham | Croydon North | Dagenham | Dulwich and West Norwood | Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush | Ealing North | Ealing Southall | East Ham | Edmonton | Eltham | Enfield North | Erith and Thamesmead | Feltham and Heston | Finchley and Golders Green | Greenwich and Woolwich | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Hampstead and Highgate | Harrow East | Harrow West | Hayes and Harlington | Hendon | Holborn and St. Pancras | Ilford South | Islington North | Islington South and Finsbury | Lewisham Deptford | Lewisham East | Lewisham West | Leyton and Wanstead | Mitcham and Morden | Poplar and Canning Town | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Streatham | Tooting | Tottenham | Vauxhall | Walthamstow | West Ham
Conservative

Beckenham | Bexleyheath and Crayford | Bromley and Chislehurst | Chingford and Woodford Green | Chipping Barnet | Cities of London and Westminster | Croydon Central | Croydon South | Enfield Southgate | Hammersmith and Fulham | Hornchurch | Ilford North | Kensington and Chelsea | Old Bexley and Sidcup | Orpington | Putney | Romford | Ruislip-Northwood | Upminster | Uxbridge | Wimbledon
Liberal Democrat

Brent East | Carshalton and Wallington | Hornsey and Wood Green | Kingston and Surbiton | Richmond Park | North Southwark and Bermondsey | Sutton and Cheam | Twickenham
Respect

Bethnal Green and Bow
London European constituency: Conservative (3) | Labour (3) | Liberal Democrats (1) | UKIP (1) | Green (1)
 This United Kingdom constituency article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../e/n/f/Enfield_Southgate_%28UK_Parliament_constituency%29_6f93.html"