Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency)

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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 seven of the 21 council wards in the Borough of Enfield.

Bowes ward is marginally Labour and Palmers Green is split between Labour and Conservative (in general the regions to the South-East of the constituency). The wards of Grange, Winchmore Hill, Cockfosters, Southgate Green and Southgate have very healthy Conservative majorities. There are minor boundary changes and Enfield Southgate is predicted to have a notional 1,300 Conservative Majority after the next General Election.

[edit] History

Prior to the February 1974 general election, this constituency was known as Southgate. Strictly a London Borough prefix to the constituency name (in this case Enfield) was introduced in 1974. It is not incorrect to use the prefix for the 1974-1983 period, but it is not customary to do so. The seat is normally referred to as Enfield Southgate from 1983. This is the explanation why the infobox in this article dates the current comstituency from 1983, although the area has essentially been one seat since 1950.

Enfield Southgate had always been regarded as a safe Conservative seat, up until 1997.

It 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 began to rise through the ministerial ranks.

However in the 2005 general election Twigg's majority was the largest overturned, with a swing of 8.7% to the Conservatives. David Burrowes the current MP was born in the constituency, both his and his wife's extended families reside in the area and his 6 children all attend local schools. David is a founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship.

[edit] Members of Parliament (Southgate 1950-74, Enfield Southgate since 1974)

Election Member Party
1950 Sir Beverley Baxter Conservative
1964 Sir Anthony Berry Conservative
1984 Michael Portillo Conservative
1997 Stephen Twigg Labour
2005 David Burrowes Conservative

[edit] Election results

Confirmed candidates for the next UK general election [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Burrowes
Labour Bambos Charalambous
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 Democrat Ziz Kakoulakis 4,724 11.2 +4.2
Green Trevor Doughty 1,083 2.6 +1.0
UK Independence 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 Democrat Wayne Hoban 2,935 7.0 -3.7
Green Elaine Graham-Leigh 662 1.6 N/A
UK Independence 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 Democrat 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 Democrat 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

v • d • e
Constituencies in Greater London by holding party
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
Liberal Democrat
Respect
Independent
Conservative
London European constituency
Conservatives 3 · Labour 3 · Liberal Democrats 1 · UKIP 1 · Green 1
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