Oxford East (UK Parliament constituency)

Oxford East
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Oxford East in Oxfordshire.

Location of Oxfordshire within England.
County Oxfordshire
Electorate 81,644 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament Andrew Smith (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Oxford
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency South East England

Oxford East is a borough 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. The current MP is Andrew Smith of the Labour Party, first elected at the 1987 general election.

Contents

History

Until 1983, the whole of Oxford, including most of this seat, was part of the Oxford constituency.

The 1997 boundary changes moved two semi-rural Conservative-leaning wards out of the seat, and incorporated the urban Oxford South ward that was strong for the Liberal Democrats and Labour.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the eastern and southern parts of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It borders Oxford West and Abingdon to the West and Henley to the North, East and South.

The constituency includes Oxford city centre and the majority of the Oxford Colleges, Cowley (famous for its car factory) and the Blackbird Leys council estate, but there is a large percentage of student voters from both Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities (the latter being based in the seat, in leafy suburban Headington).

Due to the high student, and university-related, vote, Labour came within a thousand votes of losing the seat to the Lib Dems at the 2005 election with such issues as the Iraq War and top-up fees losing many votes for former Work and Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Oxfordshire, the Boundary Commission for England has made minor changes to the existing arrangement as a consequence of population changes.

The modified Oxford East constituency consists of the following electoral wards from Oxford City Council:

These changes have the effect of moving the Carfax and Holywell wards into Oxford East from Oxford West and Abingdon. This means that Oxford city centre and the majority of Oxford Colleges now sit in Oxford East, whereas they had previously sat in Oxford West and Abingdon for the most part. It was expected that this would benefit the Liberal Democrats in this marginal constituency, however, in a schock result, when the seat was first contested on its new boundaries in 2010, the Labour incumbent Andrew Smith managed to quadruple his majority.

In 2008 Labour won 11 of the wards, Lib Dems 4, the Greens 3 and the Independent Working Class Association 1.

Members of Parliament

When created in 1983, the seat was won by the Conservative Steve Norris. In 1987 he was defeated by the current Labour incumbent, former Cabinet minister, Andrew Smith.

Election Member[2] Party
1983 Steve Norris Conservative
1987 Andrew Smith Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Oxford East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Andrew Smith 21,938 42.5 +6.5
Liberal Democrat Steve Goddard 17,357 33.6 −1.6
Conservative Ed Argar 9,727 18.8 +1.5
Green Sushila Dhall[3] 1,238 2.4 −2.1
UKIP Julia Gasper 1,202 2.3 +0.6
Socialist Equality David O'Sullivan 116 0.2 N/A
Equal Parenting Alliance Roger Crawford 73 0.1 N/A
Majority 4,581 8.9
Turnout 51,651 63.1 +5.6
Labour hold Swing +4.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Oxford East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Andrew Smith 15,405 36.9 −12.5
Liberal Democrat Steve Goddard 14,442 34.6 +11.2
Conservative Virginia Morris 6,992 16.7 −2.0
Green Jacob Sanders 1,813 4.3 +0.5
Independent ('New Loony') Honest Blair 1,485 3.6 N/A
Independent Working Class Maurice Leen 892 2.1 N/A
UKIP Peter Gardner 715 1.7 +0.3
Independent Pathmanathan Mylvaganam 46 0.1 -0.1
Majority 963 2.3
Turnout 41,790 57.9 +2.1
Labour hold Swing −11.8
General Election 2001: Oxford East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Andrew Smith 19,681 49.4 -7.4
Liberal Democrat Steve Goddard 9,337 23.4 +8.7
Conservative Cheryl Potter 7,446 18.7 -3.3
Green Pritam Singh 1,501 3.8 +1.7
Socialist Alliance John Lister 708 1.8 N/A
UKIP Peter Gardner 570 1.4 +0.9
Socialist Labour Fahim Ahmed 274 0.7 N/A
ProLife Alliance Linda Hodge 254 0.6 -0.1
Independent Pathmanathan Mylvaganam 77 0.2 0.0
Majority 10,344 26.0
Turnout 39,848 55.8 -12.6
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Oxford East[4][5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Andrew Smith 27,205 56.8 +6.6
Conservative Jonathan Djanogly 10,540 22.0 −11.5
Liberal Democrat George Kershaw 7,038 14.7 +0.7
Referendum Party Martin Young 1,391 2.9 N/A
Green Craig Simmons 975 2.0 +0.0
ProLife Alliance William Harper-Jones 318 0.7 N/A
UKIP Peter Gardner 234 0.5 N/A
Natural Law John Thompson 108 0.2 N/A
Independent Pathmanathan Mylvaganam 68 0.2 N/A
Majority 16,665 34.8 +18.1
Turnout 47,877 68.4
Labour hold Swing +9.1
General Election 1992: Oxford East[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Andrew Smith 23,702 50.4 +7.4
Conservative Dr Mark Mayall 16,164 34.3 −6.1
Liberal Democrat Martin Horwood 6,105 13.0 −2.6
Green Caroline Lucas 933 2.0 +1.1
Natural Law Miss Ann M. Wilson 101 0.2 N/A
Revolutionary Communist Keith Thompson 48 0.1 N/A
Majority 7,538 16.1 +13.5
Turnout 47,053 74.6 −4.3
Labour hold Swing +6.8

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Oxford East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Andrew Smith 21,103 43.0 +5.7
Conservative Stephen Norris 19,815 40.4 +0.4
Liberal M Godden 7,648 15.6 -7.1
Green D Dalton 441 0.9 N/A
Independent Pathmanathan Mylvaganam 60 0.1 N/A
Majority 1,288 2.6 −0.1
Turnout 78.9 +5.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +2.7
General Election 1983: Oxford East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stephen Norris 18,808 40.0
Labour Andrew Smith 17,541 37.3
Liberal M Godden 10,690 22.7
Majority 1,267 2.7
Turnout 73.9

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"
  3. ^ Oxfordshire Green Party press release, 4 February 2010. Peter Tatchell was the prospective parliamentary candidate for the Green Party until withdrawing in December 2009 due to health reasons.
  4. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/198.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
  5. ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.131 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
  6. ^ The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
  7. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 
  8. ^ This was an unusual election, where an incumbent was challenged by two people who later became MPs.

Sources