Dagenham (UK Parliament constituency)

Dagenham
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of Dagenham in Greater London for the 2005 general election.
County Greater London
1945–2010
Number of members One
Replaced by Dagenham and Rainham
Created from Romford

Dagenham was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament that elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was replaced at the 2010 general election largely by Dagenham and Rainham.

Boundaries

Dagenham in Essex, showing boundaries used from 1945 to 1950.

1945-1974: The Municipal Borough of Dagenham.

1974-1983: The London Borough of Barking wards of Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Fanshawe, Heath, River, Valence and Village.

1983-2010: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wards of Alibon, Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Fanshawe, Heath, Marks Gate, River, Triptons, Valence and Village.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in North London, the Boundary Commission for England have created a new constituency of Dagenham and Rainham.

History

History of Boundaries

Before 1945 this Dagenham and surrounds area was part of the Romford constituency.

Political History

The MP for the predecessor seat since 1935, Labour's John Parker, stood again on each occasion in this smaller successor area, representing it until 1983. Parker was the last serving MP to have been elected before the Second World War, and with 48 years in Parliament, remains the longest-serving Labour MP in history.

Dagenham was held by Labour its inception and was without exception rated by election predictions as a safe seat. Dagenham hosts an at times shrinking skilled manual industry such as the Ford Motor Company works, which downscaled production in 2001, leading to replacement distribution and warehousing businesses as well as local regeneration under the Thames Gateway project from 2005 however higher than national unemployment immediately, including following the seat's abolition. See the main successor seat, Dagenham and Rainham for statistics. The largest-polling opposition candidate was Conservative since 1979, with the Liberal Party a greater or equal opponent in elections before that, vying for second place with that party.

Unusually, the far-right British National Party was very active in this area periodically and its support led to some retained deposits by polling more than 5% of the vote on several occasions. Their candidate received nearly 10% of the vote in the 2005 general election and in the 2006 local elections returned 12 councillors to Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council.

The new constituency of Dagenham and Rainham included wards which had not traditionally supported the BNP or Labour, and published leaks of BNP databases that year showed that its membership in the area shown was diminishing.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [1] Party
1945 John Parker Labour
1983 Bryan Gould Labour
1994 by-election Judith Church Labour
2001 Jon Cruddas Labour
2010 constituency abolished: see Dagenham and Rainham

Election results

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Dagenham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jon Cruddas 15,446 50.1 -7.1
Conservative Michael White 7,841 25.4 -0.3
Liberal Democrat James Kempton 3,106 10.1 -0.1
BNP Lawrence Rustem 2,870 9.3 +4.3
UKIP Gerard Batten 1,578 5.1 N/A
Majority 7,605 24.7
Turnout 51.3
Labour hold Swing -3.4
General Election 2001: Dagenham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jon Cruddas 15,784 57.2 -8.5
Conservative Michael White 7,091 25.7 +7.2
Liberal Democrat Adrian Gee-Turner 2,820 10.2 +2.7
BNP David Hill 1,378 5.0 +2.5
Socialist Alliance Bill Hamilton 262 0.9 N/A
Socialist Labour Robert Siggins 245 0.9 N/A
Majority 8,693 31.5
Turnout 27,580 46.5 -15.6
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997:Dagenham[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Judith Church 23,759 65.7 -6.3
Conservative James Fairrie 6,705 18.54 +8.63
Liberal Democrat T Dobrashian 2,704 7.48 -0.91
Referendum Party S Kraft 1,411 3.9 N/A
BNP William Binding 900 2.49 -4.54
Independent R Dawson 349 0.97 N/A
National Democrats Mike Hipperson 183 0.51 N/A
ProLife Alliance K Goble 152 0.4 N/A
Majority 17,054 47.16
Turnout 36,162 62.1
Dagenham by-election, 1994
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Judith Church 15,474 72.0 +19.74
Conservative James Fairrie 2,130 9.91 -26.38
Liberal Democrat Peter Dunphy 1,804 8.39 -3.06
BNP John Tyndall 1,511 7.03 N/A
UKIP Peter Compobassi 457 2.13 N/A
Natural Law Mark Leighton 116 0.54 N/A
Majority 13,344
Turnout 21,492
Labour hold Swing
1992 General Election:Dagenham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bryan Gould 22,027 52.26
Conservative D Rossiter 15,294 36.29
Liberal Democrat CNH Marquand 4,824 11.45
Majority 6,733 15.98
Turnout 42,145 70.66
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Dagenham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bryan Gould 18,454 44.44
Conservative Bob Neill 15,985 38.49
SDP–Liberal Alliance J Carter 7,088 17.07
Majority 2,469 5.95
Turnout 41,527 67.29
General Election 1983: Dagenham[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bryan Gould 15,665 39.26
Conservative Bob Neill 12,688 31.77
SDP–Liberal Alliance J Horne 10,679 27
National Front Joe Pearce 645 1.62
Communist D Walshe 141 0.35
Majority 2,997 7.49
Turnout 39,878 63.34

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Dagenham[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert John Harvey Parker 24,707 52.57
Conservative G Hyams 14,600 31.07
Liberal M Long 5,583 11.88
National Front J Roberts 1,553 3.3
Communist D Connor 553 1.18
Majority 10,107 21.51
Turnout 46,994 69.12
General Election, October 1974: Dagenham[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert John Harvey Parker 29,678 65.23
Conservative Archibald Gavin Hamilton 7,684 16.89
Liberal G Poole 7,564 16.63
Communist George C Wake 569 1.25
Majority 21,994 48.34
Turnout 45,495 64.99
General Election February 1974: Dagenham[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert John Harvey Parker 35,765 72.68
Conservative Archibald Gavin Hamilton 12,275 24.94
Communist George C Wake 1,169 2.38
Majority 23,490 47.74
Turnout 49,209 71.02
General Election 1970: Dagenham[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert John Harvey Parker 31,335 70.74
Conservative H McLancy 11,976 27.04
Communist George C Wake 982 2.22
Majority 19,359 43.71
Turnout 44,290 59.05

See also

References

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 1)
  2. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/002.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge87/i06.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge83/i06.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i06.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74b/i06.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74a/i06.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge70/i06.htm
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Vauxhall		 Constituency represented by the Father of the House
1979–1983 		Succeeded by
Cardiff South and Penarth

Coordinates: 51°33′18″N 0°09′25″E / 51.555°N 0.157°E