Barking (UK Parliament constituency)

Barking is a constituency formed in 1945;[n 1] and represented ever since by a member of the Labour Party in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 1994, its Member of Parliament has been Margaret Hodge DBE.

Barking
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Barking in Greater London
County	Greater London
Population	122,313 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	74,027 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlements	Barking and Becontree
Current constituency
Created	1945
Member of Parliament	Margaret Hodge (Labour)
Created from	Romford

Political history

The area has elected Labour MPs since its creation in 1945, on strong majorities of 20.4% of the vote or greater; except for results in 1983 and 1987.

The rise in support for the British National Party since the turn of the 21st century saw the party attain 17% of the vote at the 2005 general election. Party members and supporters were optimistic that the party would soon make the breakthrough into UK parliament, and party leader Nick Griffin stood in Barking for the 2010 general election. However, his performance in Barking was poor as he polled 14.8% of the vote (which actually represented a decline in percentage terms compared to 2005) and Margaret Hodge retained the seat with more than half of the vote.[3] During the run-up to the 2010 election, filmmaker Laura Fairrie had access to the British National Party and Labour Party campaigns and later produced a documentary The Battle for Barking, which was premiered on More 4 on 30 November 2010.[4]

Bucking the national trend, the incumbent MP Margaret Hodge almost doubled her majority at the 2010 general election.

Constituency profile

Set in the east of Greater London, the Barking constituency is one of the areas identified for London's planned expansion in housing. The Barking Riverside regeneration project aims to create new homes, jobs and services on the site of the former power station.

Having returned Labour MPs since 1945, Margaret Hodge has served as the MP for the seat since 1994. A challenge from the BNP in 2005 saw the Labour vote reduced by over 13% from the 2001 general election. The BNP, with 16.9% of the vote, out-polled the Liberal Democrats for third place and were 27 votes behind the Conservatives.

According to 2011 United Kingdom census data, the seat had the 21st highest proportion of unemployed people amongst constituencies in England and Wales, at 7.4%. It also has the third-highest proportion of people from Africa, while one in six identifies as Asian/Asian British. In 2010, Labour won with 54.3% of the vote, Conservatives 17.8%, BNP 14.6%.

In 2015, the UKIP vote increased to almost 23%, this was predicted as they came the runners up in every ward in the 2014 Barking and Dagenham Council election, they came within 200 votes of winning 4 seats on the council.

In 2017, the UKIP vote collapsed, and Labour and the Conservatives both increased their share of the vote, although Labour's increase of 10.1% saw them claim 67.8% of the vote overall (their largest share in Barking at any election since the 1994 by-election and the greatest at a general election since 1970), increasing their majority from 35.5% to 45.3%.

The constituency has benefited from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and its districts include a larger than average proportion of social housing and earners on low incomes.[5]

Boundaries

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

1945–1974: The Municipal Borough of Barking.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Barking wards of Abbey, Cambell, Gascoigne, Longbridge, and Manor.

1983–1997: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wards of Abbey, Cambell, Eastbury, Gascoigne, Goresbrook, Longbridge, Manor, Parsloes, and Thames.

1997–2010: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wards of Abbey, Becontree, Cambell, Eastbury, Gascoigne, Goresbrook, Longbridge, Manor, Parsloes, and Thames.

2010–present: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wards of Abbey, Alibon, Becontree, Eastbury, Gascoigne, Goresbrook, Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Parsloes, Thames, and Valence.[6]

2010 boundary changes

Following their review of parliamentary representation the Boundary Commission for England recommended that the wards of Alibon, Parsloes and Valence be transferred from the old Dagenham constituency to Barking, and that following a review of ward boundaries a small part of River ward be transferred from Barking to help form the new Dagenham and Rainham constituency. These boundaries were first contested for the 2010 general election.

2016 boundary review

Under this review, consulted on in 2016, Alibon and Valence Wards would transfer out to Dagenham-and-Rainham constituency, and Goodmayes and Mayfield Wards would transfer in from Ilford South constituency.[7]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[8]	Party
	1945	Somerville Hastings	Labour
	1959	Tom Driberg	Labour
	Feb 1974	Jo Richardson	Labour
	1994 by-election	Margaret Hodge	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Barking[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	27,219	61.2	6.6
	Conservative	Tamkeen Shaikh	11,792	26.5	4.0
	Brexit Party	Karen Batley	3,186	7.2
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Haigh	1,482	3.3	2.1
	Green	Shannon Butterfield	820	1.8	0.3
Majority			15,427	34.7	10.7
Turnout			44,499	57.1	4.8
Registered electors			77,946
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.3

General election 2017: Barking[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	32,319	67.8	+10.1
	Conservative	Minesh Talati	10,711	22.5	+6.2
	UKIP	Roger Gravett	3,031	6.4	−15.8
	Green	Shannon Butterfield	724	1.5	−0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Pauline Pearce	599	1.3	+0.0
	Independent	Noel Falvey	295	0.6	N/A
Majority			21,608	45.3	+9.8
Turnout			47,679	61.9	+3.7
Registered electors			77,022
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 2015: Barking[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	24,826	57.7	+3.4
	UKIP	Roger Gravett	9,554	22.2	+19.3
	Conservative	Mina Rahman[12]	7,019	16.3	−1.5
	Green	Tony Rablen	879	2.0	+1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Wilcock	562	1.3	−6.9
	TUSC	Joseph Mambuliya[13]	183	0.4	N/A
Majority			15,272	35.5	−1.0
Turnout			43,023	58.2	−3.2
Registered electors			73,977
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 2010: Barking[14][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	24,628	54.3	+4.7
	Conservative	Simon Marcus	8,073	17.8	+1.2
	BNP	Nick Griffin	6,620	14.8	−1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Dominic Carman	3,719	8.2	−2.6
	UKIP	Frank Maloney	1,300	2.9	−0.6
	Christian	George Hargreaves	482	1.1	N/A
	Green	Jayne Forbes	317	0.7	−1.0
	Monster Raving Loony	Crucial Chris Dowling	82	0.2	N/A
	Independent	Thomas Darwood	77	0.2	N/A
	Restoration Party	Dapo Sijuwola	45	0.1	N/A
Majority			16,555	36.5	+5.8
Turnout			44,343	61.4	+13.2
Registered electors			73,868
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Barking[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	13,826	47.8	−13.1
	Conservative	Keith Prince	4,943	17.1	−5.9
	BNP	Richard Barnbrook	4,916	16.9	+10.6
	Liberal Democrats	Toby Wickenden	3,211	11.1	+1.3
	UKIP	Terry Jones	803	2.8	N/A
	Green	Laurie Cleeland	618	2.1	N/A
	Independent	Demetrious Panton	530	1.8	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	Mick Saxby	59	0.2	N/A
Majority			8,883	30.7	−7.2
Turnout			28,906	50.1	+4.6
Registered electors			57,658
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.6

General election 2001: Barking[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	15,302	60.9	−4.9
	Conservative	Mike Weatherley	5,768	23.0	+5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Anura Keppetipola	2,450	9.8	+0.3
	BNP	Mark C. Tolman	1,606	6.4	+3.7
Majority			9,534	37.9	−10.3
Turnout			25,126	45.5	−16.2
Registered electors			55,229
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.2

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Barking[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	21,698	65.8	+14.2
	Conservative	Keith Langford	5,802	17.6	−16.3
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Marsh	3,128	9.5	−5.0
	Referendum	Colin Taylor	1,283	3.9	N/A
	BNP	Mark Tolman	894	2.7	N/A
	ProLife Alliance	Damien Mearns	159	0.5	N/A
Majority			15,896	48.2	+30.5
Turnout			32,962	61.7	−8.3
Registered electors			53,458
	Labour hold		Swing	+15.2

• Changes are based on the 1992 election result, not the 1994 by-election.

1994 Barking by-election[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Margaret Hodge	13,704	72.1	+20.5
	Liberal Democrats	Gary White	2,290	12.0	−2.5
	Conservative	Theresa May	1,976	10.4	−23.5
	National Front	Gary Needs	551	2.9	N/A
	UKIP	Gerard Batten	406	2.1	N/A
	Natural Law	H. R. Butensky	90	0.5	N/A
Majority			11,414	60.1	+42.4
Turnout			19,017	38.3	−31.7
Registered electors			49,635
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1992: Barking[22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jo Richardson	18,224	51.6	+7.3
	Conservative	John G. Kennedy	11,956	33.9	−0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen W. Churchman	5,133	14.5	−6.7
Majority			6,268	17.7	+7.9
Turnout			35,313	70.0	+3.1
Registered electors			50,454
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Barking[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jo Richardson	15,307	44.3	+2.2
	Conservative	William Sharp	11,898	34.5	+4.1
	Liberal	John Gibb	7,366	21.2	−4.4
Majority			3,409	9.9	−1.9
Turnout			34,541	66.9	+1.4
Registered electors			51,639
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.0

General election 1983: Barking[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jo Richardson	14,415	42.1	−10.7
	Conservative	Hugo Summerson	10,389	30.4	−2.0
	Liberal	J. Gibb	8,770	25.6	+14.9
	National Front	Ian Newport	646	1.9	−1.1
Majority			4,026	11.8	−8.7
Turnout			34,219	65.4	−5.7
Registered electors			52,362
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.4

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Barking

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jo Richardson	18,111	52.8	−11.1
	Conservative	Marion Roe	11,103	32.4	+16.8
	Liberal	M.F. Taylor	3,679	10.7	−4.9
	National Front	Ian Newport	1,021	3.0	−1.9
	Independent Labour	J Barry	400	1.2	N/A
Majority			7,008	20.4	−27.9
Turnout			34,314	71.1	+3.7
Registered electors			48,289
	Labour hold		Swing	−14.0

General election October 1974: Barking[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jo Richardson	21,546	63.9	+3.8
	Conservative	Eric Forth	5,256	15.6	−3.2
	Liberal	M Taylor	5,245	15.6	−5.5
	National Front	C. Bond	1,661	4.9	N/A
Majority			16,290	48.3	+9.3
Turnout			33,706	67.4	−9.2
Registered electors			50,039
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.5

General election February 1974: Barking[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jo Richardson	22,846	60.1	−9.3
	Liberal	M. Taylor	8,012	21.1	N/A
	Conservative	Eric Forth	7,154	18.8	−11.8
Majority			14,834	39.0	+0.2
Turnout			38,011	76.6	+15.0
Registered electors			49,617
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Barking[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Tom Driberg	21,097	69.4	+3.2
	Conservative	Geoffrey Pattie	9,309	30.6	+8.8
Majority			11,788	38.8	−5.5
Turnout			49,363	61.6	−10.4
Registered electors			49,363
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.8

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Barking[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Tom Driberg	22,994	66.2	+3.6
	Conservative	Geoffrey Pattie	7,584	21.8	−0.8
	Liberal	James T. Silvey	4,181	12.0	−2.8
Majority			15,410	44.3	+4.2
Turnout			48,281	72.0	−1.2
Registered electors			48,281
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.2

General election 1964: Barking[30][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Tom Driberg	23,055	62.6	+4.8
	Conservative	Geoffrey C Waterer	8,296	22.6	−5.6
	Liberal	Nicholas Henry Donahue	5,463	14.8	+0.9
Majority			14,759	40.1	+10.5
Turnout			50,326	73.2	−5.3
Registered electors			50,326
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.2

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Barking[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Tom Driberg	23,454	57.8	−11.4
	Conservative	Kenneth F Dibben	11,454	28.2	−2.6
	Liberal	David E Evans	5,648	13.9	N/A
Majority			12,000	29.6	−8.8
Turnout			51,654	78.5	+4.9
Registered electors			51,654
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.4

General election 1955: Barking[34][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Somerville Hastings	27,129	69.2	+1.8
	Conservative	Bernard Massey	12,082	30.8	+5.7
Majority			15,047	38.4	−4.0
Turnout			53,314	73.6	−8.3
Registered electors			53,314
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.0

General election 1951: Barking[36][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Somerville Hastings	30,486	67.4	+1.1
	Conservative	Michael Thomas Ben Underhill	11,340	25.1	+2.6
	Liberal	Norman Henry Cork	3,387	7.5	−3.7
Majority			19,146	42.4	−1.5
Turnout			55,219	81.9	−1.7
Registered electors			55,219
	Labour hold		Swing	−0.8

General election 1950: Barking[38][39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Somerville Hastings	30,299	66.3	−4.2
	Conservative	Kenneth Edward Boulton Glenny	10,269	22.5	+6.4
	Liberal	Harry Willcock	5,109	11.2	−2.2
Majority			20,030	43.9	−10.5
Turnout			54,627	83.6	+10.8
Registered electors			54,627
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.3

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Barking[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Somerville Hastings	24,504	70.5	N/A
	Conservative	Kenneth Edward Boulton Glenny	5,593	16.1	N/A
	Liberal	Harry Willcock	4,674	13.4	N/A
Majority			18,911	54.4	N/A
Turnout			34,771	72.8	N/A
Registered electors			47,770
	Labour win (new seat)

Notes and references

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

References

1. "Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
2. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on November 6, 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. Barking election result (BBC News online).
4. "The Battle for Barking". Channel 4. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
5. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
6. 2010 post-revision map Greater London and metropolitan areas of England
7. Cooke, Phoebe. "Boundary review: Dagenham's Eastbrook ward could be lost to Romford".
8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
9. "Barking parliamentary constituency - Election 2019" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
10. "Election results for Barking". Barking and Dagenham. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
11. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-08-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. "MORE TUSC CANDIDATES IN PLACE AS ELECTION CHALLENGE GROWS". www.tusc.org.uk.
14. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. Statement of Persons Nominated, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
16. Barking UKPolling
17. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Barking [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
21. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1992-97 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
22. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
24. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "UK General Election results: October 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
27. "UK General Election results: February 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2009-12-05. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
28. "UK General Election results 1970 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
29. "UK General Election results: March 1966 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
30. "UK General Election results: October 1964 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
32. "UK General Election results: October 1959 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
34. "UK General Election results: May 1955 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
36. "UK General Election results: October 1951 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
38. "UK General Election results: February 1950 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
40. "UK General Election results: July 1945 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2010-06-10.

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)