Romford is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

since 2001 by

Andrew Rosindell Andrew Richard Rosindell MP (; born 17 March 1966) is a British Conservative politician. He became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Romford constituency in Greater London in 2001. He has been the international director of the European ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

. It was created in 1885.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, and part of the Sessional Division of Becontree. 1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Barking and Romford, and the Rural District of Romford. 1945–1950: The Borough of Romford. 1950–1955: The Borough of Romford, and the Urban District of Brentwood. 1955–1974: The Borough of Romford. 1974–1983: The London Borough of Havering wards of Bedfords, Central, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, and Oldchurch. 1983–1997: The London Borough of Havering wards of Brooklands, Chase Cross, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, Oldchurch, Rise Park, and St Edward's. 1997–2010: The London Borough of Havering wards of Ardleigh Green, Brooklands, Chase Cross, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, Oldchurch, Rise Park, and St Edward's. 2010–2022: The London Borough of Havering wards of Brooklands, Havering Park, Hylands, Mawneys, Pettits, Romford Town, and Squirrel's Heath. 2022-Present: The London Borough of Havering wards of Havering-Atte-Bower, Hylands & Harrow Lodge, Marshalls & Rise Park, Mawneys, Rush Green & Crowlands, Squirrels Heath, St. Edward's and St. Alban's. ;Changes at the 2010 boundary review Parliament accepted the

Boundary Commission A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies. Notable boundary commissions have included: * Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...

Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern ...

, which slightly altered this constituency for the 2010 general election: Hylands ward and part of Romford Town ward (following a review of ward boundaries) was transferred into the area from the former constituency of

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a ...

, and the shared part of Emerson Park was transferred from Romford to help form the new Hornchurch and Upminster constituency.

Constituency profile

The constituency covers

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

Gidea Park Gidea Park () is a neighbourhood in the east of Romford in the London Borough of Havering, south-east England. Predominantly affluent and residential, it was historically within the county of Essex and saw significant expansion in the early 20t ...

and

Collier Row Collier Row is an area of Romford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Havering. It is a suburban development north of Romford town centre, around north-east of Charing Cross. The area is based on a large housing estate built d ...

in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

, east London. Although the constituency includes the middle-income Romford Garden Suburb area, ex-

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

forms a substantial part of the constituency, largely bought under the

Right to Buy The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...

and the borough has a high level of households with vehicle ownership.

History

This seat was created in the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. Although Romford has been highly marginal in terms of majorities obtained through much of the 20th century, its boundaries have changed, and it has been Conservative since they gained it in the February 1974 general election when they lost their overall parliamentary majority, with the only Labour victory being a narrow gain in the 1997 landslide. It was one of the few Conservative gains in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

with increasingly safe majorities since; the 2015 result made the seat the 157th safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

* Caused by Wigram's resignation * Caused by Theobald's death

Elections in the 1880s

Boundary changes

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Politics Resources
(Election results from 1922 onwards)

(Election results from 1955 onwards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Romford (Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of the London Borough of Havering Parliamentary constituencies in London Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Romford