East Ham (UK Parliament constituency)

East Ham
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary within Greater London
County	Greater London
Electorate	70,902 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	East Ham, Manor Park
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Stephen Timms (Labour Party)
Seats	One
Created from	Newham North East, Newham South

East Ham is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in the London Borough of Newham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its creation in 1997 by Stephen Timms of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

Further to the completion of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the seat was subject to boundary changes, with the Beckton and Royal Docks wards being transferred from East Ham to West Ham and Beckton. ^[2]

Constituency profile

East Ham is an urban and suburban constituency located in the Borough of Newham in the east of London. It covers the neighbourhoods of East Ham and Little Ilford. Most of the constituency is made up of dense Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing and the population has grown rapidly during the 21st century. ^[3] The constituency has very high levels of deprivation and house prices are considerably lower than the London average. ^{[4] [5]}

In general, residents of the constituency are young and have low levels of education and homeownership. Household income is lower than the London average and residents are considerably less likely to work in professional occupations. ^[5] A majority of the population (59%) were of Asian background at the 2021 census with Bangladeshis forming the largest individual ethnic group. White people were 20% of the population, less than half of whom were of White British background, and Black people were 13%. ^[6] At the local council, all wards covered by the constituency are represented by Labour Party councillors. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, an estimated 53% of residents voted to remain in the European Union, higher than the nationwide figure but lower than the London average. ^[5]

History

Predecessor seats and constituent wards

The seat was formed in 1997 when Newham North East and part of Newham South were replaced by the seat.

East Ham's wards have long been Labour strongholds. Ron Leighton (Lab) was MP for the old Newham North East from 1979 until his death in 1994.

Summary of results

Stephen Timms (Lab) has represented the seat since its creation in 1997. At the 2010 general election, Timms received the most votes of any MP (35,471) and largest majority (27,826) of any MP. The seat has the second-highest numerical majority and fourth-highest percentage of majority in the country, behind other staunch Labour "safe seats" in Merseyside. ^[7] Every component ward has only Labour councillors (resulting from local elections) and the party's general election candidate has achieved an absolute majority in the five elections since creation, against a wide assortment of political parties.

The RESPECT Coalition stood a candidate once, hoping to benefit from opposition to the Iraq war in the 2005 general election which saw elsewhere their first MP, and took second place. ^{[n 3]}

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

The constituency covers north-eastern parts of Newham, including East Ham, Little Ilford, Manor Park and Plashet.

1997–2010: The London Borough of Newham wards of Castle, Central, Greatfield, Kensington, Little Ilford, Manor Park, Monega, St Stephen's, South, and Wall End.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Newham wards of Beckton, Boleyn, East Ham Central, East Ham North, East Ham South, Green Street East, Little Ilford, Manor Park, Royal Docks, and Wall End.

2024–present: The London Borough of Newham wards of Boleyn, East Ham, East Ham South, Green Street East, Little Ilford, Manor Park, Plashet, Wall End, and small parts of Forest Gate South and Plaistow North. ^[8]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [9]	Party
	1997	Sir Stephen Timms	Labour

Election results

Election results 1997-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: East Ham ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	19,570	51.6	−26.2
	Independent	Tahir Mirza	6,707	17.7	N/A
	Green	Rosie Pearce	4,226	11.2	+9.6
	Conservative	Maria Higson	3,876	10.2	−4.4
	Reform	Dan Oxley	1,340	3.5	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Hillary Briffa	1,210	3.2	−0.4
	Independent	Anand Sundar	578	1.5	N/A
	Independent	Sathish Ramadoss	385	1.0	N/A
Majority			12,863	33.9	−26.8
Turnout			37,892	47.9	–18.7
Registered electors			79,086
	Labour hold

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [11]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	36,748	77.8
	Conservative	6,885	14.6
	Liberal Democrats	1,685	3.6
	Brexit Party	924	2.0
	Green	755	1.6
	Others	250	0.5
Turnout		47,247	66.6
Electorate		70,902

General election 2019: East Ham ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	41,703	76.3	−6.9
	Conservative	Scott Pattenden	8,527	15.6	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Fox	2,158	4.0	+2.8
	Brexit Party	Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert	1,107	2.0	N/A
	Green	Michael Spracklin	883	1.6	+0.8
	Communities United	Kamran Malik	250	0.5	N/A
Majority			33,176	60.7	−9.7
Turnout			54,628	61.9	−5.6
Registered electors			88,316
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.8

General election 2017: East Ham ^{[13] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	47,124	83.2	+5.6
	Conservative	Kirsty Finlayson	7,241	12.8	+0.7
	UKIP	Daniel Oxley	697	1.2	−3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Glanville Williams	656	1.2	−0.4
	Green	Chidi Oti-Obihara	474	0.8	−1.7
	Friends Party	Choudhry Afzal	311	0.5	N/A
	Independent	Mirza Rahman	130	0.2	N/A
Majority			39,883	70.4	+4.9
Turnout			56,633	67.5	+7.7
Registered electors			83,928
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

General election 2015: East Ham ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	40,563	77.6	+7.2
	Conservative	Samir Jassal	6,311	12.1	−3.1
	UKIP	Daniel Oxley	2,622	5.0	N/A
	Green	Tamsin Omond [16]	1,299	2.5	+1.3
	Liberal Democrats	David Thorpe	856	1.6	−10.0
	Communities United	Mohammed Aslam	409	0.8	N/A
	TUSC	Lois Austin [17]	230	0.4	N/A
Majority			34,252	65.5	+10.3
Turnout			52,290	59.8	+4.2
Registered electors			87,382
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 2010: East Ham ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	35,471	70.4	+16.8
	Conservative	Paul Shea	7,645	15.2	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Brice	5,849	11.6	+0.8
	English Democrat	Barry O'Connor	822	1.6	N/A
	Green	Judy Maciejowska	586	1.2	N/A
Majority			27,826	55.2	+22.0
Turnout			50,373	55.6	+8.0
Registered electors			90,674
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.7

This was the largest numerical majority of any seat in the 2010 general election.

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: East Ham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	21,326	53.9	−19.2
	Respect	Abdul Mian	8,171	20.7	N/A
	Conservative	Sarah L. Macken	5,196	13.1	−3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Ann M. Haigh	4,296	10.9	+3.9
	CPA	David J. Bamber	580	1.5	N/A
Majority			13,155	33.2	−23.2
Turnout			39.569	50.7	−1.6
Registered electors			78,110
	Labour hold		Swing	−20.0

General election 2001: East Ham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	27,241	73.1	+8.5
	Conservative	Peter Campbell	6,209	16.7	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Bridget C. Fox	2,600	7.0	+0.5
	Socialist Labour	Roderick Finlayson	783	2.1	−4.7
	UKIP	Johinda Pandhal	444	1.2	N/A
Majority			21,032	56.4	+7.9
Turnout			37,277	52.3	−8.0
Registered electors			71,255
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.0

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: East Ham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Timms	25,779	64.6
	Conservative	Angela Bray	6,421	16.1
	Socialist Labour	Imran Khan	2,697	6.8
	Liberal Democrats	Mike J. Sole	2,599	6.5
	BNP	Colin Smith	1,258	3.2
	Referendum	Joy E. McCann	845	2.1
	National Democrats	Graham G. Hardy	290	0.7
Majority			19,358	48.5
Turnout			39,889	60.3
Registered electors			66,111
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. On a −19.95% swing (Lab-Respect)

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – London". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – London | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
3. Office for National Statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E09000025
4. "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
5. "Seat Details - East Ham". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
6. "2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
7. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
8. "New Seat Details – East Ham". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
10. "Election Results 2024". London Borough of Newham. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
11. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 July 2024.
12. https://www.newham.gov.uk/Documents/Council%20and%20Democracy/StatementOfPersonsNominatedAndNoticeOfPollEastHam.pdf ^{[ dead link ]}
13. "East Ham parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
14. "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
15. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
16. "Natalie Bennett's Green Party Candidates You'll Want To Be Mates With". The Debrief. 19 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
17. "TUSC parliamentary candidates in May 2015" (PDF). Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition . 4 February 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2015.
18. Statement of Persons Nominated Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , Newham Council

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• East Ham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• East Ham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• East Ham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51°31′37″N0°03′32″E / 51.527°N 0.059°E / 51.527; 0.059