Harlow (UK Parliament constituency)

Harlow
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Harlow in the East of England
County	Essex
Electorate	73,479 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Harlow, Roydon
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Chris Vince (Labour Co-op)
Seats	One
Created from	Epping

Harlow is a constituency ^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Chris Vince, of the Labour and Co-operative Party. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The seat has been a bellwether since the result in 1983. It has above county-average levels of social housing, ^[2] underemployment and unemployment as at the 2001 census and the associated 2000 Index of Multiple Deprivation; ^[3] however, the new town has brought growth sustained in part by more commuting, with an increasingly-used and separate Mill station in the London Commuter Belt, and has seen a 9.2% increase in the number of apartments to 2011, which brings the proportion of the housing market made up by flats and apartments to 23.8%. ^[2]

History

This seat was created for the February 1974 general election from the abolished seat of Epping, and has been subject only to minor changes since.

Boundaries

1974–1983: Harlow Urban District, and Epping and Ongar Rural District parishes of Magdalen Laver, Matching, Nazeing, North Weald Bassett, Roydon, and Sheering. ^[4]

1983–1997: The District of Harlow, and the District of Epping Forest wards of Nazeing, North Weald Bassett, Roydon, and Sheering. ^[5]

Minor loss to Brentwood and Ongar.

1997–2010: The District of Harlow, and the District of Epping Forest wards of Nazeing, Roydon, and Sheering. ^[6]

North Weald Bassett transferred to Epping Forest.

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

2010–2024: The District of Harlow, and the District of Epping Forest wards of Hastingwood, Matching and Sheering Village, Lower Nazeing, Lower Sheering, and Roydon. ^[7]

Marginal changes due to redistribution of local authority wards.

2024–present: The District of Harlow, the District of Epping Forest wards of Roydon and Lower Nazeing and Rural East, and the Uttlesford wards of Broad Oak and the Hallingburys and Hatfield Heath.

Expanded northwards to meet the electorate size requirements. ^[8]

Members of Parliament

Epping prior to 1974

Election		Member [9]	Party
	Feb 1974	Stan Newens	Labour Co-op
	1983	Jerry Hayes	Conservative
	1997	Bill Rammell	Labour
	2010	Robert Halfon	Conservative
	2024	Chris Vince	Labour Co-op

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Harlow ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Chris Vince [11] [12]	16,313	37.6	+8.3
	Conservative	Hannah Ellis [13]	13,809	31.8	−32.8
	Reform UK	Malcolm Featherstone [14]	9,461	21.8	N/A
	Green	Yasmin Gregory [15]	2,267	5.2	+4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Riad Mannan	1,350	3.1	−2.8
	UKIP	Lois Perry	157	0.4	N/A
Majority			2,504	5.8	N/A
Turnout			43,357	58.2	–6.3
Registered electors			74,683
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	20.6

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [16]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	30,573	64.6
	Labour	13,879	29.3
	Liberal Democrats	2,783	5.9
	Green	125	0.3
Turnout		47,360	64.5
Electorate		73,479

General election 2019: Harlow ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Halfon	27,510	63.5	+9.5
	Labour	Laura McAlpine	13,447	31.0	−7.3
	Liberal Democrats	Charlotte Cane	2,397	5.5	+3.3
Majority			14,063	32.5	+16.8
Turnout			43,354	63.7	−2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.4

General election 2017: Harlow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Halfon	24,230	54.0	+5.1
	Labour	Phil Waite	17,199	38.3	+8.3
	UKIP	Mark Gough	1,787	4.0	−12.3
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Seef	970	2.2	+0.2
	Green	Hannah Clare	660	1.5	−0.7
Majority			7,031	15.7	−3.2
Turnout			44,846	66.2	+1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.6

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Harlow

General election 2015: Harlow ^{[18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Halfon	21,623	48.9	+4.0
	Labour	Suzy Stride	13,273	30.0	−3.7
	UKIP	Sam Stopplecamp	7,208	16.3	+12.7
	Green	Murray Sackwild	954	2.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Seeff	904	2.0	−11.7
	TUSC	David Brown	174	0.4	N/A
	English Democrat	Eddy Butler	115	0.3	N/A
Majority			8,350	18.9	+7.7
Turnout			44,251	65.1	±0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 2010: Harlow ^{[20] [21]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Halfon	19,691	44.9	+4.1
	Labour	Bill Rammell	14,766	33.7	−7.7
	Liberal Democrats	David White	5,990	13.7	+0.7
	BNP	Eddy Butler	1,739	4.0	N/A
	UKIP	John Croft	1,591	3.6	+1.1
	Christian	Oluyemi Adeeko	101	0.2	N/A
Majority			4,925	11.2	N/A
Turnout			43,878	65.1	+2.7
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+5.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Harlow ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Rammell	16,453	41.4	−6.4
	Conservative	Robert Halfon	16,356	41.2	+6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Lorna Spenceley	5,002	12.6	−0.8
	UKIP	John Felgate	981	2.5	−0.5
	Veritas	Anthony Bennett	941	2.4	N/A
Majority			97	0.2	−12.8
Turnout			39,733	62.6	+2.9
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.4

General election 2001: Harlow ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Rammell	19,169	47.8	−6.3
	Conservative	Robert Halfon	13,941	34.8	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Lorna Spenceley	5,381	13.4	+3.9
	UKIP	Tony Bennett	1,223	3.0	+2.3
	Socialist Alliance	John Hobbs	401	1.0	N/A
Majority			5,228	13.0	−9.0
Turnout			40,115	59.7	−14.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Harlow ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Rammell	25,861	54.1	+12.3
	Conservative	Jerry Hayes	15,347	32.1	−14.9
	Liberal Democrats	Lorna Spenceley	4,523	9.5	−1.8
	Referendum	Mark Wells	1,422	3.0	N/A
	UKIP	Gerard Batten	340	0.7	N/A
	BNP	John Bowles	319	0.7	N/A
Majority			10,514	22.0	N/A
Turnout			47,812	74.3	−8.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.6

General election 1992: Harlow ^{[25] [26]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Hayes	26,608	47.0	−0.2
	Labour	Bill Rammell	23,668	41.8	+5.2
	Liberal Democrats	Lorna Spenceley	6,375	11.3	−4.9
Majority			2,940	5.2	−5.5
Turnout			56,651	82.6	+8.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Harlow ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Hayes	26,017	47.2	+6.1
	Labour Co-op	Stanley Newens	20,140	36.6	+2.4
	SDP (Alliance)	Monica Eden-Green	8,915	16.2	−8.0
Majority			5,877	10.7	+3.8
Turnout			55,072	74.1	−2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

General election 1983: Harlow ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Hayes	21,924	41.1	+1.0
	Labour Co-op	Stanley Newens	18,250	34.2	−8.5
	Liberal (Alliance)	John Bastick	12,891	24.2	+8.6
	Independent	John Ward	256	0.5	N/A
Majority			3,674	6.9	N/A
Turnout			53,321	76.5	−2.2
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing	+4.8

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Harlow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Stanley Newens	22,698	42.7	−10.0
	Conservative	John Powley	21,306	40.1	+15.8
	Liberal	Robert Woodthorpe Browne	8,289	15.7	−7.4
Majority			1,392	2.6	−25.8
Turnout			53,133	78.7	+3.5
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	−12.9

General election October 1974: Harlow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Stanley Newens	24,961	52.7	+3.2
	Conservative	James Emerton Smith	11,510	24.3	−0.7
	Liberal	Basil Goldstone	10,869	23.0	−2.5
Majority			13,451	28.4	+4.4
Turnout			47,340	75.2	−8.7
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+2.0

General election February 1974: Harlow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Stanley Newens	25,814	49.5	−11.4
	Liberal	Basil Goldstone	13,280	25.5	+25.5
	Conservative	James Emerton Smith	13,016	25.0	−14.1
Majority			12,534	24.0	+2.2
Turnout			52,110	83.9	+10.0
	Labour Co-op win (new seat)

General election 1970 (Notional): Harlow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		29,453	60.9
	Conservative		18,880	39.1
Majority			10,573	21.8
Turnout			48,333	72.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Preceded by Epping	UK Parliament constituency 1974–	Succeeded by Current Incumbent

Graphical representation

February 1974New Seat

49.5%	25.5%	25.0%
Labour	Liberal	Conservative

October 1974

52.7%	23.0%	24.3%
Labour	Liberal	Conservative

1979

42.7%	15.7%	40.1%
Labour	Liberal	Conservative

1983

34.2%	24.2%		41.1%
Labour	Liberal		Conservative

1987

36.6%	16.2%	47.2%
Labour	SDP	Conservative

1992

41.8%	11.3%	47.0%
Labour	Lib Dems	Conservative

1997

54.1%	9.5%	32.1%	3.0%
Labour	Lib Dems	Conservative	Ref

2001

	47.8%	13.4%	34.8%	3.0%
	Labour	Lib Dems	Conservative	UKIP

2005

41.4%	12.6%	41.2%
Labour	Lib Dems	Conservative

2010

33.7%	13.7%		44.9%	3.6%	4.0%
Labour	Lib Dems		Conservative	UKIP	BNP

2015

		30.0%		48.9%	16.3%
		Labour		Conservative	UKIP

2017

	38.4%		54.0%	4.0%
	Labour		Conservative	UKIP

2019

31.0%	5.5%	63.5%
Labour	LD	Conservative

2024

5.2%	37.6%		31.9%	21.8%
Green	Labour		Conservative	Reform

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex

Notes

1. A county 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.

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
2. 2011 census interactive maps 31.2% of property is socially rented, higher than the other districts in Essex Archived 29 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Local statistics – Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
4. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
10. Harlow
11. "Chris Vince selected as Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Harlow". Your Harlow. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
12. "2024 General Election candidates". Co-operative Party. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
13. Robert Halfon [@RtHonRobHalfon] (30 May 2024). "Huge congratulations to Hannah Ellis who is the new Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for @HarlowTories…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. "Find My PPC (East of England)" (PDF). Reform UK . Retrieved 21 December 2023.
15. "Green Party select Yasmin Gregory to fight General Election in Harlow". Your Harlow. 29 January 2024.
16. "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.
17. "General election results". Harlow Council. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
18. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
19. "Harlow Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
20. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
21. Statement of Persons Nominated Harlow Council
22. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
27. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

External links

• BBC News coverage
• Harlow UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Harlow UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Harlow UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51°46′N0°05′E / 51.77°N 0.09°E / 51.77; 0.09