Battersea (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)

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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Battersea
Borough constituencyfor the House of Commons
Outline mapBoundary of Battersea in Greater London for the 2024 general election
County Greater London
Population 106,709 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate 71,949 (2023)[2]
Current constituency
Created 1983
Member of Parliament Marsha de Cordova (Labour)
Seats One
Created from Battersea North and Battersea South
1885–1918
Seats One
Type of constituency Borough constituency
Created from Mid Surrey
Replaced by Battersea North and Battersea South

Battersea is a constituency[n 1] in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It has been represented since 2017 by Marsha de Cordova of the Labour Party.[n 2][n 3]

The seat has had two periods of existence (1885–1918 and 1983 to date). In the first Parliament after the seat's re-creation it was Labour-represented, bucking the national result, thereafter from 1987 until 2017 the affiliation of the winning candidate was that of the winning party nationally – a 30-year bellwether.

In the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency voted remain by an estimated 77%, the highest by a constituency with a Conservative MP at the time.[3]

Map

Map of boundaries from 2024

The seat covers the north-eastern third of the London Borough of Wandsworth. As drawn and redrawn since 1983, it includes central Wandsworth and in the same way as Chelsea on the opposite bank, it adjoins the Thames before it flows through central London.

It takes in all of the district of Battersea, including its large Battersea Park (which hosts frequent live entertainment events and seasonal festivals), riverside and London Heliport, and stretches eastwards to include Nine Elms. Surrounding Battersea Park, it includes Queenstown, large neighbourhoods of Battersea Town,[n 4] and, going westwards, it includes most of Wandsworth town, including the riverside, Town Hall and East Hill.[n 5] Battersea also stretches south between Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common to include Balham Ward and the eastern end of Balham (the west, for general elections, being placed since 1983 in Tooting).

1885–1918: Wards 2 and 3 of Battersea Parish, and that part of No. 4 Ward bounded on the south by Battersea Rise, and on the east by St John's Road.[4]

1983–2010: The London Borough of Wandsworth wards of Balham, Fairfield, Latchmere, Northcote, Queenstown, St John, St Mary's Park and Shaftesbury.

St John Ward was abolished for the 2002 Wandsworth elections.[5] [6] St John was thus not in use at the next general election in 2005.

For that general election, the seat included a small part of Wandsworth Town (the majority being in Tooting constituency) and most of Fairfield (a small part being in Putney).[7]

2010–2024: The London Borough of Wandsworth wards of Balham, Fairfield, Latchmere, Northcote, Queenstown, St Mary's Park and Shaftesbury.

2024–present: Following to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward boundaries in place at 1 December 2020, and enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the 2024 general election was reduced to bring it in within the permitted electoral range by transferring the majority of the Fairfield ward (polling districts FFA, FFB and FFC) to Putney. Polling district FFD was retained.[8]

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022, the Fairfield ward was largely replaced by the Wandsworth Town ward.[9][10] The constituency comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Wandsworth from the 2024 general election:

Constituency profile

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A largely residential and ethnically diverse inner-city district of south London, the seat of Battersea includes half of Clapham Common, along with parts of Balham and Wandsworth. The iconic Battersea Power Station along with Nine Elms and the Patmore Estate. Battersea Power Station dominates the skyline, while Clapham Junction continues to be the busiest railway interchange in the UK.

Thanks to the influx of commuters, the constituency's social and demographic profile has changed considerably over the last quarter of a century. At 65.5%, it has the highest proportion of people with a degree-level qualification or above amongst constituencies in England and Wales, according to Office for National Statistics 2021 Census figures. More than one in five has an associate professional and technical occupation.

A former bellwether seat, Battersea's winner came from the winning party from the 1987 to the 2015 general elections inclusive.

Battersea in the Metropolitan Board of Works area, showing "Borough of Battersea" boundaries used from 1885 to 1918 of Battersea itself

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the Constituency was to consist of-

Battersea constituency was originally created in 1885. From 1892 to 1918 the seat was held by trade union leader John Burns who served as a Minister (of the Crown) in the Liberal Cabinets of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith from 1905 until 1914.

The constituency was split in 1918 into:

The two seats have been rejoined since 1983, such that some areas of Battersea South became part of the adjoining Tooting seat. Alf Dubs (Labour), before the election the incumbent for Battersea South, won Battersea in 1983. Conservative John Bowis won in the next elections, 1987 and 1992. Martin Linton, a Labour politician, took it back in 1997 and held the seat until 2010.

In 2001, the candidate T.E Barber used the candidate description "No fruit out of context party", and advocated the end of, amongst other crimes against food, pineapples on pizza.[13]

In the book Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter, John O'Farrell describes his experiences of being the secretary of Queenstown Branch of the Battersea Labour party, during which time the branch suffered a net loss at every local election and, in 1987, lost their MP, Alf Dubs.

Benefiting from an exclusivity arrangement, the old Battersea North was one of two seats in London to have had a Communist MP: Shapurji Saklatvala represented the area from 1922 to 1929. A wealthy aristocratic Indian, he was among the five Communists elected to the national chamber in its history and was the third of the young Socialist Labour/Communist/Labour parties from an ethnic minority background. At first, Saklatvala had local Labour party support and was also a member of that party but then stood as a Communist in 1924 with local Labour party backing. The head office of the less radical Labour party mandated an official Labour candidate stand against him in 1929. The Battersea Labour Club (a drinking club not directly connected with the political party) had a notice on its notice board up until the 1980s banning Communists from admission to the club.

Members of Parliament

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First elected Member[14] Party
1885 Octavius Vaughan Morgan
1892 John Burns
1895 (new party) Liberal-Labour
see Battersea North and Battersea South for 1918–1983
1983 Alf Dubs
1987 1992 John Bowis
1997 2001 2005 Martin Linton
2010 2015 Jane Ellison
2017 2019 2024 Marsha de Cordova

Elections in the 2020s

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Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[16]
Party Vote %
Labour 25,457
Conservative 19,431
Liberal Democrats 8,316
Green 1,364
Brexit Party 350
Turnout 54,918 76.3
Electorate 71,949

Elections in the 2000s

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Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 1980s

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Elections in the 1970s

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1979 notional Battersea result (new seat created post-election)

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Elections in the 1910s

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Elections in the 1900s

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Elections in the 1890s

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John Burns

Elections in the 1880s

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Morgan sought re-election after questions arose about a government contract his firm held.

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

  2. ^ The London Borough of Wandsworth has had a Conservative Party majority of councillors in control since 1978.

  3. ^ 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.

  4. ^ Queenstown Road Battersea is passed through by the South West Main Line. Nine Elms constitutes a large 2010s mixed use neighbourhood including the landmark converted Battersea Power Station by the River Thames. The United States Embassy is part of the redevelopment.

  5. ^ Specifically: "Fairfield" Ward, Wandsworth

  6. ^ "Battersea: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 January 2015.[_permanent dead link_]

  7. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – London". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 19 June 2024.

  8. ^ "Revised estimates of leave vote in Westminster constituencies". Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

  9. ^ "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.

  10. ^ Minors, Michael (1998). London Borough Council elections 7 May 1998 : including the Greater London Authority referendum results (PDF). London: London Research Centre. Demographic and Statistical Studies. ISBN 1852612762. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

  11. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project – 2002 – Wandsworth". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

  12. ^ Fifth periodical report : presented to Parliament pursuant to section 3(5) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (PDF). London: Stationery Office. 2007. ISBN 9780101703222. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

  13. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 3 London region.

  14. ^ LGBCE. "Wandsworth | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2024.

  15. ^ "The London Borough of Wandsworth (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".

  16. ^ Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Sixth Schedule

  17. ^ Booth Poverty Map For prostitution and other "Lowest class: Vicious and semi-criminal" classification see Cumberland Street written notes: [1] Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine and a small cluster of mean streets by the railways in Nine Elms

  18. ^ Boothroyd, David (n.d.). "United Kingdom Parliamentary Election results 1997–: London Boroughs". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 7 December 2000. Retrieved 28 November 2018.

  19. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)

  20. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations" (PDF). Wandsworth London Borough Council. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

  21. ^ "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.

  22. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).[_permanent dead link_]

  23. ^ "Battersea parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.

  24. ^ "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.

  25. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

  26. ^ Council, Wandsworth. "Battersea Constituency – Parliamentary election results May 2015 – Wandsworth Council". www.wandsworth.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.

  27. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

  28. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  29. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  30. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  31. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  32. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  33. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  34. ^ a b c d e f Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.

Further reading