County Greater London Number of members 1 | Created from Willesden West | |
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Replaced by Willesden West, Brent Central, Hampstead and Kilburn | ||
Brent East was a parliamentary constituency in northwest London; it was replaced by Brent Central for the 2010 general election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
Contents
Boundaries
1974-1983: The London Borough of Brent wards of Brentwater, Brondesbury Park, Carlton, Church End, Cricklewood, Gladstone, Kilburn, Mapesbury, Queen's Park, and Willesden Green.
1983-2010: The London Borough of Brent wards of Brentwater, Brondesbury Park, Carlton, Chamberlayne, Church End, Cricklewood, Gladstone, Kilburn, Mapesbury, Queen's Park, and Willesden Green.
The constituency was one of three covering the London Borough of Brent in north-west London. It covered the south-east of the borough, including the areas of Brondesbury, Dollis Hill, Kilburn and Neasden, as well as parts of Willesden and Cricklewood.
History
The constituency was created in 1974 and first contested in the February general election of that year. An ethnically diverse area, it was previously one of the Labour Party's safest seats in London. It was held by Reg Freeson from 1974 until 1987, then by Ken Livingstone (following the abolition of the Greater London Council, of which he was leader, in 1986).
After Livingstone was expelled from the Labour Party for standing as an independent candidate for Mayor of London in 2000, he represented the constituency as an independent until standing down as MP in 2001 to concentrate on his position as Mayor. Labour retained the seat at the 2001 general election, with Paul Daisley holding the seat until his death two years later.
The resulting Brent East by-election was held on 18 September 2003, with the 2003 Invasion of Iraq as a background. Labour lost the seat to Sarah Teather of the Liberal Democrats, with a considerable 29% swing, having come from a distant third place in 2001. Teather held the seat at the 2005 general election, with an increased majority of 8.7%