County Greater London Created 1974 (1974) Member of parliament Seema Malhotra | Electorate 80,437 (December 2010) European Parliament constituency London Number of members 1 | |
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Created from Feltham and Heston & Isleworth Major settlements Feltham, Heston, London Borough of Hounslow Replaced by Feltham, Heston and Isleworth | ||
Feltham and Heston is a constituency created in 1974 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2011, its MP has been Seema Malhotra of the Labour Co-operative Party (which denotes she is a member of the Labour Party and Co-operative Party, one of 27 current Labour MPs, and requires members to contribute practically to a cooperative business).
Contents
History
The seat has been confined throughout to the western electoral half of the London Borough of Hounslow. Its main predecessor seat was Feltham comprising Feltham, Bedfont, Hanworth, Hounslow Heath and Cranford; the other direct forerunner Heston & Isleworth contributed its former westernmost settlements: Heston and Hounslow West. Before 1945 about half of the present area and half of its then-population were in the Twickenham seat (formed in 1885), the remainder, Feltham, Hanworth and Bedfont were in the Spelthorne seat (formed in 1918 from the southern part of Uxbridge (UK Parliament constituency)).
The proximity of gravel to the surface of the near-flat land — see Hounslow Heath — restricts productivity and diversity of plant life across the constituency, a factor which led the area to significant industrial use since the mid-19th century and the construction of London Heathrow Airport, the area's largest employer including its many import/export businesses. The area at central Feltham and on the busy and slower Piccadilly Line, at Feltham and Heston's two Hounslow tube stations, has connections to central London.
This part of the Borough of Hounslow since 1955 has the great majority of its 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi) of Metropolitan Green Belt forming an immediate buffer zone for all of Greater London. The M4 motorway and dualled parts of the A4, A30 and A316 roads run close to a significant minority of homes.
The seat has been won by the Labour Party from the 1992 election onwards; its greatest winning majority was 35%, in 2001, and lowest 3.3%, in 1992. The runner-up candidate in each election has been Conservative. The seat is of average safety by size of majority, the 122nd safest Labour majority of 232 seats.
The current MP Seema Malhotra (Labour Co-operative) was first elected at the 2011 by-election after the death of the incumbent, Alan Keen, who won the seat from a Conservative, Patrick Ground. in 1992.
Boundaries
Feltham and Heston covers the western half of the London Borough of Hounslow. Feltham occupies the southern part of the L-shape formed by the borough. Heston occupies the far north bounded by the M4 motorway. In the south of the constituency is Hanworth, with Bedfont in the far west — both are postally parts of Feltham.
The seat has electoral wards:
The London Borough of Hounslow's eastern half is the Brentford and Isleworth seat.
Constituency profile
Parts of the London Borough of Hounslow are lower on the socio-economic scales than those in neighbouring Brentford and Isleworth. There is higher proportion of social housing, though unemployment is low proportionally by London standards. The seat also includes the western part of the slightly larger urban centre, Hounslow.
To the northwest is London Heathrow Airport where many local constituents are employed, and small storage, distribution businesses are a feature of this half of the borough, as well as light industry and office accommodation. Next to Cranford on the A4 Bath Road are most of the luxury airport hotels, and an imposing 1998 conversion of the office block Astronaut House into a hotel in Feltham's linear town centre. The constituency includes a Young Offenders Institution and a Motorway Service Station. Across all wards car ownership is much higher than the London average, however for the small proportion of people (who work in the City), Feltham railway station, Hounslow West tube station, Hounslow Central tube station and Hatton Cross tube station provide good links from most areas to the capital.