County Greater London Created 1950 Number of members 1 | Electorate 70,589 (December 2010) European Parliament constituency London | |
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Member of parliament John McDonnell (Labour) Created from Southall (Hayes and Harlington part) Uxbridge (West Drayton and Yiewsley part) Major settlements Harlington, London, Hayes, West Drayton, Yeading, Yiewsley | ||
Hayes and Harlington is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by John McDonnell of the Labour Party, the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 13 September 2015.
Contents
Heathrow Villages is a ward of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 12,199.
Boundaries
1950-1974: The Urban District of Hayes and Harlington.
1974-1983: The London Borough of Hillingdon wards of Belmore, Frogmore, Hayes, South, and Yeading.
1983-2010: The London Borough of Hillingdon wards of Barnhill, Botwell, Charville, Crane, Harlington, Heathrow, Townfield, Wood End, and Yeading.
2010-present: The London Borough of Hillingdon wards of Barnhill, Botwell, Charville, Heathrow Villages, Pinkwell, Townfield, West Drayton, and Yeading.
Constituency profile
In the south of the constituency is Heathrow Airport, which is the largest single provider of employment including its many associated businesses, such as retail, international distribution, cargo handling and parking throughout the seat and nearby. This area, which makes up the south of the borough, has an income level of earnings slightly below national and Greater London averages. Among its working age population, the most dominant occupation sectors are manufacturing, distribution, self-employed trades and light industry.
The constituency of Hayes and Harlington is estimated to have voted by a large majority for 'Leave' in the EU referendum, in contrast to the public stance of incumbent MP, John McDonnell, at the time of the referendum.
McDonnell's majority has fluctuated between 25.4% and 41.6% of the votes cast over his runner-up, which in each election has been the Conservative Party's candidate. The 2015 result makes the seat the 56th safest of the party's 232 seats (by majority percentage).
History
The seat traditionally, since its 1950 creation was a safe Labour seat (and its predecessor from World War II) until 1981, when its Labour MP, Neville Sandelson, defected to the now Liberal-merged Social Democratic Party. Sandelson stood for election for the new party in 1983 which led to a three-way split in the vote, less at the expense of the less affiliated party, which enabled the Conservative Terry Dicks to gain the seat in 1983 and retain it in the next two General Elections, with marginal majorities. In 1997, the seat swung heavily back to the Labour Party with the 17.5% swing to the winning party being almost double that seen nationally (of 10% average swing), and has had safe Labour majorities in the elections since.