Regent's Park and Kensington North was a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and West London represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It elected one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system of election.

History

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the former seats of Westminster North and

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

. It was abolished at the 2010 general election. With its stark contrasts between prosperity and deprivation, the constituency should have been a highly competitive marginal between the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and Labour Party in an even year, although for the three general elections of its existence it was won firmly by Labour. Before its creation it was considered a constituency likely to produce low swings which would be won on differential turnout, similar to its predecessor seats. However, in the political climate of the late 1990s and early 2000s, in which

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

dominated, this proved not to be the case.

Boundaries

The constituency covered the areas of

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...

, the

Harrow Road The Harrow Road is an ancient route in North West London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction towards Harrow. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of Queens Park and Kensal Green, straddling the NW10 ...

Westbourne Green Westbourne Green is an area of Westbourne, London, the centre of the former hamlet of Westbourne, at the north-western corner of the City of Westminster. It is named for its location west of a bourne (small stream). Traditionally a rural area, ...

Maida Hill Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...

Little Venice Little Venice is a district in West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction forms a triangular shape basin. Many of the buildi ...

, parts of Queen's Park, parts of

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

and

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, as well as

North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green and in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The names North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove describe the same area. North Kensington is w ...

. The electoral wards of the constituency were: *From the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

: Avondale; Colville; Golborne; Kelfield; St Charles. Following boundary changes for local elections in 2002, Avondale and Kelfield wards were combined to create Notting Barns. *From the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

: Church Street; Hamilton Terrace; Harrow Road;

; Lords;

; Queen's Park; Regent's Park; Westbourne. In 2002, a

Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and pol ...

review abolished the Hamilton Terrace and Lords wards, with the areas absorbed by Regent's Park and the new ward of Abbey Road. For the 2005 general election, the electoral wards used in this constituency were Bayswater (part), Bryanston and Dorset Square (part), Colville, Church Street, Golborne, Harrow Road, Little Venice, Maida Vale, Norland (part), Notting Barns, Queen's Park, Regent's Park, St Charles and Westbourne. Despite the name, the seat did not include the area in the Regent's Park ward of the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

Abolition

The

Boundary Commission A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies. Notable boundary commissions have included: * Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...

proposed that the City of Westminster, together with the sparsely populated

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, receive two seats in its own right from the 2010 general election. As a result, Regent's Park and Kensington North was abolished, with most of the Westminster section going into a reformed Westminster North seat and the Kensington and Chelsea section going into a reformed

seat, Chelsea being transferred to the new

Chelsea and Fulham Chelsea and Fulham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation. It is currently represented by Greg Hands of the Conservative Party. He was the MP for the former neighbouring constituency ...

seat. The remainder of Westminster (chiefly the part taken from Bryanston and Dorset Square) was combined with the City of London in the Cities of London and Westminster seat. The part of Bayswater ward used in the latter, together with Lancaster Gate, were moved into Westminster North. These changes were implemented in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

References

*
Regent's Park and Kensington North Parliamentary Constituency borough information
by the Government Office for London
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Regent's Park and Kensington North {{coord">51.527, -0.187, type:city_region:GB-WSM, display=title Politics of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Parliamentary constituencies in London (historic)