Poplar and Limehouse is a constituency created in 2010 and represented in the

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of the

UK Parliament 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 ...

since 2019 by Apsana Begum of the Labour Party. From its creation until 2019, it was represented by Jim Fitzpatrick, also of Labour.

History

;Political history The predecessors to this constituency (area electing MPs to the House of Commons) (see history of boundaries) since 1992 have elected Labour Party representatives. In 2010, Jim Fitzpatrick had a majority of 12.9% over the runner-up Conservative Party candidate. The 2015 re-election of Fitzpatrick made the seat the 66th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. In 2019, Apsana Begum, selected to succeed the retiring Fitzpatrick as Labour's candidate, beat the runner-up Conservative Party candidate by 28,904 votes. This was more than Jim Fitzpatrick’s 27,712 vote majority at the 2017 general election, though the majority size in terms of vote share remained stable at 47.2%, and Labour's vote share declined.

Boundaries

Parliament accepted the

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Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ir ...

which proposed the seat's creation for the 2010 general election, since when it has consisted of the following

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and dist ...

: * Blackwall and

Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which l ...

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

and Lansbury,

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

East,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

, St Katharine’s and

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

, and

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...

''within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets''

History of boundaries

*Before 2010, this constituency would map into all but the north-east of the old Poplar and Canning Town constituency, plus the western end of Shadwell Ward and in the west the whole of St Katharine's & Wapping Ward, formerly parts of

Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow is a constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Rushanara Ali of the Labour Party. Boundaries Since the 2014 boundary changes, the constituency has contained the ...

. **The areas of the old constituency that were in the London Borough of Newham were removed and transferred to East Ham (5.1% of Poplar and Canning Town) and

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

(24.9%). ;Nomenclature Alternative names, including "Tower Hamlets South" and "Poplar and Millwall" were rejected following public consultation.

Constituency profile

The constituency and its predecessor seats covering the Isle of Dogs have consistently been won by the Labour Party since the 1920s. The district has changed vastly over this time, and great wealth and considerable poverty now co-exist side by side as an example of income inequality. Once home to shipping and heavy industry, the Docklands area was derelict for many years, before redevelopment began in the late-1980s. Now the area around

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

is one of the country's largest financial districts and has several landmark skyscrapers, such as One Canada Square. The redevelopment of the Docklands has led to the construction of luxury housing in the constituency, which has somewhat altered the demographics. However, in parts of the Isle of Dogs and in the areas north, east and west of Poplar, there are still areas of high deprivation. At the end of 2012, 6% of the population of the constituency were unemployment benefit claimants, ranking sixth among London seats (the highest percentage was

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

at 7.9%), and above the London-wide average of 3.9%.Unemployment claimants by constituency
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' In the 2016 EU referendum, like the majority of London; the constituency voted 65.79% for Remain.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

:* ''Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament''

Notes

References

External links

Politics Resources
(Election results from 1922 onwards)

(Election results from 1955 onwards)
Tim ArcherJim FitzpatrickJonathan FryerGeorge GallowayAndrew OsborneJim ThorntonKabir MahmudDocumentary on the 2010 election
by Catch21 {{DEFAULTSORT:Poplar And Limehouse (Uk Parliament Constituency) Limehouse Parliamentary constituencies in London Politics of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Poplar, London Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010