Regent's Park and Kensington North (UK Parliament constituency)

UK constituency infobox alt
Name = Regent's Park and Kensington North


Type = Borough
Entity = Greater London
DivisionType = County
Division = Greater London
Year = 1997
MP = Karen Buck
Party = Labour
EP = London

Regent's Park and Kensington North is a constituency in Central London and West London represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

This was a new seat created in 1997 from the northern parts of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

It covers the areas of Saint John's Wood, Maida Vale, the Harrow Road, Westbourne Green, Maida Hill, Little Venice, parts of Queen's Park, parts of Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill as well as North Kensington.

With its stark contrasts between prosperity and deprivation, the constituency should be highly competitive marginal between the Conservative Party and Labour Party in an even year, although for the period of its existence it has been firmly won by Labour for the last three consecutive general elections. Before its creation it was considered a constituency likely to produce low swings which would be won on differential turnout, similar to the old Westminster North and Kensington seats, most of which it subsumed at its creation. However, in the political climate of the late 1990s and early 2000s this has not proven to be the case.

Proposed boundary changes

The Boundary Commission has proposed that the City of Westminster together with the sparsely populated City of London receive two seats in its own right from the next General Election. As a result, Regent's Park and Kensington North will be disbanded with its Westminster section going into a reformed Westminster North and its Kensington and Chelsea section going into a reformed Kensington seat.

Kensington will likely be a Tory leaning seat, although one winnable by Labour in an exceptional year such as 1997 or 2001, while Westminster North is likely to be an extremely competitive marginal seat.

Members of Parliament

* 1997 — "present": Karen Buck, Labour

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Karen Buck
votes = 18,196
percentage = 44.7
change = −9.9Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Jeremy Bradshaw
votes = 12,065
percentage = 29.7
change = +2.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Rabi Martins
votes = 7,569
percentage = 18.6
change = +6.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = Paul Miller
votes = 1,985
percentage = 4.9
change = +1.5Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Pamela Perrin
votes = 456
percentage = 1.1
change = +0.1Election box candidate
party = Civilisation Party
candidate = Rezouk Boufas
votes = 227
percentage = 0.6
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Abby Dharamsey
votes = 182
percentage = 0.4
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 6,131
percentage = 15.1
change = Election box turnout
votes = 40,680
percentage = 51.5
change = +2.7Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = −6.3

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Karen Buck
votes = 20,247
percentage = 54.6
change = -5.3Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Peter Wilson
votes = 9,981
percentage = 26.9
change = -2.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = David Boyle
votes = 4,669
percentage = 12.6
change = +4.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = Paul Miller
votes = 1,268
percentage = 3.4
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Alliance (England)
candidate = China Miéville
votes = 459
percentage = 1.2
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Alan Crisp
votes = 354
percentage = 1.0
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Charlotte Regan
votes = 74
percentage = 0.2
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 10,266
percentage = 27.7
change = Election box turnout
votes = 37,052
percentage = 48.8
change = -19.5Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = -3.7

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Karen Buck
votes = 28,367
percentage = 59.9
change = +11.6Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Paul McGuinness
votes = 13,710
percentage = 29.0
change = -12.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Emily Gasson
votes = 4,041
percentage = 8.5
change = +0.6Election box candidate with party link
party = Referendum Party
candidate = Sandra Dangoor
votes = 867
percentage = 1.8
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Natural Law Party
candidate = Jonathan Hinde
votes = 192
percentage = 0.4
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket
candidate = Debbie Sadowitz
votes = 167
percentage = 0.4
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 14,657
percentage = 30.9
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 68.4
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = +11.9

See also

* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London

References

* [http://www.go-london.gov.uk/boroughinfo/Constituency.aspx?c=60 Regent's Park and Kensington North Parliamentary Constituency borough information] by the Government Office for London
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=bDtm2o0m7gIC&pg=PA655&dq=%22Regent%27s+Park+and+Kensington+North%22&sig=NbuB7VAzWxF7ZCHbueCsjV9-IkI The Almanac of British Politics By Robert Waller, Byron Criddle]