Finchley and Golders Green (UK Parliament constituency)
Finchley and Golders Green is a constituency[n 1] created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The current MP is Mike Freer of the Conservative Party, who has held the seat since 2010.[n 2]
| Finchley and Golders Green | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of Finchley and Golders Green in Greater London | |
| County | Greater London |
| Electorate | 71,595 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Finchley, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Golders Green and Cricklewood |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1997 |
| Member of Parliament | Mike Freer (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Finchley, Hendon South |
Boundaries
1997–2010: The London Borough of Barnet wards of Childs Hill, East Finchley, Finchley, Garden Suburb, Golders Green, St Paul's, and Woodhouse.
2010–present: As above; less St Paul's, plus West Finchley and replacing Finchley with Finchley Church End.
The constituency covers Finchley, Golders Green, Childs Hill, Temple Fortune and Hampstead Garden Suburb in the London Borough of Barnet. It was created in 1997 largely replacing the abolished constituency of Finchley—plus major parts of abolished Hendon South, less some of its wards transferred to the Chipping Barnet seat which covers Barnet. Specifically the creation saw the removal of Friern Barnet and the addition of Golders Green, Childs Hill and Hampstead Garden Suburb.
2007 boundary review
Under a review of parliamentary representation, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended in a boundary report published in 2007 that:
- parts of Golders Green ward and Finchley Church End ward be transferred from Hendon
- part of Woodhouse ward be transferred from Chipping Barnet;
- parts of Mill Hill ward and Coppetts ward be transferred to Hendon and Chipping Barnet respectively.
These changes took effect at the 2010 general election.
2023 boundary review
The Boundary Commission for England recommended boundaries which will come into effect at the next General Election.[2] Finchley and Golders Green constituency will cover the London Borough of Barnet wards of Childs Hill, Cricklewood, East Finchley, Garden Suburb, Golders Green, West Finchley and Woodhouse.[3][4]
History
Most of this zone was in Finchley (abolished), created in 1918, most famously represented by former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1959 to 1992; reshaping meant that she never re-won as large a majority as in 1959, and was re-elected by a 10 per cent margin in 1974. She nonetheless won 8,000 and 9,000 majorities, 20 per cent margins, at the three general elections throughout her premiership.
Since the nominal result at the 1992 general election, and officially from its creation, the seat has been a national bellwether.
The 2015 result gave the seat the 65th-most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.[5]
The 2019 result saw Labour's share of the vote decline by 19.6% as the party dropped to third place. This was the eighth-worst decline among the 630 Labour candidates. The Liberal Democrats, who came second in the seat for the first time, increased their vote share by 25.3%, the third-largest increase of their candidates. They were partly helped by the Green Party's choice to stand aside locally via the Unite to Remain electoral pact.[6] Despite the Conservative share of the vote going down 3%, their majority quadrupled from 2017.
Constituency profile
The area is relatively green and hilly for London and has many tube stations. Finchley and Golders Green were overwhelmingly built on in the first half of the 20th century when at the fringe of London. The area has since the heyday of the railways had little industry or large headquarters of its own, the non-commuting economy being in public service, high street retail, leisure and hospitality, domestic/commercial premises tradespeople, plus home-based media, digital economy and arts workers. Commuters take in many people in the financial, medical and legal professions and some people ancillary to central London's diverse economy.
In southern parts of the London Borough of Barnet, private and one-family housing still exceeds the London average; houses tend to have gardens exceeding their footprint, yet there are also many older, subdivided, townhouses and shared or modest-size family flats. The proportion of social and assured or supported rental housing is lower than the London average. Most residents have quite high incomes largely to meet the cost of mortgages and rent, are very well educated, and middle-class – it retains many Labour Party supporters in East and West Finchley. Over 20% of residents are Jewish, the highest of any seat.[7]
Members of Parliament
| Event | Member[8] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Rudi Vis | Labour | |
| 2010 | Mike Freer | Conservative | |
According to Rallings and Thrasher, the boundary changes which came into force for the general election of 2010 meant that this seat notionally already had a Conservative majority, albeit a very small one.[9]
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mike Freer | 24,162 | 43.8 | ―3.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Luciana Berger | 17,600 | 31.9 | +25.3 | |
| Labour | Ross Houston | 13,347 | 24.2 | ―19.6 | |
| Majority | 6,562 | 11.9 | +8.7 | ||
| Turnout | 55,109 | 71.0 | ―0.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 77,573 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ―14.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mike Freer | 24,599 | 47.0 | ―3.9 | |
| Labour | Jeremy Newmark | 22,942 | 43.8 | +4.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Davies | 3,463 | 6.6 | +3.3 | |
| Green | Adele Ward | 919 | 1.8 | ―0.9 | |
| UKIP | Andrew Price | 462 | 0.9 | ―2.5 | |
| Majority | 1,657 | 3.2 | ―8.0 | ||
| Turnout | 52,389 | 71.4 | +1.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 73,329 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ―4.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mike Freer[17] | 25,835 | 50.9 | +4.9 | |
| Labour | Sarah Sackman[17] | 20,173 | 39.7 | +6.0 | |
| UKIP | Richard King[18] | 1,732 | 3.4 | +1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Davies[19] | 1,662 | 3.3 | ―13.7 | |
| Green | Adele Ward[20] | 1,357 | 2.7 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 5,662 | 11.2 | ―1.1 | ||
| Turnout | 50,759 | 70.0 | +8.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 72,530 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ―0.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mike Freer | 21,688 | 46.0 | +6.2 | |
| Labour | Alison Moore | 15,879 | 33.7 | ―5.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Laura Edge | 8,036 | 17.0 | ―0.1 | |
| UKIP | Susan Cummins | 817 | 1.7 | +0.6 | |
| Green | Donald Lyven | 737 | 1.6 | ―1.0 | |
| Majority | 5,809 | 12.3 | +11.6 | ||
| Turnout | 47,157 | 61.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 70,722 | ||||
| Conservative win (new boundaries) | |||||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rudi Vis | 17,487 | 40.5 | ―5.8 | |
| Conservative | Andrew Mennear | 16,746 | 38.8 | +1.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Garden | 7,282 | 16.9 | +4.8 | |
| Green | Noel Lynch | 1,136 | 2.6 | ―0.6 | |
| UKIP | Jeremy Jacobs | 453 | 1.0 | +0.2 | |
| Rainbow Dream Ticket | Rainbow George Weiss | 110 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 741 | 1.7 | ―6.8 | ||
| Turnout | 43,214 | 61.9 | +4.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 70,000 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ―3.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rudi Vis | 20,205 | 46.3 | +0.2 | |
| Conservative | John Marshall | 16,489 | 37.8 | ―1.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sarah Teather | 5,266 | 12.1 | +0.8 | |
| Green | Miranda Dunn | 1,385 | 3.2 | +2.1 | |
| UKIP | John de Roeck | 330 | 0.8 | +0.4 | |
| Majority | 3,716 | 8.5 | +2.1 | ||
| Turnout | 43,675 | 57.3 | ―12.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 76,178 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +1.1 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rudi Vis | 23,180 | 46.1 | ||
| Conservative | John Marshall | 19,991 | 39.7 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Jonathan M. Davies | 5,670 | 11.3 | ||
| Referendum | Gary D. Shaw | 684 | 1.4 | ||
| Green | Ashley Gunstock | 576 | 1.1 | ||
| UKIP | David N.G. Barraclough | 205 | 0.4 | ||
| Majority | 3,189 | 6.4 | |||
| Turnout | 50,306 | 69.7 | |||
| Registered electors | 72,357 | ||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
See also
- Finchley (UK Parliament constituency), approximate predecessor
- Hendon South (UK Parliament constituency), half of which was merged with Finchley
- List of parliamentary constituencies in London
Notes
- ^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
- ^ . 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "2023 Review: Final report and recommendations". The Boundary Commission for England. 2023.
- ^ "Finchley and Golders Green borough constituency" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. December 2022.
- ^ "Boundary Commission for England - Final Recommendations for the London Region: Finchley and Golders Green Borough Constituency - Electorate 75,761" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. December 2022.
- ^ "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. Glasgow: Times Books. 2020. pp. 55, 200. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1.
- ^ "UK Polling Report".
- ^
- ^ General Election 2010 – Finchley & Golders Green, BBC News
- ^ "Election of a Member of Parliament for the Finchley and Golders Green Parliamentary Constituency: Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). London Borough of Barnet. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "Finchley & Golders Green parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News.
- ^ "Finchley & Golders Green parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
- ^ "House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report" (PDF).
- ^ . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ . 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Finchley & Golders Green parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ a b "UK ELECTION RESULTS". electionresults.blogspot.co.uk.
- ^ . ukipbarnet.org. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015.
- ^ James Caven. "'We aren't going away': Lib Dems choose candidate for Finchley and Golders Green". Times Series.
- ^ . barnetgreenparty.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015.
- ^ . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ BBC News|Election 2010|Constituency|Finchley & Golders Green, BBC News, retrieved 27 July 2012
- ^ . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
External links
- (Election results from 1922 onwards)
- Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)