Mitcham and Morden (UK Parliament constituency)

Mitcham and Morden is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Siobhain McDonagh of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Mitcham and Morden
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Mitcham and Morden in Greater London
County	Greater London
Electorate	67,074 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Colliers Wood, Mitcham, Morden and Merton
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Siobhain McDonagh (Labour Party (UK))
Seats	One
Created from	Mitcham Merton & Morden

History

The constituency was created in 1974 from the former seats of Mitcham and Merton & Morden.

Between 1974 and 1982 it was represented by Bruce Douglas-Mann who was elected as a Labour MP but defected in 1982 to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Douglas-Mann was the sole SDP defector to resign his seat; he sought immediate re-election.

In the by-election Douglas-Mann triggered in May 1982, during the Falklands War, Angela Rumbold (Con) was elected. Rumbold's gain was the last time the Conservative Party would gain (as opposed to hold) at a by-election until 22 May 2008 when Edward Timpson won the Crewe and Nantwich by-election.

At the 1997 general election the seat was won by the Labour Party's Siobhain McDonagh. At the 2001, 2005 and 2010 General Elections, she was re-elected, in the latter election polling the 26th highest share of the vote for the party of the 631 seats contested.^[2]

The 2015 re-election of McDonagh made the seat the 41st safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority and 14th safest in the capital.^[3] The seat is one of the capital's two seats in which its majority in 2015 surpassed the Labour Party's landslide 1997 victory (the other being Ilford South).

Boundaries

 

Map of current boundaries

1974–1983: The London Borough of Merton wards Mitcham Central, Mitcham East, Mitcham North, Mitcham South, Mitcham West, Morden, and Ravensbury.

1983–2010: Upon redrawing of most of the local government wards, the London Borough of Merton wards of Colliers Wood, Figge's Marsh, Graveney, Lavender, Longthornton, Lower Morden, Phipps Bridge, Pollards Hill, Ravensbury, and St Helier.

2010–present: As above plus Cricket Green ward, minus Phipps Bridge

Constituency profile

The seat is relatively dense suburban — predominantly the housing divides into terraced houses and low-rise apartments in southern parts of Tooting and Streatham at the northern end of the seat. In the south-west of the constituency is the most affluent part, Lower Morden. The name Mitcham and Morden is a partial misnomer — the area of the modern town centre around Morden tube station is in the Wimbledon constituency.

In the middle, the former coaching stop town of Mitcham with its ancient cricket green retains some village-like characteristics and had relatively poor transport connections until the opening of the Tramlink in 2000. In the 20th century, Mitcham became surrounded by modern council housing and light industry. Housing varies between the large rented sector, privately acquired properties much of which due to the Thatcher Ministry-introduced right to buy and significant dependence in certain areas on social housing.^[4]

Across the borough, around 40% of the population are ethnic minorities.^[5][6]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[7]	Party
	February 1974	Bruce Douglas-Mann	Labour
	1981		SDP
	1982 by-election	Angela Rumbold	Conservative
	1997	Siobhain McDonagh	Labour

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Mitcham and Morden^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	27,964	61.1	-7.6
	Conservative	Toby Williams	11,482	25.1	+0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Taylor	3,717	8.1	+5.0
	Brexit Party	Jeremy Maddocks	1,202	2.6	New
	Green	Pippa Maslin	1,160	2.5	+1.2
	CPA	Des Coke	216	0.5	0.0
Majority			16,482	36.0	-8.5
Turnout			45,741	65.3	-4.7
Registered electors			68,705
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.2

General election 2017: Mitcham and Morden^[9][10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	33,039	68.7	+8.0
	Conservative	Alicia Kearns	11,664	24.2	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Claire Mathys	1,494	3.1	0.0
	UKIP	Richard Hilton	1,054	2.2	-7.3
	Green	Laura Collins	644	1.3	-1.9
	CPA	Des Coke	223	0.5	0.0
Majority			21,375	44.5	+7.0
Turnout			48,118	70.0	+4.1
Registered electors			68,705
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.45

General election 2015: Mitcham and Morden^[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	27,380	60.7	+4.2
	Conservative	Paul Holmes	10,458	23.2	−2.0
	UKIP	Richard Hilton	4,287	9.5	+7.5
	Green	Mason Redding	1,422	3.2	+2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Coman	1,378	3.1	−8.8
	CPA	Des Coke	217	0.5	New
Majority			16,922	37.5	+6.2
Turnout			45,142	65.9	−1.1
Registered electors			68,474
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 2010: Mitcham and Morden^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	24,722	56.5	+0.1
	Conservative	Melanie Hampton	11,056	25.2	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Coman	5,202	11.9	−2.1
	BNP	Tony Martin	1,386	3.2	New
	UKIP	Andrew Mills	857	2.0	New
	Green	Smarajit Roy	381	0.9	−2.6
	Independent	Rathy Alagaratnam	155	0.4	-0.1
	Independent	Ernest Redgrave	38	0.1	New
Majority			13,666	31.3	-0.2
Turnout			43,798	67.0	+6.2
Registered electors			65,939
	Labour hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Mitcham and Morden^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	22,489	56.4	−4.0
	Conservative	Andrew Shellhorn	9,929	24.9	+0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jo A.E. Christie-Smith	5,583	14.0	+3.9
	Green	Thomas Walsh	1,395	3.5	+1.1
	Veritas	Adrian Roberts	286	0.7	New
	Independent	Rathy Alagaratnam	186	0.5	New
Majority			12,560	31.5	-5.8
Turnout			39,868	61.2	+3.4
Registered electors			65,148
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.4

General election 2001: Mitcham and Morden^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	22,936	60.4	+2.0
	Conservative	Henry Stokes	9,151	24.1	−5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Harris	3,820	10.1	+2.5
	Green	Thomas Walsh	926	2.4	+1.5
	BNP	John Tyndall	642	1.7	+0.6
	UKIP	Adrian Roberts	486	1.3	+1.1
Majority			13,785	36.3	+7.6
Turnout			37,961	57.8	−15.5
Registered electors			65,671
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Mitcham and Morden^{[18][19][20][21]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	27,984	58.4	+15.9
	Conservative	Angela Rumbold	14,243	29.7	−16.8
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Harris	3,632	7.6	−1.6
	Referendum	Peter J. Isaacs	810	1.7	New
	BNP	Linda Miller	521	1.1	New
	Green	Thomas Walsh	415	0.9	−0.4
	Independent	Krishnapillai Vasan	144	0.3	New
	UKIP	John R. Barrett	117	0.2	New
	Anti-Corruption	Nigel T.V. Dixon	80	0.2	New
Majority			13,741	28.7	N/A
Turnout			47,946	73.3	−7.0
Registered electors			65,402
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-16.0

General election 1992: Mitcham and Morden^[22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Rumbold	23,789	46.5	−1.7
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	22,055	43.1	+7.9
	Liberal Democrats	John C. Field	4,687	9.2	−7.6
	Green	Thomas J. Walsh	655	1.3	New
Majority			1,734	3.4	−9.6
Turnout			51,186	80.3	+4.6
Registered electors			63,273
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Mitcham and Morden^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Rumbold	23,002	48.2	+5.5
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh	16,819	35.2	+6.4
	SDP	Bruce Douglas-Mann	7,930	16.6	−10.8
Majority			6,183	13.0	-0.9
Turnout			47,751	75.7	+2.6
Registered electors			63,089
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.5

General election 1983: Mitcham and Morden^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Rumbold	19,827	42.7	−1.2
	Labour	D.G. Nicholas	13,376	28.8	−16.4
	SDP	Bruce Douglas-Mann	12,720	27.4	+18.5
	National Front	J.R. Perryman	539	1.2	−0.8
Majority			6,451	13.9	N/A
Turnout			46,462	73.1	-3.8
Registered electors			63,535
	Conservative hold		Swing

1982 Mitcham and Morden by-election^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Rumbold	13,306	43.4	−0.5
	SDP	Bruce Douglas-Mann	9,032	29.4	+20.5
	Labour	David Nicholas	7,475	24.4	−20.8
	National Front	Joseph Pearce	547	1.8	−0.2
	Independent Liberal	Edward Larkin	123	0.4	New
	Ethnic Minority Candidate	Roy Sawh	84	0.3	New
	Democratic Monarchist	Bill Boaks	66	0.2	New
	COPS	Jitendra Bardwaj	22	0.1	New
	Computer Democrat	Christopher Farnsworth	18	0.0	New
Majority			4,274	14.0	N/A
Turnout			30,673	48.5	-28.4
Registered electors			63,259
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+10.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Merton, Mitcham and Morden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bruce Douglas-Mann	21,668	45.2	−3.0
	Conservative	D. Samuel	21,050	43.9	+9.0
	Liberal	R. Locke	4,258	8.9	−7.1
	National Front	J. Perryman	966	2.0	New
Majority			618	1.3	-12.0
Turnout			47,942	76.9	+5.9
Registered electors			62,365
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.0

General election October 1974: Merton, Mitcham and Morden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bruce Douglas-Mann	22,384	48.2	+5.7
	Conservative	D. Samuel	16,193	34.9	−1.3
	Liberal	M. Simpson	7,429	16.0	−4.4
	Communist	Sid French	281	0.6	−0.4
	Independent	G. Giddins	106	0.2	New
	Air Road Public Safety White Resident	Bill Boaks	68	0.2	New
Majority			6,191	13.3	+7.0
Turnout			46,461	71.0	−8.0
Registered electors			65,398
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.5

General election February 1974: Merton, Mitcham and Morden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bruce Douglas-Mann	21,771	42.5
	Conservative	David Harris	18,546	36.2
	Liberal	P. C. Spratling	10,462	20.4
	Communist	Sid French	507	1.0
Majority			3,225	6.3
Turnout			51,286	79.0
Registered electors			64,894
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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

1. . 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "General Election Results from the Electoral Commission".
3. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. from the original on 29 September 2018.
4. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
5. "UKPollingReport Election Guide 2010 » Mitcham and Morden".
6. . Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
8. "Mitcham & Morden Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
9. "Merton Council Statement of Persons Nominated Mitcham and Morden General Election 2017" (PDF). Merton Council. Retrieved 13 April 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
10. "Mitcham & Morden parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
11. http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
12. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. Services, CS-Democracy (7 May 2015). "Councillors". democracy.merton.gov.uk.
14. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Mitcham & Morden". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
17. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
20. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.120 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
21. "'Mitcham and Morden', May 1997 -". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
22. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. . Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
24. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 19 September 2015.

External links

• (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)

Coordinates: 51°24′04″N 0°10′34″W / 51.401°N 0.176°W / 51.401; -0.176