Erith and Thamesmead
Erith and Thamesmead is a constituency created in 1997 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Abena Oppong-Asare of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
The Erith and Thamesmead constituency is located in the east of Greater London on the south bank of the River Thames, and is made up of parts of the boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich. It contains the neighbourhoods of Erith, Thamesmead, Belvedere, Abbey Wood, Plumstead and Shooter's Hill. Much of the area, especially Thamesmead, was developed for social housing in the 1960s. There is a large industrial area on the bank of the river, which includes Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, and the constituency is the site of Isis, Thameside and Belmarsh prisons, the latter of which holds some of the country's most high-profile prisoners. The constituency has high levels of deprivation and house prices are around half the London average.In general, residents of the constituency are young and have low levels of education, income and professional employment compared to the rest of London. The constituency is ethnically diverse; at the 2021 census, 46% of the population were White, 31% were Black and 14% were Asian. The Black community is concentrated in Thamesmead and the Asian community in Plumstead. At the local borough council level, all wards in the constituency are represented by Labour Party councillors. An estimated 53% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the nationwide figure and higher than the rest of London.
History
The seat was created for the 1997 general election from parts of the old Woolwich and Erith and Crayford constituencies.John Austin was the MP for this constituency from its creation for the 1997 general election until he stepped down at the 2010 election. The seat was then held for Labour by a local activist Teresa Pearce, who defeated the Conservative candidate Colin Bloom, a councillor for Bickley ward in Bromley.
Pearce increased her majority at the 2015 general election to rank 125th of the party's 232 MPs then elected.
2010 Labour selection controversy
In April 2009, an investigation took place into the tampering of ballot boxes and abuse of the postal vote system used for the selection of the prospective Labour candidate for Erith and Thamesmead. A rerun of the candidate selection ballot resulted in victory for Teresa Pearce.Boundaries
1997–2010: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Eynsham, Glyndon, Lakedale, St Nicholas, and Thamesmead Moorings.2010–2024: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Lesnes Abbey, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead, and Thamesmead Moorings.
Following its 2007 review of parliamentary representation in South London, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended for the 2010 general election that parts of Glyndon ward and Colyers ward be transferred from Erith and Thamesmead to the constituencies of Greenwich and Woolwich and Bexleyheath and Crayford respectively; that part of Plumstead ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Eltham; and that parts of Lesnes Abbey ward, Northumberland Heath ward and Erith ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Bexleyheath and Crayford.
2024–present: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, and Thamesmead East, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead & Glyndon, Plumstead Common, Shooters Hill, Thamesmead Moorings, West Thamesmead, and parts of Woolwich Arsenal and Woolwich Common.