Romford is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Andrew Rosindell. Rosindell was elected as a Conservative but defected to Reform UK in January 2026.

It was created in 1885 and was subject to significant changes in boundaries in 1918 and 1945. It initially covered a huge swathe of what is now East London, with parts of the constituency progressively removed as they experienced significant increases in population as London expanded. The constituency has more or less coincided with the town of Romford since 1955.

Constituency profile

Romford is a constituency in Greater London in England, within the Borough of Havering. It covers the town of Romford and parts of the neighbouring town of Hornchurch.

Romford is a large, suburban town, located around east of the centre of London. Traditionally a rural market town, Romford underwent large-scale suburban development during the interwar period. Today, the town is one of Outer London's major retail and entertainment centres and is served by the Elizabeth line. Overall, this constituency has average levels of wealth; there is some deprivation in Romford town centre, where most residents live in dense flats, whilst the outer suburbs are more affluent with many semi-detached homes. These outer neighbourhoods include the wealthy Gidea Park, an Edwardian housing estate. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the rest of London but higher than the UK average.

Romford has a low population of older adults and an above-average proportion of working-age adults with families. Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is low. They have low levels of education and a high proportion work in the health and construction sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is above-average. White people made up 72% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians were 13% of residents and Black people were 8%.

At the local borough council, all seats in this constituency are represented by Reform UK councillors. Voters in Romford strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 68% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%, making Romford one of the top 40 most Brexit-supporting constituencies out of 650 nationwide according to Electoral Calculus.

Boundaries

Historic

1885–1918: The Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, and part of the Sessional Division of Becontree.

1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Barking and Romford, and the Rural District of Romford.

1945–1950: The Borough of Romford.

1950–1955: The Borough of Romford, and the Urban District of Brentwood.

1955–1974: The Borough of Romford.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Havering wards of Bedfords, Central, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, and Oldchurch.

1983–1997: The London Borough of Havering wards of Brooklands, Chase Cross, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, Oldchurch, Rise Park, and St Edward's.

1997–2010: The London Borough of Havering wards of Ardleigh Green, Brooklands, Chase Cross, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, Oldchurch, Rise Park, and St Edward's.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Havering wards of Brooklands, Havering Park, Hylands, Mawneys, Pettits, Romford Town, and Squirrel's Heath.

NB: Contents, but not the boundaries of the constituency, were changed as a result of a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022.

Current

Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the composition of the constituency was, from the 2024 general election onward, expanded slightly to include parts of the Emerson Park ward (as it existed on 1 December 2020), primarily that part of polling district EM2 to the west of the River Ravensbourne.

Following this minor change, as well as reflecting the 2022 local government review, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Havering from the 2024 general election:

Havering-atte-Bower; Hylands and Harrow Lodge; Marshalls and Rise Park; Mawneys; Rush Green and Crowlands; St Alban's; St Edward's; Squirrels Heath.

History This seat was created in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It included the civil parishes of Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch and Romford which together formed the Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, combined with Barking (including Great Ilford), Dagenham, East Ham, Little Ilford and Wanstead. The 1918 revision removed the populous county borough of East Ham (including Little Ilford) and the municipal borough of Ilford. Wanstead became part of the Epping constituency. The parishes of Cranham, Great Warley and Upminster were gained from Chelmsford and Rainham and Wennington were gained from South East Essex. The Romford constituency then comprised the parishes of Barking, Cranham, Dagenham, Great Warley, Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch, Noak Hill, Rainham, Romford, Upminster and Wennington.

At the 1935 general election there were 167,939 people registered to vote, making Romford the largest constituency in the country. By 1939 this had risen to 207,101, although Hendon had become larger. The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 caused the constituency to be divided. The revised boundary coincided with the municipal borough of Romford, which had been enlarged in the 1930s to include Havering-atte-Bower and Noak Hill. The Brentwood Urban District, which had been expanded in the 1930s to include Hutton, Ingrave and South Weald, was included in the constituency from 1950 to 1955. Harold Hill was removed from the constituency in 1974. The constituency shared boundaries with the Romford electoral division for election of councillors to the Greater London Council at elections in 1973, 1977 and 1981. Subsequent boundary revisions have been relatively minor, with Ardleigh Green gained from Upminster in 1997 and Hylands gained from Hornchurch in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Although Romford was, through much of the 20th century, highly marginal in terms of majorities obtained, its boundaries have changed significantly. It has been Conservative since the February 1974 general election, except for the 1997 landslide. It was one of the few Conservative gains in 2001. The 2015 result made the seat the 157th-safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.

ElectionMemberPartyNotes 1885 John Westlake 1886 James Theobald Died March 1894 1894 by-election Alfred Money-Wigram Resigned January 1897 1897 by-election Louis Sinclair 1906 John Bethell 1916 Contested East Ham North following redistribution Constituency split into five parts, forming the new seats of East Ham North, East Ham South, Ilford and Leyton East 1918 Albert Edward Martin Coalition Liberal 1922 Nov 1923 Dec 1923 Charles Rhys Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (1927–1929) 1929 H. T. Muggeridge 1931 William Hutchison 1935 John Parker Contested Dagenham following redistribution Constituency split into four parts, forming the new seats of Barking, Dagenham and Hornchurch 1945 Thomas Macpherson 1950 John Lockwood Member for Hackney Central (1931–1935) 1955 Ron Ledger 1970 Dick Leonard Constituency split, minority merged with part of Hornchurch to form the new seat of Upminster Feb 1974 Michael Neubert 1997 Eileen Gordon 2001Andrew Rosindell 2026

Election results 2024–present

Elections in the 2020s

2019 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 31,322 64.8 Labour 12,786 26.4 Liberal Democrats 2,789 5.8 Green 1,462 3.0Turnout48,35965.6Electorate73,730

Election results 2010–2024 Elections in the 2010s

2005 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 24,442 57.7 Labour 12,322 29.1 Liberal Democrats 3,572 8.4 BNP 1,088 2.6 UKIP 965 2.3Turnout42,38961.9Electorate68,425

Election results 1997–2010 Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

1992 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 27,462 58.1 Labour 13,398 28.3 Liberal Democrats 5,865 12.4 Others 546 1.2Turnout47,27177.6Electorate60,903

Election results 1974–1997 Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

1970 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 22,400 59.6 Labour 15,200 40.4Turnout37,60066.3Electorate56,718

Election results 1955–1974 Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Election results 1945–1955 Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Election results 1918–1945 Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Election results 1885–1918 Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Caused by Wigram's resignation

Caused by Theobald's death

Elections in the 1880s

Boundary changes +Previous constituencyYearAreaYearSubsequent constituencySouth Essex1885East Ham1918East Ham North, East Ham SouthSouth Essex1885Ilford1918IlfordSouth Essex1885Little Ilford1918East Ham NorthSouth Essex1885Wanstead1918EppingSouth Essex1885Barking1945BarkingSouth Essex1885Dagenham1945DagenhamSouth Essex1885Hornchurch1945HornchurchSouth Essex1885Noak Hill/Harold Hill1974UpminsterSouth Essex1885Romford, Havering-atte-Bower1974Current Romford constituency South East Essex1918Rainham, Wennington1945HornchurchChelmsford 1918Cranham, Great Warley, Upminster1945HornchurchChelmsford1950 Brentwood1955Billericay

See also Parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

References

Sources

External links Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards) Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards) Romford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Romford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Romford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK