Dagenham was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament that elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was replaced at the 2010 general election largely by Dagenham and Rainham.
Boundaries
DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1945–1974Dagenham Urban District (before 1965)London Borough of Barking (after 1965)Urban District of Hornchurch1974–1983London Borough of BarkingChadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Fanshawe, Heath, River, Valence, and Village.1983–1997London Borough of Barking and DagenhamAlibon, Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Fanshawe, Heath, Marks Gate, River, Triptons, Valence, and Village.1997–2010
2010 Boundary change Following their review of parliamentary representation in North London, the Boundary Commission for England created a new constituency of Dagenham and Rainham.
History Before 1945 this Dagenham constituency and surrounding area was part of the Romford constituency. The MP for the predecessor seat since 1935, Labour's John Parker, stood again on each occasion in this smaller successor area, representing it until 1983. Parker was the last serving MP to have been elected before the Second World War, and with 48 years in Parliament, remained the longest-serving Labour MP in history until Dennis Skinner served Bolsover for 49 years. Dagenham was held by Labour since its inception and election predictions always rated it as a safe seat. The constituency shared boundaries with the Dagenham electoral division for election of councillors to the Greater London Council at elections in 1973, 1977 and 1981.
The far-right British National Party (BNP) was active in this area periodically and its support led to some retained deposits by polling more than 5% of the vote on several occasions. Their candidate received nearly 10% of the vote in the 2005 general election and in the 2006 local elections returned 12 councillors to Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council.
Constituency profile The constituency hosted shrinking skilled manual industry such as the Ford Motor Company works, which downscaled production in 2001, leading to replacement distribution and warehousing businesses as well as local regeneration under the Thames Gateway project from 2005 however higher than national unemployment immediately, including following the seat's abolition. (See the main successor seat, Dagenham and Rainham for statistics.) The largest-polling opposition candidate was Conservative since 1979, with the Liberal Party a greater or equal opponent in elections before that, vying for second place with that party.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberPartyNotes 1945 John Parker Member for Romford (1935–1945) 1983 Bryan Gould 1994 by-election Judith Church 2001 Jon Cruddas Contested Dagenham and Rainham following redistribution2010 constituency abolished: see Dagenham and Rainham
Election results Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
1970 notional result Party Vote % Labour 30,300 70.8 Conservative 11,600 27.1 Others 900 2.1Turnout42,80058.6Electorate73,052
1979 notional result Party Vote % Labour 22,646 52.0 Conservative 13,797 31.7 Liberal 5,174 11.9 Others 1,936 4.4Turnout43,553Electorate
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1990s
1992 notional result Party Vote % Labour 22,499 51.7 Conservative 16,052 36.9 Liberal Democrats 4,992 11.5Turnout43,54369.8Electorate62,395
Elections in the 2000s
See also Parliamentary constituencies in London
References
External links Dagenham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK