Ilford South (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilford South is a constituency created in 1945 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jas Athwal of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile
The seat covers Ilford town centre and the surrounding suburbs, and the housing is predominantly semi-detached with little high-rise development. There is significant commuting to central London via the four stations on the Elizabeth line. The seat is ethnically diverse including white, black and Asian communities.

Political history
This constituency was created in 1945. The previous MP since 1992, Mike Gapes, who before defecting to Change UK, was the fourth Labour Party MP, each of whose tenures was interspersed or preceded by one of a Conservative MP serving the area. Regarded as a key marginal seat for decades, under Gapes's tenure Ilford South became a very safe seat for the Labour Party; in every election since 1997 it has been won by a majority of over 20% by Labour, and in 2017 they secured over 75% of the vote in the constituency.

The 2015 result made the seat the 38th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. The narrowest result since 1997 (inclusive) was in 2005 at a majority of 21.6%; the 2017 majority is the greatest ever achieved in the seat, at 54.9%.

Historic
1945–1950: The Borough of Ilford wards of Clementswood, Cranbrook, Goodmayes, Loxford, and Park.

1950–1974: The Borough of Ilford wards of Clementswood, Cranbrook, Goodmayes, Loxford, Mayfield, and Park.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Redbridge wards of Clementswood, Cranbrook, Goodmayes, Ilford, Mayfield, and Park.

1983–1997: As above substituting Ilford and Park with reshaped wards Loxford, Newbury, and Valentines.

1997–2017: As above plus Chadwell and Seven Kings wards.

2017–2024: Following a review of ward boundaries which became effective in May 2017, the constituency comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Redbridge:


 * Chadwell; Clementswood; Cranbrook; Goodmayes; Ilford Town; Loxford; Mayfield; Newbury; Seven Kings; Valentines; and a small part of Wanstead Park ward.

Current
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):


 * The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham ward of Chadwell Heath.


 * The London Borough of Redbridge wards of: Chadwell; Clementswood; Goodmayes; Ilford Town; Loxford; Mayfield; Newbury; Seven Kings.

''The Cranbrook and Valentines wards were transferred to Ilford North, with the small part of Wanstead Park ward going to Leyton and Wanstead. To partly compensate, the Chadwell Heath ward was transferred from Dagenham and Rainham.''