Walthamstow (UK Parliament constituency)

Walthamstow (Contemp. and Cons. RP:, Est. Eng.: //) is a constituency in Greater London created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Stella Creasy, a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, in political union with the Labour Party.

An earlier version of the constituency existed covering a significantly different area (1885–1918) and was among the vast majority by that time returning one member to the House of Commons.

1885–1918
The South-Western or Walthamstow Division of the parliamentary county of Essex was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the existing seat of South Essex was divided into three single-member constituencies.

The constituency consisted of the three civil parishes of Leyton, Woodford and Walthamstow. The area lay on the periphery of the London conurbation and became increasingly suburban over its existence.

The seat was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1918. Two new constituencies were created with Walthamstow Urban District divided between Walthamstow East and Walthamstow West.

From 1974
1974–1983: The London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Higham Hill, High Street, Hoe Street, St James Street, and Wood Street.

1983–1997: As above plus Lloyd Park.

1997–2010: As above plus Chapel End and Lea Bridge.

2010–2022: The London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Chapel End, Higham Hill, High Street, Hoe Street, Lea Bridge, Markhouse, William Morris, and Wood Street.2022–present: Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Waltham Forest:

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency (as defined by the ward structure in existence on 1 December 2020) was unchanged.
 * Chapel End; Higham Hill; High Street; Hoe Street (most); Lea Bridge; Markhouse; St James; William Morris; Wood Street; Upper Walthamstow (part); and small parts of Hale End and Highams Park South, Larkswood, and Leyton.

History
The seat has been represented by the Labour Party since 1992, before which it was won on a marginal majority in 1987 by a Conservative, having until then (since its 1974 recreation as a seat) been served by one Labour MP, Eric Deakins.

In 2015, Creasy's re-election saw Walthamstow become Labours' second-safest London seat, and tenth-safest nationally.

Prominent frontbenchers
Stella Creasy, the present member, was the Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention.

Constituency profile
The seat is the part of Outer London closest to Stratford, with its international rail connections, major city shopping centre and London's Olympic Park. To the East the seat borders Walthamstow Forest and Gilbert's Slade, thin sections of Epping Forest, and to the West, the Lea Valley. The eponymous district had as its open space feature a greyhound racing track, which has been redeveloped into a modernist housing and green space scheme. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly higher than the national average of 3.8% and Greater London average of 4%, at 7.2% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

Elections in the 1910s
General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
 * Liberal: Emslie Horniman
 * Unionist: Stanley Johnson