Ilford South - WikiHQ

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

Constituency profile

Ilford South is a mostly suburban constituency in Greater London, located around north-east of the centre of London. It covers the southern part of the town of Ilford, including the town centre and the neighbourhoods of Seven Kings, Newbury Park, Little Heath, Marks Gate and parts of Chadwell Heath. The area was traditionally rural but developed rapidly along with much of suburban London during the early 20th century. Today the constituency is suburban in character, interspersed with parks, and is connected to central London by the Elizabeth and Central lines. The constituency has high levels of deprivation, especially in the centre of Ilford. House prices are higher than the national average but considerably lower than the rest of London.

As of the 2021 census, a majority (58%) of Ilford South residents were ethnically Asian, split between large Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. White people made up 22% of residents, just under half of whom are of non-British origin; the constituency has a large Romanian population. Black people made up 11% of residents. The constituency is religiously diverse, with considerably higher proportions of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs than the rest of the country.

Residents of Ilford South are young and have low levels of education and income compared to the rest of London. At the local borough council, all seats within the constituency are represented by Labour Party councillors. An estimated 52% of voters in Ilford South supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the nationwide figure of 48% but lower than the rest of London. 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%.

Boundaries

right|thumb|300px|Ilford South in Essex, showing boundaries used from 1945 to 1950

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 did not effect the parliamentary boundaries, from May 2017 the constituency comprised the following wards:

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 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of:

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham ward of Chadwell Heath; and
The London Borough of Redbridge wards of Chadwell, Clementswood, Goodmayes, Ilford Town, Loxford, Mayfield, Newbury, and 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.