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Epping Forest (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Epping Forest is a parliamentary constituency
represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. It elects one Member of Parliament
(MP) by the first past the post system of election.
, North Weald, the surrounding villages and the ancient Forest itself.
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex
, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Epping Forest constituency with the following electoral wards:
Other wards of Epping Forest have been used in the creation of a modified Harlow
seat.
In the boundaries in place from the February 1974 general election
to the 1983 general election
the constituency was made up of:
than the old Epping
seat, as it lost the new town of Harlow (inside the old Epping Rural District
) and gained the less pro-Labour Chigwell Urban District
. During the Thatcher period the Labour Party's
vote was crushed. Even though the Liberals
managed to move into second place, their vote did little more than follow national trends and as soon as 1987 they lost votes far faster than would be expected when looking at national results.
Two former candidates in the Epping Forest constituency have also stood for election as Mayor of London
: Steve Norris (Conservative
; MP 1988-97) and Julian Leppert (British National Party
).
& Chigwell
; the former had been represented by Winston Churchill
throughout his tenure as Prime Minister during the Second World War. The present MP is the Conservative Eleanor Laing.
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Boundaries
The constituency of Epping Forest comprises Loughton, Epping, Waltham Abbey, Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon BoisTheydon Bois
Theydon Bois is a large residential village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 1.4 miles south of Epping, 0.85 miles northeast of Loughton and 6 miles south of Harlow.Theydon Bois is within the bounds of the M25 motorway and is situated...
, North Weald, the surrounding villages and the ancient Forest itself.
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Epping Forest constituency with the following electoral wards:
- Broadley Common, EppingEppingEpping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....
Upland and Nazeing, Buckhurst HillBuckhurst HillBuckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Located adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London, it forms part of the Greater London Urban Area.- Overview :...
East, Buckhurst Hill West, ChigwellChigwellChigwell is a civil parish and town in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 11.6 miles north east of Charing Cross. It is served by two London Underground stations and has a London area code.-Etymology:According to P. H...
Row, Chigwell Village, Epping Hemnall, Epping Lindsey and Thornwood Common, Grange Hill, LoughtonLoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
Alderton, Loughton Broadway, Loughton Fairmead, Loughton Forest, Loughton Roding, Loughton St John’s, Loughton St Mary’s, Theydon BoisTheydon BoisTheydon Bois is a large residential village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 1.4 miles south of Epping, 0.85 miles northeast of Loughton and 6 miles south of Harlow.Theydon Bois is within the bounds of the M25 motorway and is situated...
, Waltham AbbeyWaltham Abbey, EssexWaltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from The Abbey...
High Beach, Waltham Abbey Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey North East, Waltham Abbey Paternoster, and Waltham Abbey South West.
Other wards of Epping Forest have been used in the creation of a modified Harlow
Harlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Harlow is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
seat.
Historic wards
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
to the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
the constituency was made up of:
- Urban Districts:
- Chigwell Urban DistrictChigwell Urban DistrictChigwell was a local government district in south west Essex, England. It contained the settlements of Chigwell, Loughton and Buckhurst Hill; and formed part of the Metropolitan Police District.-Formation:...
: LoughtonLoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
, ChigwellChigwellChigwell is a civil parish and town in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 11.6 miles north east of Charing Cross. It is served by two London Underground stations and has a London area code.-Etymology:According to P. H...
, Buckhurst HillBuckhurst HillBuckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Located adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London, it forms part of the Greater London Urban Area.- Overview :... - Epping Urban District: EppingEppingEpping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....
- Waltham Holy Cross Urban DistrictWaltham Holy Cross Urban DistrictWaltham Holy Cross was an urban district in the county of Essex, England.It was created in 1894 and covered the area of the large and ancient parish of Waltham Holy Cross, which included the town of Waltham Abbey as well as the hamlets of Holyfield, High Beach, Sewardstone and Upshire. The district...
: Waltham AbbeyWaltham Abbey, EssexWaltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from The Abbey...
- Chigwell Urban District
- Rural Districts: Part of Epping and Ongar Rural DistrictEpping and Ongar Rural DistrictEpping and Ongar Rural District was a rural district in the county of Essex, England. It was created in 1955 by the merger of the disbanded Ongar Rural District and most of the disbanded Epping Rural District, except the civil parishes of Great Parndon, Harlow, Latton, Little Parndon and...
- Civil Parishes of Epping UplandEpping UplandEpping Upland is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district, in the county of Essex, England. Epping Upland has a church called Church of All Saints...
, LambourneLambourneLambourne is a civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It is located approximately 4.5 miles South of Epping and 5 miles North-West of Romford, it is situated entirely within the M25 motorway...
, Stapleford Abbots, Stapleford TawneyStapleford TawneyStapleford Tawney a civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located approximately WSW of Ongar and north of Romford. It covers an area of 670 hectares and had a population of 103 in 2001, making it the least populated parish in the district...
, Theydon BoisTheydon BoisTheydon Bois is a large residential village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 1.4 miles south of Epping, 0.85 miles northeast of Loughton and 6 miles south of Harlow.Theydon Bois is within the bounds of the M25 motorway and is situated...
, Theydon GarnonTheydon GarnonTheydon Garnon is a village and a civil parish in the Epping Forest District, in the county of Essex, England.The Anglican parish church is dedicated to All Saints.- Transport :...
, Theydon MountTheydon MountTheydon Mount is a village and a civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England, close to the M25 motorway.- Nearby settlements :...
- Civil Parishes of Epping Upland
Political geography
When Epping Forest was first created, it was more pro-ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
than the old Epping
Epping (UK Parliament constituency)
Epping was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1974. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
seat, as it lost the new town of Harlow (inside the old Epping Rural District
Epping Rural District
Epping was, from 1894 to 1955, a rural district in the administrative county of Essex, England.-Formation and boundary changes:The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1894 as successor to the Epping Rural Sanitary District...
) and gained the less pro-Labour Chigwell Urban District
Chigwell Urban District
Chigwell was a local government district in south west Essex, England. It contained the settlements of Chigwell, Loughton and Buckhurst Hill; and formed part of the Metropolitan Police District.-Formation:...
. During the Thatcher period the Labour Party's
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
vote was crushed. Even though the Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
managed to move into second place, their vote did little more than follow national trends and as soon as 1987 they lost votes far faster than would be expected when looking at national results.
Two former candidates in the Epping Forest constituency have also stood for election as Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
: Steve Norris (Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
; MP 1988-97) and Julian Leppert (British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
).
Members of Parliament
The constituency was created in 1974 from the seats of EppingEpping (UK Parliament constituency)
Epping was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1974. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
& Chigwell
Chigwell (UK Parliament constituency)
Chigwell was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1974. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
; the former had been represented by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
throughout his tenure as Prime Minister during the Second World War. The present MP is the Conservative Eleanor Laing.
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,... |
Sir John Biggs-Davison John Biggs-Davison Sir John Alec Biggs-Davison was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for Chigwell from 1955 and then, after boundary changes in 1974, Epping Forest until his death. He was a leading figure in the Conservative Monday Club.-Early years:The son of Major John Norman Biggs-Davison,... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1988 by-election Epping Forest by-election, 1988 A by-election was held in the House of Commons constituency of Epping Forest on 18 December 1988 following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Sir John Biggs-Davison. The result was a hold for the Conservative Party.-Candidates:... |
Steve Norris Steven Norris Steven John Norris is a British Conservative politician. He was the official Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2000 and 2004, losing in both races to Ken Livingstone.... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general... |
Eleanor Laing Eleanor Laing Eleanor Fulton Laing, née Pritchard, is a British politician. She is Conservative Member of Parliament for Epping Forest, and was first elected in 1997.-Early life:... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
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