The seat arose from the enacting of the recommendations of the fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies of the Boundary Commission for England to take account of demographic population change and seek to equalise electorates whilst in preference retaining the historic connections with the local authorities of the United Kingdom.
Political history
The constituency has consistently elected Labour Party MPs (Members of Parliament); the narrowest winning majority was 16%; the greatest, 49%, in 2017. Harry Cohen was MP for the Leyton area from 1983 and this seat from 1997. Cohen retired before the 2010 election, after which the seat was retained by John Cryer.[n 3] At the time of the 2015 result, the seat was the 46th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[2]
Constituency profile
This seat combines deprived and economic-cycle vulnerable areas around Leyton[3] with the more affluent, resilient Wanstead area. It is an ethnically diverse area, with the biggest minority groups being Pakistani British and Caribbean British, although it has fewer ethnic minority constituents than in the London Borough of Newham.[4]
2024–present: The London Borough of Redbridge wards of South Woodford, Wanstead Park, and Wanstead Village; and the London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Cann Hall, Cathall, Forest, Grove Green, Hoe Street (part), Leyton (part), and Leytonstone.[5]