Erith and Thamesmead (UK Parliament constituency)

Erith and Thamesmead (/ˈɪərɪθ ... tɛmzmiːd/) is a constituency^{[n 1]} created in 1997 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Abena Oppong-Asare of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Erith and Thamesmead
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary within Greater London
County	Greater London
Electorate	76,728 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Erith, Plumstead, Thamesmead
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Woolwich and Erith & Crayford

History

The seat was created for the 1997 general election from parts of the old Woolwich and Erith and Crayford constituencies.

John Austin was the MP for this constituency from its creation for the 1997 general election until he stepped down at the 2010 election. The seat was then held for Labour by a local activist Teresa Pearce, who defeated the Conservative candidate Colin Bloom, a councillor for Bickley ward in Bromley.

Pearce increased her majority at the 2015 general election to rank 125th of the party's 232 MPs then elected.^[2]

2010 Labour selection controversy

In April 2009, an investigation took place into the tampering of ballot boxes and abuse of the postal vote system used for the selection of the prospective Labour candidate for Erith and Thamesmead. A rerun of the candidate selection ballot resulted in victory for Teresa Pearce.^[3]

Constituency profile

The cross-border constituency of Erith and Thamesmead currently stretches from Plumstead, and Abbey Wood in the west, to Lesnes Heath, and Erith in the east. The Conservatives' strongest wards are in the Bexley part of the seat, in particular Northumberland Heath ward. The remaining wards from Bexley and Greenwich have traditionally seen more support for the Labour Party, in both local and national elections. There is a significant demographic divide within the seat, with Northumberland Heath being over 85% white, and Erith and Belvedere are also predominantly white. However, Thamesmead and Plumstead have much more diverse populations, where no single ethnic group has more than half of the population.

The eastern part of the seat includes significant areas of industry along the River Thames, including Crossness Sewage Treatment Works.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1997–2010: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Eynsham, Glyndon, Lakedale, St Nicholas, and Thamesmead Moorings.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Lesnes Abbey, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead, and Thamesmead Moorings.

Following its 2007 review of parliamentary representation in South London, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended for the 2010 general election that parts of Glyndon ward and Colyers ward be transferred from Erith and Thamesmead to the constituencies of Greenwich and Woolwich and Bexleyheath and Crayford respectively; that part of Plumstead ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Eltham; and that parts of Lesnes Abbey ward, Northumberland Heath ward and Erith ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Bexleyheath and Crayford.

2024–present: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, and Thamesmead East, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead & Glyndon, Plumstead Common (part), Shooters Hill (part), Thamesmead Moorings, West Thamesmead, and parts of Woolwich Arsenal and Woolwich Common.^[4]

The Greenwich Borough wards of Glyndon and Shooters Hill were transferred from Greenwich and Woolwich, and Eltham (replaced by Eltham and Chislehurst) respectively. To partly compensate, southernmost parts in Bexley Borough were transferred to Bexleyheath and Crayford.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[5]	Party
	1997	John Austin	Labour
	2010	Teresa Pearce	Labour
	2019	Abena Oppong-Asare	Labour

Election results

Election results 1997-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Erith and Thamesmead^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Abena Oppong-Asare	22,246	55.1	−3.3
	Reform UK	Michael Pastor	5,944	14.7	+9.7
	Conservative	Richard Mark	5,564	13.8	−14.4
	Green	Sarah Barry	3,482	8.6	+5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Pierce Chalmers	1,872	4.6	−0.3
	Workers Party	Mohammed Shahed	1,071	2.7	N/A
	Independent	Diana Diamond	200	0.5	N/A
Majority			16,302	40.4	+10.3
Turnout			40,379	51.2	−5.0
Registered electors			78,886
	Labour hold		Swing	6.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[7]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	25,141	58.4
	Conservative	12,153	28.2
	Brexit Party	2,174	5.0
	Liberal Democrats	2,119	4.9
	Green	1,226	2.8
	Others	272	0.6
Turnout		43,085	56.2
Electorate		76,728

General election 2019: Erith and Thamesmead^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Abena Oppong-Asare	19,882	48.0	−9.5
	Conservative	Joe Robertson	16,124	39.0	+4.0
	Brexit Party	Tom Bright	2,246	5.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Sam Webber	1,984	4.8	+3.1
	Green	Claudine Letsae	876	2.1	+1.0
	CPA	Richard Mitchell	272	0.7	+0.2
Majority			3,758	9.0	−13.5
Turnout			41,284	63.3	−0.5
Registered electors			65,399
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.7

General election 2017: Erith and Thamesmead^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Teresa Pearce	25,585	57.5	+7.7
	Conservative	Edward Baxter	15,571	35.0	+7.6
	UKIP	Ronie Johnson	1,728	3.9	−13.4
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Waddington	750	1.7	−0.6
	Green	Claudine Letsae	507	1.1	−1.1
	CPA	Temi Olodu	243	0.5	−0.1
	Independent	Doro Oddiri	80	0.2	N/A
Majority			10,014	22.5	+0.1
Turnout			44,464	63.8	+3.3
Registered electors			69,724
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.1

General election 2015: Erith and Thamesmead^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Teresa Pearce	21,209	49.8	+4.9
	Conservative	Anna Firth	11,684	27.4	−4.1
	UKIP	Ronie Johnson	7,368	17.3	+14.6
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Waddington	972	2.3	−9.7
	Green	Ann Garrett	941	2.2	+1.4
	CPA	Sidney Cordle	255	0.6	−0.3
	English Democrat	Graham Moore	188	0.4	−0.7
Majority			9,525	22.4	+9.0
Turnout			42,617	60.5	−0.3
Registered electors			70,397
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.5

General election 2010: Erith and Thamesmead^[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Teresa Pearce	19,068	44.9	−7.9
	Conservative	Colin Bloom	13,365	31.5	+4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Cunliffe	5,116	12.0	−0.0
	BNP	Kevin Saunders	2,184	5.1	+0.9
	UKIP	Pamela Perrin	1,139	2.7	−1.1
	English Democrat	Laurence Williams	465	1.1	N/A
	Independent	Abbey Akinoshun	438	1.0	N/A
	CPA	Sidney Cordle	379	0.9	N/A
	Green	Marek Powley	322	0.8	N/A
Majority			5,703	13.4	−17.1
Turnout			42,476	60.8	+7.1
Registered electors			69,900
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.4

Elections in the 2000s

2005 notional result
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	19,926	52.8
	Conservative	10,038	26.6
	Liberal Democrats	4,553	12.1
	Others	3,220	8.5
Turnout		37,737	53.8
Electorate		70,127

General election 2005: Erith and Thamesmead^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Austin	20,483	54.4	−4.9
	Conservative	Chris R. Bromby	8,983	23.9	−1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Steven T. Toole	5,088	13.5	+2.1
	BNP	Brian Ravenscroft	1,620	4.3	N/A
	UKIP	Barrie R. Thomas	1,477	3.9	N/A
Majority			11,500	30.5	−3.0
Turnout			37,651	52.3	+2.1
Registered electors			72,058
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.7

General election 2001: Erith and Thamesmead^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Austin	19,769	59.3	−2.8
	Conservative	Mark Brooks	8,602	25.8	+5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Kempton	3,800	11.4	−0.6
	Socialist Labour	Hardev Singh Dhillon	1,180	3.5	N/A
Majority			11,167	33.5	−8.4
Turnout			33,351	50.2	−15.4
Registered electors			66,371
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.2

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Erith and Thamesmead^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Austin	25,812	62.1	+19.1
	Conservative	Nadhim Zahawi	8,388	20.2	–11.4
	Liberal Democrats	Alex H.C. Grigg	5,001	12.0	–13.4
	Referendum	John E. Flunder	1,394	3.4	N/A
	BNP	Victor J. Dooley	718	1.7	N/A
	UKIP	M.L. Jackson	274	0.7	N/A
Majority			17,424	41.9	+30.5
Turnout			41,587	65.6	–8.6
Registered electors			63,417
	Labour win (new seat)

1992 notional result
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	21,245	43.0
	Conservative	15,615	31.6
	Liberal Democrats	12,555	25.4
Turnout		49,415	74.2
Electorate		66,600

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, Erith and Thamesmead elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.