Poplar and Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)

Poplar and Limehouse
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Poplar and Limehouse in Greater London
County	Greater London
Electorate	75,814 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Canary Wharf, Limehouse, Poplar, Wapping
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Apsana Begum (Independent)
Seats	One
Created from	Poplar & Canning Town, Bethnal Green & Bow

Poplar and Limehouse is a constituency^{[n 1]} which was first created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Apsana Begum, who was elected as a Labour Party MP.^{[n 2]} The whip was withdrawn on 23 July 2024, as a result of her voting to scrap the two child benefit cap, and she was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party. Begum now sits as an Independent MP until the whip is re-established.

Political history

The predecessors to this constituency (area electing MPs to the House of Commons) (see history of boundaries) since 1992 have elected Labour Party representatives. In 2010, Jim Fitzpatrick had a majority of 12.9% over the runner-up Conservative Party candidate.

The 2015 re-election of Fitzpatrick made the seat the 66th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.^[2]

In 2019, Apsana Begum, selected to succeed the retiring Fitzpatrick as Labour's candidate, beat the runner-up Conservative Party candidate by 28,904 votes.^[3] This was more than Jim Fitzpatrick’s 27,712 vote majority^[4] at the 2017 general election, though the majority size in terms of vote share remained stable at 47.2%, and Labour's vote share declined.

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which proposed the seat's creation for the 2010 general election, since when it has consisted of the following electoral wards:

• Blackwall and Cubitt Town, Bromley-by-Bow, East India and Lansbury, Limehouse, Mile End East, Millwall, St Katharine’s and Wapping, and Shadwell within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

• Before 2010, this constituency would map into all but the north-east of the old Poplar and Canning Town constituency, plus the western end of Shadwell Ward and in the west the whole of St Katharine's & Wapping Ward, formerly parts of Bethnal Green and Bow.
  • The areas of the old constituency that were in the London Borough of Newham were removed and transferred to East Ham (5.1% of Poplar and Canning Town) and West Ham (24.9%).^[5]

Nomenclature

Alternative names, including "Tower Hamlets South" and "Poplar and Millwall" were rejected following public consultation.^{[citation needed]}

Local authority boundary review

Following a review of ward boundaries in Tower Hamlets which became effective in May 2014,^[6] the contents (but not the boundaries) of the constituency were changed to:

• The London Borough of Tower Hamlets wards of Blackwall and Cubitt Town, Bromley North, Bromley South, Canary Wharf, Island Gardens, Lansbury, Limehouse, Mile End, Poplar, St Katharine's and Wapping, and Shadwell; and a small part of Whitechapel ward.

Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was reduced to bring the electorate within the permitted range. Shadwell and part of the Whitechapel wards were transferred to the re-established seat of Bethnal Green and Stepney, and the Bromley North ward was moved to the newly created constituency of Stratford and Bow.^[7]

The constituency and its predecessor seats covering the Isle of Dogs have consistently been won by the Labour Party since the 1920s. The district has changed vastly over this time, and great wealth and considerable poverty now co-exist side by side as an example of income inequality.

Once home to shipping and heavy industry, the Docklands area was derelict for many years, before redevelopment began in the late-1980s. Now the area around Canary Wharf is one of the country's largest financial districts and has several landmark skyscrapers, such as One Canada Square.

The redevelopment of the Docklands has led to the construction of luxury housing in the constituency, which has somewhat altered the demographics. However, in parts of the Isle of Dogs and in the areas north, east and west of Poplar, there are still areas of high deprivation.

At the end of 2012, 6% of the population of the constituency were unemployment benefit claimants, ranking sixth among London seats (the highest percentage was Tottenham at 7.9%), and above the London-wide average of 3.9%.^[8]

In the 2016 EU referendum, like the majority of London; the constituency voted 65.79% for Remain.^[9]

The constituency is religiously diverse: 38.8% of residents are Muslim, 24.2% Christian, 2.8% Hindu, and 1.0% Buddhist. 24.8% claimed no religious affiliation.^[10]

General election 2019: Poplar and Limehouse^[14][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Apsana Begum	38,660	63.1	−4.2
	Conservative	Sheun Oke	9,756	15.9	−4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Cregan	8,832	14.4	+7.7
	Green	Neil Jameson	2,159	3.5	+1.8
	Brexit Party	Catherine Cui	1,493	2.4	N/A
	Independent	Andy Erlam	376	0.6	N/A
Majority			28,904	47.2
Turnout			61,276	66.7	−0.6
Registered electors			91,836
	Labour hold		Swing	0.0

* Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• Tim Archer
• Jim Fitzpatrick
• Jonathan Fryer
• George Galloway
• Andrew Osborne
• Jim Thornton
• Kabir Mahmud
• Documentary on the 2010 election by Catch21
• Poplar and Limehouse UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Poplar and Limehouse UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51°30′N 0°01′W / 51.50°N 0.02°W / 51.50; -0.02