Former UK Parliament constituency, 1974–2010
Brent East was a parliamentary constituency in north west London; it was replaced by Brent Central for the 2010 general election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, a seat with the same name of "Brent East", comprising the majority of the existing Brent Central constituency, has been established and will be contested at the next general election.[1]
Boundaries
1974–1983: The London Borough of Brent wards of Brentwater, Brondesbury Park, Carlton, Church End, Cricklewood, Gladstone, Kilburn, Mapesbury, Queen's Park, and Willesden Green.
1983–2010: The London Borough of Brent wards of Brentwater, Brondesbury Park, Carlton, Chamberlayne, Church End, Cricklewood, Gladstone, Kilburn, Mapesbury, Queen's Park, and Willesden Green. The boundaries were redrawn in 1997, but the description of the constituency remained unchanged.
The constituency was one of three covering the London Borough of Brent in north-west London. It covered the south-east of the borough, including the areas of Brondesbury, Dollis Hill, Kilburn and Neasden, as well as parts of Willesden and Cricklewood.
Proposed
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following wards of the London Borough of Brent (as they existed on 5 May 2022):
Brondesbury Park; Cricklewood & Mapesbury; Dollis Hill; Kingsbury; Roundwood; Stonebridge; Welsh Harp; Willesden Green.[2]
The re-established seat will primarily comprise the majority of Brent Central (to be abolished), with Brondesbury Park and Kingsbury wards coming from the, to be abolished, constituencies of Hampstead and Kilburn, and Brent North respectively.
History
The constituency was created in 1974 and was first contested at the February general election of that year. An ethnically diverse area, it was previously one of the Labour Party's safest seats in London. It was held by Reg Freeson from 1974 to 1987, then by Ken Livingstone (following the abolition of the Greater London Council, of which he was leader, in 1986).
After Livingstone was expelled from the Labour Party for standing as an independent candidate for Mayor of London in 2000, he represented the constituency as an independent until standing down as an MP in 2001 to concentrate on his position as Mayor. Labour regained the seat at the 2001 general election, with Paul Daisley holding the seat until his death two years later.
The resulting Brent East by-election was held on 18 September 2003, with the 2003 Invasion of Iraq as a background. Labour lost the seat to Sarah Teather of the Liberal Democrats, with a considerable 29% swing, having come from a distant third place in 2001.[3] Teather retained the seat at the 2005 general election, with a majority of 2,712 votes and a swing of 30.7% from Labour to the Liberal Democrats compared to the previous general election.
