Hampstead Town | |
|---|---|
.svg) Hampstead Town highlighted within Camden | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | London |
| County | Greater London |
| London borough | Camden |
| Created | 1 April 1965 |
| Named for | Hampstead |
Hampstead Town is a ward in the London Borough of Camden, in the United Kingdom. It covers most of Hampstead Village, the western half of Hampstead Heath, North End and the Vale of Health. The more residential Frognal ward covers much of the rest of Hampstead.
The ward has existed since the creation of the borough on 1 April 1965 and was first used in the 1964 elections.[1] The boundaries were redrawn in May 1978, May 2002 and May 2022.[2][3] In the most recent set of changes, the southernmost area of the ward was transferred to Belsize and Gospel Oak wards, and the number of councillors was reduced from three to two.[4][5] The ward's current boundaries have been in effect since the 2022 election, and the ward's three polling stations are at Burgh House, Fitzjohn's Primary School and Keats Community Library.[6] In 2018, the ward had an electorate of 6,214.[7] The Boundary Commission projects the electorate to rise to 6,328 in 2025.[7]
The ward has historically been represented by either Conservative or Liberal Democrat councillors. The first Liberal Democrat councillors, Margaret Little and John Dickie, were elected in May 1994. Dickie, however, had taken the Labour whip by December 1995, to the surprise of the Liberal Democrat group leader, Flick Rea, who called for him to stand down.[8] He continued as a councillor for the ward until the 1998 election, when he was elected as a Labour councillor in Grafton.[9] In May 2022, Adrian Cohen became the ward's first elected Labour councillor. However, Cohen announced 21 days after the election that he would not be taking up his seat on the council, forcing a by-election to be held on 7 July 2022.[10] Former Liberal Democrat councillor Linda Chung was elected in Cohen's place.[11]
The ward's notable councillors have included two Conservative leaders of the opposition, Alan Greengross (1974–1978) and Oliver Cooper (2015–2022), Archie Macdonald, former Liberal MP for Roxburgh and Selkirk and Labour councillor Adrian Cohen, who founded the London Jewish Forum.[12]
