Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards
Hornsey and Wood Green is a constituency[n 1] in Greater London created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Catherine West, of the Labour Party.[n 2] To date it has drawn together for general elections parts of the London Borough of Haringey (created in 1965).
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to major boundary changes, with the district of Wood Green to be included in the new constituency of Southgate and Wood Green, and Highgate ward in the re-established seat of Hampstead and Highgate. To partly compensate, the Borough of Barnet ward of Friern Barnet will be added. As a consequence of these changes, the constituency will be renamed Hornsey and Friern Barnet, to be first contested at the next general election.[2]
Boundaries
1983–2010: The London Borough of Haringey wards of Alexandra, Archway, Bowes Park, Crouch End, Fortis Green, Highgate, Hornsey Central, Hornsey Vale, Muswell Hill, Noel Park, South Hornsey, Woodside.
Map of present boundaries
2010–present: The London Borough of Haringey wards of Alexandra, Bounds Green, Crouch End, Fortis Green, Highgate, Hornsey, Muswell Hill, Noel Park, Stroud Green, Woodside.
Constituency profile
The constituency takes in the western part of the London Borough of Haringey, stretching from Highgate in the south west of the seat, through Muswell Hill, Crouch End and Wood Green in the north east corner of the seat.
More out-of-work benefits reliance (8.9%) exists in the seat than the London average (8.4%, which is compares to 6.4% nationally in April 2021) and among those aged 18 to 24 the percentage is 12.7% in the seat during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.[3][4] Women, living in the constituency, working full time at this time earned £102 per week more than men, earning 98% of the London average pay; whereas for men the figure was 79% of London's average pay and which was £50 below the national average.[4]
- Political history
The seat created in 1983 has had representation by the three largest English political parties at Westminster.
The win from the incumbent Liberal Democrat in 2015 by Labour Party's candidate was a strong swing and made the seat the 137th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[5]
- 2016 EU Referendum
In the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the constituency is estimated to have voted between 66% and 82% to Remain in the EU.[6][7]
History
The constituency was created in 1983 from the safe Conservative seat of Hornsey and the more Labour-inclined Wood Green. In those boundary changes the Wood Green seat was broadly divided into two, with half being merged with Hornsey and the rest being transferred to the neighbouring constituency of Tottenham, to the east — a very small part of the Hornsey seat was also transferred to Tottenham at the same time.
This was a Conservative Party seat until 1992 but by 1997 swung so heavily it suggested a Labour Party safe seat — Barbara Roche enjoyed a majority of over 20,000. The Liberal Democrats, however, supplanted those parties in the area, both at Parliamentary level where they won the seat in 2005 and held it until 2015; and in local terms.[n 3] At the 2015 election this seat had the lowest combined Conservative and UKIP percentage in England (11.45%).
The seat had a large swing to Labour of over 15% in the 2017 general election, similar to that of two years earlier, meaning it now has a history of political volatility; in five out of the last seven general elections, there have been swings to Labour or the Liberal Democrats of between 13 and 16%.
