Post by John Chanin on Apr 3, 2020 14:53:21 GMT
Barking sits to the east of the river Roding where it flows into the Thames, south of Ilford, and between East Ham and Dagenham. The centre of Barking is an old settlement, developed mainly in late Victorian and Edwardian times, full of older terraced private housing. The bulk of the constituency though, particularly since its expansion in 2010, consists of the giant Becontree estate, built by the LCC after the first world war, when it was the largest municipal estate in the world. Like many of the schemes at the time it was built to a high standard, with cottage dwellings with a parlour. As desirable homes around half of the estate has been sold off under right to buy, although much has come back into renting through private landlords, both independently, and via homeless households from the inner city. It forms a reservoir of cheap housing that has also encouraged much purchase from families moving out to where they can afford to buy, particularly from the large concentration of ethnic minority households towards the centre. By now half of all households are probably from minorities - a large African population of around 15%, and a similar sized south Asian population, evenly split between those of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi origin. To the west of the Becontree estate is the Gascoigne estate, very similar, and currently under redevelopment.
At the south end of the seat, on former industrial land at risk of flooding, the new quarter of Barking Riverside is being built. This is aimed to be a mixed tenure development of over 10,000 homes for around 25,000 people on what is a large tract of land. However at present there is a shortage of facilities and transport links are poor, and only a small proportion has so far been built.
Politically Barking and Dagenham has always been monolithically Labour. Even in 1968, the worst ever year for Labour in London they comfortably retained control of the council. And this remains the case - every councillor for the last three local elections has been Labour. This is a very working class seat - the lowest managerial proportion, and the highest routine workers in the south of England. It is also a very young seat, with a low number of over 65s, even for London. While half the Becontree estate may have been sold over a quarter of households are still social housing tenants. Barking has nonetheless been affected by the changing political geography over the last few years. The BNP won councillors here in the first decade of the century, and made a big push in the 2010 general election achieving their highest vote anywhere. This vote was inherited by UKIP in 2015, but has subsequently faded somewhat as the ethnic minority share of voters has increased. There has never been a serious question of Labour losing here. The MP is Margaret Hodge, former leader of Islington Council, first elected here at a by-election in 1994. She was a minister throughout the last Labour government, and subsequently chair of the prestigious Public Accounts Committee until 2015.
The new developments in the south, and the young expanding population, have increased the electorate to nearly 80,000 - over the limit under the new rules - and so the constituency has to be reduced in size. The Boundary Commission is therefore proposing to move Valence ward, which covers much of the Becontree estate, back to Dagenham, where it historically sat. This is one of the safest Labour wards, but its loss will make little difference in Barking.
Census data: owner-occupied 44% (537/573 in England & Wales), private rented 19% (140th), social rented 36% (17th).
:White 55%, Black 20%, Asian 15%, Mixed 4%, Other 5%
: Managerial & professional 26% (506th), Routine & Semi-routine 36% (122nd)
: Degree 22% (402nd), Minimal qualifications 42% (133rd)
: Students 8% (95th) , Over 65: 9% (547th)
At the south end of the seat, on former industrial land at risk of flooding, the new quarter of Barking Riverside is being built. This is aimed to be a mixed tenure development of over 10,000 homes for around 25,000 people on what is a large tract of land. However at present there is a shortage of facilities and transport links are poor, and only a small proportion has so far been built.
Politically Barking and Dagenham has always been monolithically Labour. Even in 1968, the worst ever year for Labour in London they comfortably retained control of the council. And this remains the case - every councillor for the last three local elections has been Labour. This is a very working class seat - the lowest managerial proportion, and the highest routine workers in the south of England. It is also a very young seat, with a low number of over 65s, even for London. While half the Becontree estate may have been sold over a quarter of households are still social housing tenants. Barking has nonetheless been affected by the changing political geography over the last few years. The BNP won councillors here in the first decade of the century, and made a big push in the 2010 general election achieving their highest vote anywhere. This vote was inherited by UKIP in 2015, but has subsequently faded somewhat as the ethnic minority share of voters has increased. There has never been a serious question of Labour losing here. The MP is Margaret Hodge, former leader of Islington Council, first elected here at a by-election in 1994. She was a minister throughout the last Labour government, and subsequently chair of the prestigious Public Accounts Committee until 2015.
The new developments in the south, and the young expanding population, have increased the electorate to nearly 80,000 - over the limit under the new rules - and so the constituency has to be reduced in size. The Boundary Commission is therefore proposing to move Valence ward, which covers much of the Becontree estate, back to Dagenham, where it historically sat. This is one of the safest Labour wards, but its loss will make little difference in Barking.
Census data: owner-occupied 44% (537/573 in England & Wales), private rented 19% (140th), social rented 36% (17th).
:White 55%, Black 20%, Asian 15%, Mixed 4%, Other 5%
: Managerial & professional 26% (506th), Routine & Semi-routine 36% (122nd)
: Degree 22% (402nd), Minimal qualifications 42% (133rd)
: Students 8% (95th) , Over 65: 9% (547th)
2010 | % | 2015 | % | 2017 | % | 2019 | % | |
Labour | 24,628 | 54.3% | 24,826 | 57.7% | 32,319 | 67.8% | 27,219 | 61.2% |
Conservative | 8,073 | 17.8% | 7,019 | 16.3% | 10,711 | 22.5% | 11,792 | 26.5% |
Liberal Democrat | 3,719 | 8.2% | 562 | 1.3% | 599 | 1.3% | 1,482 | 3.3% |
UKIP/Brexit | 1,300 | 2.9% | 9,554 | 22.2% | 3,031 | 6.4% | 3,186 | 7.2% |
| BNP | 6,620 | 14.6% | ||||||
Green | 317 | 0.7% | 879 | 2.0% | 724 | 1.5% | 820 | 1.8% |
Others | 686 | 1.5% | 183 | 0.4% | 295 | 0.6% | ||
Majority | 16,555 | 36.5% | 15,272 | 35.5% | 21,608 | 45.3% | 15,427 | 34.7% |
