Erith and Thamesmead is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

The constituency covers the areas of Erith

Erith

Erith is a district of southeast London on the River Thames. Erith's town centre has undergone a series of modernisations since 1961.-Pre-medieval:...

 and Thamesmead

Thamesmead

Thamesmead is a district of south-east London, England, located in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated east of Charing Cross....

 near the border of South East London. It was created for the 1997 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

 from parts of the old Woolwich

Woolwich (UK Parliament constituency)

Woolwich was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1918 and from 1983 to 1997...

 and Erith & Crayford

Erith and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)

Erith and Crayford was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Bexley, south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 constituencies.

History

John Austin

John Austin (politician)

John Eric Austin, formerly known as John Austin-Walker, is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Woolwich from 1992 to 1997 and for Erith and Thamesmead from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...

 was the MP for this constituency from its creation for the 1997 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

 until he stepped down at the 2010 election. The seat was then held for Labour by a local activist Teresa Pearce

Teresa Pearce

Teresa Pearce is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead since 2010.-Early life:...

, who defeated the Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 candidate Colin Bloom, a councillor for Bickley Ward in Bromley.

2010 Labour selection controversy

In April 2009, an investigation took place into the tampering of ballot boxes and abuse of the postal vote system used for the selection of the prospective Labour candidate for Erith and Thamesmead. A rerun of the candidate selection ballot resulted in victory for Teresa Pearce.

Boundaries

The cross-border constituency of Erith and Thamesmead currently stretches from Plumstead, and Abbey Wood in the west, to Lesnes Heath, and Erith in the east.

It is made up of five electoral wards from the London Borough of Bexley

London Borough of Bexley

The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...

:

• Belvedere, Erith, Lesnes Abbey, Northumberland Heath, Thamesmead East

and three electoral wards from the London Borough of Greenwich

London Borough of Greenwich

The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...

:

• Abbey Wood, Plumstead, Thamesmead Moorings

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London

South London

South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that parts of Glyndon ward and Colyers ward be transferred from Erith and Thamesmead to the constituencies of Greenwich and Woolwich and Bexleyheath and Crayford

Bexleyheath and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London*David Evennett Wikipedia page**Howard Dawber Wikipedia page**-References:...

 respectively; that part of Plumstead ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Eltham

Eltham (UK Parliament constituency)

Eltham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

; and that parts of Lesnes Abbey ward, Nothumberland Heath ward and Erith ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Bexleyheath and Crayford

Bexleyheath and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London*David Evennett Wikipedia page**Howard Dawber Wikipedia page**-References:...

.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...	John Austin John Austin (politician) John Eric Austin, formerly known as John Austin-Walker, is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Woolwich from 1992 to 1997 and for Erith and Thamesmead from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	2010	Teresa Pearce Teresa Pearce Teresa Pearce is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead since 2010.-Early life:...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s