Wanstead and Woodford was a constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 in north-east London, 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 elected 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. It existed between 1964

United Kingdom general election, 1964

The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...

 and 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...

.

Boundaries

The constituency was created by the Parliamentary Constituencies (Ilford and Woodford) Order 1960 to come into existence on the calling of the next general election, which occurred in 1964

United Kingdom general election, 1964

The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...

. The Order adjusted the boundaries of the existing constituencies of Ilford North

Ilford North (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilford North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprises the north part of the town of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of...

, Ilford South

Ilford South (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilford South 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 Woodford (renamed Wanstead and Woodford), reflecting local government boundary changes made in 1956. The constituency was initially identical in area to the Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford

Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford

Wanstead and Woodford was a local government district from 1934 to 1965 in southwest Essex, England. A merger of two former urban districts, it was suburban to London and part of the Metropolitan Police District.-Background:...

, and almost identical to the previous seat of Woodford

Woodford (UK Parliament constituency)

Woodford was a parliamentary constituency in Essex which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1945 until it was renamed for the 1964 general election...

, with only very minor boundary changes.

In 1965 the constituency became part of the London Borough of Redbridge

London Borough of Redbridge

The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...

 in Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

. This did not effect the parliamentary boundaries until the 1974 general election

United Kingdom general election, February 1974

The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...

. In that year the constituency, renamed Redbridge, Wanstead and Woodford was redefined as consisting of five wards of the London Borough: Bridge, Clayhall, Snaresbrook, Wanstead and Woodford.

In 1983 the constituency's name was changed back to Wanstead and Woodford. The boundaries of the seat were altered to consist of seven wards: Bridge, Church End, Clayhall, Monkhams, Roding, Snaresbrook and Wanstead.

The constituency was abolished in 1997, with its area being distributed between the new seats of Chingford and Woodford Green (Church End and Monkhams) and Leyton and Wanstead (Snaresbrook and Wanstead) or added to enlarge the existing seat of Ilford North (Bridge, Clayhall and Roding).

Proposals to resurrect the constituency were revealed in the Boundary Commission review published on 13 September 2011. The proposed new seat would broadly mirror the original Wanstead and Woodford seat, including the wards of Monkhams, Bridge, Church End, Roding, Snaresbrook and Wanstead with the return of Clayhall and the addition of the new wards of Cranbrook and Valentines in Redbridge to the east of the A406.

Members of Parliament

Event		Member	Party
	1964 United Kingdom general election, 1964 The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...	Patrick Jenkin	Conservative 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...
	1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987 The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...	James Arbuthnot James Arbuthnot James Norwich Arbuthnot, MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire.-Early life:...	Conservative 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...
	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...	Constituency abolished: see Chingford & Woodford Green, Ilford North Ilford North (UK Parliament constituency) Ilford North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprises the north part of the town of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of... , and Leyton & Wanstead

Elections in the 1990s