Regent's Park and Kensington North (UK Parliament constituency)

Regent's Park and Kensington North
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Regent's Park and Kensington North in Greater London for the 2005 general election
County	Greater London
1997–2010
Seats	One
Created from	Westminster North, Kensington
Replaced by	Westminster North, Kensington

Regent's Park and Kensington North was a constituency in Central and West London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election from 1997 to 2010.

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History

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the former seats of Westminster North and Kensington. It was abolished at the 2010 general election.

With its stark contrasts between prosperity and deprivation, the constituency should have been a highly competitive marginal between the Conservative Party and Labour Party in an even year, although for the three general elections of its existence it was won firmly by Labour. Before its creation it was considered a constituency likely to produce low swings which would be won on differential turnout, similar to its predecessor seats. However, in the political climate of the late 1990s and early 2000s, in which Tony Blair's New Labour dominated, this proved not to be the case.

Boundaries

The constituency covered the areas of St John's Wood, Maida Vale, the Harrow Road, Westbourne Green, Maida Hill, Little Venice, parts of Queen's Park, parts of Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill, as well as North Kensington.

The electoral wards of the constituency were:

From the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Avondale; Colville; Golborne; Kelfield; St Charles.

Following boundary changes for local elections in 2002, Avondale and Kelfield wards were combined to create Notting Barns.^[1]

From the City of Westminster: Church Street; Hamilton Terrace; Harrow Road; Little Venice; Lords; Maida Vale; Queen's Park; Regent's Park; Westbourne.

In 2002, a Local Government Boundary Commission for England review abolished the Hamilton Terrace and Lords wards, with the areas absorbed by Regent's Park and the new ward of Abbey Road.^[2]

For the 2005 general election, the electoral wards used in this constituency were Bayswater (part), Bryanston and Dorset Square (part), Colville, Church Street, Golborne, Harrow Road, Little Venice, Maida Vale, Norland (part), Notting Barns, Queen's Park, Regent's Park, St Charles and Westbourne.^[3]

Despite the name, the seat did not include the area in the Regent's Park ward of the London Borough of Camden.

Abolition

The Boundary Commission proposed that the City of Westminster, together with the sparsely populated City of London, receive two seats in its own right from the 2010 general election. As a result, Regent's Park and Kensington North was abolished, with most of the Westminster section going into a reformed Westminster North seat and the Kensington and Chelsea section going into a reformed Kensington seat, Chelsea being transferred to the new Chelsea and Fulham seat. The remainder of Westminster (chiefly the part taken from Bryanston and Dorset Square) was combined with the City of London in the Cities of London and Westminster seat. The part of Bayswater ward used in the latter, together with Lancaster Gate, were moved into Westminster North. These changes were implemented in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Karen Buck	Labour
	2010	constituency abolished: see Westminster North & Kensington

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Regent's Park and Kensington North^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Buck	18,196	44.7	−9.9
	Conservative	Jeremy Bradshaw	12,065	29.7	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Rabi Martins	7,569	18.6	+6.0
	Green	Paul Miller	1,985	4.9	+1.5
	UKIP	Pamela Perrin	456	1.1	+0.1
	Civilisation Party	Rezouk Boufas	227	0.6	New
	Independent	Abby Dharamsey	182	0.4	New
Majority			6,131	15.0	−12.7
Turnout			40,680	51.5	+2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.3

General election 2001: Regent's Park and Kensington North^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Buck	20,247	54.6	−5.3
	Conservative	Peter Wilson	9,981	26.9	−2.1
	Liberal Democrats	David Boyle	4,669	12.6	+4.1
	Green	Paul Miller	1,268	3.4	New
	Socialist Alliance	China Miéville	459	1.2	New
	UKIP	Alan Crisp	354	1.0	New
	Independent	Charlotte Regan	74	0.2	New
Majority			10,266	27.7	−3.2
Turnout			37,052	48.8	−19.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.7

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Regent's Park and Kensington North^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Buck	28,367	59.9	+11.6
	Conservative	Paul McGuinness	13,710	29.0	−12.1
	Liberal Democrats	Emily Gasson	4,041	8.5	+0.6
	Referendum	Sandra Dangoor	867	1.8	New
	Natural Law	Jonathan Hinde	192	0.4	New
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Debbie Sadowitz	167	0.4	New
Majority			14,657	30.9
Turnout			47,344	68.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.9

References

^ "Renewing Our Neighbourhoods - Area Profiles". The Kensington and Chelsea Partnership. July 2002. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
^ Boothroyd, David (n.d.). "Westminster City Council Ward Maps". Westminster City Council Election Results. David Boothroyd. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
^ "North London Ward Breakdown". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.