Kensington
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Kensington in Greater London
CountyGreater London
Electorate62,784 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created2010
Member of ParliamentFelicity Buchan (Conservative)
Created fromKensington and Chelsea;
Regent's Park and
Kensington North
1974–1997
Created fromKensington North;
Kensington South
Replaced byKensington and Chelsea;
Regent's Park and
Kensington North

Kensington is a constituency[n 1] in Greater London which first existed between 1974 and 1997 and was recreated in 2010.[n 2] Since 2019, it has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Felicity Buchan of the Conservative Party.

At the 2017 general election, Emma Dent Coad gained the seat from incumbent Conservative Victoria Borwick by the slenderest margin in England, 20 votes, the first time Kensington had been represented by a Labour MP.[2] Dent Coad was defeated by Buchan at the 2019 United Kingdom general election by a narrow margin of 150 votes.

Kensington is known as the wealthiest parliamentary constituency in the whole of the United Kingdom.[3][4][5]

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be expanded to include the City of Westminster wards of Bayswater and Lancaster Gate. As a consequence, it will be renamed Kensington and Bayswater, to be first contested at the next general election.[6]

Boundaries

The constituency formed for the 2010 election comprises the northern and central parts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in and around Kensington and aligns similarly with the boundary of the Royal Borough of Kensington prior to its merger with the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea. It has the electoral wards:

From 1974 to 1983, the constituency comprised the electoral wards:

  • Golborne, Holland, Norland, Pembridge, Queen's Gate, and St. Charles

From 1983 to 1997, the constituency comprised the electoral wards:

  • Avondale, Campden, Colville, Golborne, Holland, Kelfield, Norland, Pembridge, Queen's Gate, and St. Charles[7]

History

First creation

The first incarnation of a Kensington constituency in Westminster was for the February 1974 general election, derived from the fairly safe Labour seat of Kensington North, and the overwhelmingly Conservative Kensington South; this was abolished for the 1997 general election. The seat was mostly replaced by Regent's Park and Kensington North which until its 2010 abolition was represented by Labour MPs, being won twice during the Blair Ministry, and was partly replaced by Kensington and Chelsea which was held by Malcolm Rifkind (Conservative) until his resignation at the 2015 general election.

Summary of results (first creation)

The old seat returned Conservative MPs from 1974 up to and including its last general election in 1992. At its sole by-election in 1988 the seat was won by its smallest majority, a highly marginal 3.4% – a by-election which saw a majority turnout and a Labour splinter party candidate, for the Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988) achieve fourth place attracting 5% of the vote yet standing in the year of the formal amalgamation of the main SDP splinter group with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats who stood as the Social and Liberal Democrats and seven years after the formation of the official SDP-Liberal Alliance.

Second creation

The constituency was recreated by adopting the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies of the Boundary Commission at the 2010 general election, combining elements of the two constituencies.

Summary of results (second creation)

The 2015 result was a narrower result than 2010, and gave the seat the 126th-most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.[8] The runner-up party remained the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats' share of the vote fell by 13.9% to 5.6% of votes cast.

In the June 2017 election, three recounts occurred, the first two producing extremely close results with the latter producing a Labour majority of only 20+ votes. After the two recounts due to fatigue among the staff the counting was suspended to allow them to "rest and recuperate". The third recount gave Labour a majority of 20, the first time the constituency had become a Labour seat since its creation,[9] and made it the Labour Party's most vulnerable seat.[10]

Constituency profile

Kensington is mostly residential — housing varies between the expensive apartments with manicured garden squares or terraces of South Kensington, that has some of the most exclusive real estate in the world located in the West End of London and, by contrast, North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove have, for the most part, dense social housing, tower blocks in output areas in inner West London with high rankings in the 2000-compiled Index of Multiple Deprivation.[11] Kensington High Street is an upmarket shopping hub, Kensington Palace is the residence of members of the Royal Family, and Kensington Palace Gardens is the site of many embassies and a few private residences of very affluent homeowners. South Kensington also borders Hyde Park and includes the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert.

Earls Court, Brompton, Holland Park and Notting Hill have their own characters. Earls Court is less affluent than its neighbours; while it is undergoing rapid gentrification and includes its own areas for the super-rich, there are still old hotels and bedsits around the site of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centre, which extends into the historically marginal Hammersmith constituency. Notting Hill is an affluent, highly cosmopolitan area which hosts the Notting Hill Carnival, led by the area's Afro-Caribbean community. It fell on hard times in the twentieth century, being associated with low-rent flats and multiple-occupancy homes, but has since been gentrified.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[12] Party
Feb 1974 Sir Brandon Rhys-Williams Conservative
1988 by-election Dudley Fishburn Conservative
1997 constituency abolished: see Kensington and Chelsea
2010 Sir Malcolm Rifkind Conservative
2015 Victoria Borwick Conservative
2017 Emma Dent Coad Labour
2019 Felicity Buchan Conservative

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

Next general election: Kensington[13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Felicity Buchan
Liberal Democrats William Houngbo
Labour Joe Powell
Independent Emma Dent Coad
General election 2019: Kensington[15][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Felicity Buchan 16,768 38.3 −3.9
Labour Emma Dent Coad 16,618 38.0 −4.2
Liberal Democrats Sam Gyimah 9,312 21.3 +9.1
Green Vivien Lichtenstein 535 1.2 −0.8
Brexit Party Jay Aston 384 0.9 New
CPA Roger Phillips 70 0.2 New
Touch Love Worldwide Harriet Gore 47 0.1 New
Workers Revolutionary Scott Dore 28 0.1 New
Majority 150 0.3 N/A
Turnout 43,762 67.7 +3.9
Registered electors 64,609
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +0.2
General election 2017: Kensington[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Emma Dent Coad 16,333 42.2 +11.1
Conservative Victoria Borwick 16,313 42.2 −10.1
Liberal Democrats Annabel Mullin 4,724 12.2 +6.6
Green Jennifer Nadel 767 2.0 −3.1
Independent James Torrance 393 1.0 New
Independent Peter Marshall 98 0.3 New
Alliance for Green Socialism John Lloyd 49 0.1 −0.2
Majority 20 0.0 N/A
Turnout 38,677 63.8 +6.8
Registered electors 60,588
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +10.6

Kensington was the last constituency to be declared in the 2017 general election.[16] The result was extremely close in Kensington, which had been considered a safe Conservative seat. After three counts on 8 and 9 June, which appeared to show Labour majorities of between 36 and 50, counting was suspended due to fatigue.[16] The result was announced later on 9 June.[16]

General election 2015: Kensington[18][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Victoria Borwick[20] 18,199 52.3 +2.2
Labour Rod Abouharb 10,838 31.1 +5.6
Liberal Democrats Robin McGhee 1,962 5.6 −14.0
Green Robina Rose 1,765 5.1 +3.0
UKIP Jack Bovill[21] 1,557 4.5 +2.4
CISTA Tony Auguste 211 0.6 New
Animal Welfare Andrew Knight 158 0.5 New
Alliance for Green Socialism Toby Abse 115 0.3 −0.3
New Independent Centralists Roland Courtenay 23 0.1 New
Majority 7,361 21.2 −3.4
Turnout 34,828 57.0 +3.7
Registered electors 61,133
Conservative hold Swing −1.7
General election 2010: Kensington[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Malcolm Rifkind 17,595 50.1 +6.2
Labour Sam Gurney 8,979 25.5 -4.1
Liberal Democrats Robin Meltzer 6,872 19.6 -0.6
UKIP Caroline Pearson[23] 754 2.1 +1.0
Green Melan Ebrahimi-Fardouée 753 2.1 -2.4
Alliance for Green Socialism Eddie Adams 197 0.6 +0.2
Majority 8,616 24.6
Turnout 35,150 53.3
Registered electors 65,975
Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Kensington[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dudley Fishburn 15,540 50.3 +2.8
Labour Patricia Holmes 11,992 38.8 +5.5
Liberal Democrats Christopher Shirley 2,770 9.0 −8.2
Green Ajay Burlingham-Johnson 415 1.3 −0.4
Natural Law Anthony W. Hardy 90 0.3 New
Anti-Federalist League Anne Bulloch 71 0.2 New
Majority 3,548 11.5 -2.7
Turnout 30,878 73.3 +8.6
Registered electors 42,129
Conservative hold Swing −1.4

Elections in the 1980s

1988 Kensington by-election[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dudley Fishburn 9,829 41.6 −5.9
Labour Patricia Holmes 9,014 38.1 +4.8
SLD William Goodhart 2,546 10.8 −6.4
SDP John Martin 1,190 5.04 New
Green Phylip Hobson 572 2.42 +0.7
Rainbow Alliance – Payne & Pleasure Cynthia Payne 193 0.82 New
Monster Raving Loony Screaming Lord Sutch 61 0.26 New
London Class War Candidate John Duignan 60 0.25 New
Anti Left-Wing Fascist Brian Goodier 31 0.13 New
Free Trade Liberal – Europe Out! Thomas McDermott 31 0.13 New
Fair Wealth & Health Roy Edey 30 0.13 New
Leveller Party William Scola 27 0.11 New
Anti-Yuppie John Crowley 24 0.10 New
Peace – Stop ITN Manipulation John Connell 20 0.08 New
Independent Janata Party Kailash Trivedi 5 0.02 New
Majority 815 3.45 -8.8
Turnout 23,633 51.6 -13.1
Registered electors 45,830
Conservative hold Swing -5.40
General election 1987: Kensington[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brandon Rhys-Williams 14,818 47.5 +1.5
Labour Benjamin Bousquet 10,371 33.3 +3.8
SDP William Goodhart 5,379 17.2 −4.9
Green Roger Shorter 528 1.7 −0.4
Humanist Lana Carrick 65 0.2 New
Public Independent Plaintiff Party Muriel Hughes 30 0.1 New
Majority 4,447 14.2 -2.3
Turnout 31,191 64.7 +2.4
Registered electors 48,212
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1983: Kensington[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brandon Rhys-Williams 14,274 46.0 -5.3
Labour Benjamin Bousquet 9,173 29.5 -5.7
SDP William Goodhart 6,873 22.1 New
Ecology Jonathon Porritt 649 2.1 0.0
Independent T.F. Knight 86 0.3 New
Majority 5,101 16.5 +0.4
Turnout 31,055 62.3 -2.3
Registered electors 49,584
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Kensington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brandon Rhys-Williams 17,361 51.3 +6.1
Labour Patricia Holmes 11,898 35.2 -4.4
Liberal Bobbie Vincent-Emery 3,537 10.5 -4.7
Ecology Nicholas Albery[28] 698 2.1 New
National Front Christopher Hopewell[29] 356 1.1 New
Majority 5,463 16.1 +10.5
Turnout 33,850 64.6 +8.2
Registered electors 52,396
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Kensington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brandon Rhys-Williams 15,562 45.2 −0.9
Labour John Tilley 13,645 39.6 +6.4
Liberal R. Cohen 5,236 15.2 −5.5
Majority 1,917 5.6 -7.3
Turnout 34,443 56.4 −9.4
Registered electors 61,105
Conservative hold Swing
General election February 1974: Kensington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brandon Rhys-Williams 18,425 46.1
Labour John Tilley 13,293 33.2
Liberal Robert LeFever[30] 8,270 20.7
Majority 5,132 12.9
Turnout 39,988 65.8
Registered electors 60,818
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. ↑ The remaining electoral wards in the Royal Borough involved: Cremorne, Hans Town, Redcliffe, Royal Hospital, and Stanley were lost to the cross-borough Chelsea and Fulham.

References

  1. ↑ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Labour wins Kensington seat for first time ever". The Independent. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "London's Richest Neighborhood Just Voted Labour. That's Astounding". Bloomberg.com. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Obordo, Rachel (12 June 2017). "Labour's win in Kensington reflects the area's huge disparities of wealth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Poshest Neighborhood in Britain Just Voted for Labour". Time. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – London | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Crewe, Ivor (1983). British Parliament Constituencies – a statistical compendium. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-13236-7.
  8. ↑ "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "The end of the election has been delayed". Independent.co.uk. 9 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Labour Target Seats 2022". Election Polling. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "Local statistics – Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
  12. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 1)
  13. ↑ "Kensington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Kensington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Kensington parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  17. ↑ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  18. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  19. ↑ "General Election May 2015 – Kensington constituency". rbkc.gov.uk.
  20. ↑ Rawlinson, Kevin (13 March 2015). "Victoria Borwick selected as Conservative candidate for Kensington". The Guardian.
  21. ↑ "Jack Bovill for Hammersmith in the 2017 general election". Who Can I Vote For? by Democracy Club.
  22. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "This week: Lady Pearson, Sarah Palin and Joel Weiner". TheGuardian.com. 16 April 2010.
  24. ↑ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. ↑ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Obituary: Nicholas Albery". The Daily Telegraph. 13 June 2001. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  29. ↑ Election Expenses. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1980. p. 17. ISBN 0102374805.
  30. ↑ "Election leaflet for Robert Lefever, Liberal candidate for Kensington, February 1974 general election". University of Warwick. Retrieved 9 June 2014.

51°30′18″N 0°12′00″W / 51.505°N 0.20°W / 51.505; -0.20

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