# Ilford South (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilford South is a constituency created in 1945, and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jas Athwal of the Labour Party.

## Constituency profile

The seat covers Ilford town centre and the surrounding suburbs, and the housing is predominantly semi-detached with little high-rise development. There is significant commuting to central London via the four stations on the Elizabeth line. The seat is ethnically diverse including white, black and Asian communities.

## Political history

This constituency was created in 1945. The previous MP since 1992, Mike Gapes, who before defecting to Change UK, was the fourth Labour Party MP, each of whose tenures was interspersed or preceded by one of a Conservative MP serving the area. Regarded as a key marginal seat for decades, under Gapes's tenure Ilford South became a very safe seat for the Labour Party; in every election since 1997 it has been won by a majority of over 20% by Labour, and in 2017 they secured over 75% of the vote in the constituency.
The 2015 result made the seat the 38th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. The narrowest result since 1997 (inclusive) was in 2005 at a majority of 21.6%; the 2017 majority is the greatest ever achieved in the seat, at 54.9%.

## Boundaries

1945–1950: The Borough of Ilford wards of Clementswood, Cranbrook, Goodmayes, Loxford, and Park.
1950–1974: The Borough of Ilford wards of Clementswood, Cranbrook, Goodmayes, Loxford, Mayfield, and Park.
1974–1983: The London Borough of Redbridge wards of Clementswood, Cranbrook, Goodmayes, Ilford, Mayfield, and Park.
1983–1997: As above substituting Ilford and Park with reshaped wards Loxford, Newbury, and Valentines.
1997–2024: As above plus Chadwell and Seven Kings wards.
2024–present: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham ward of Chadwell Heath, and the London Borough of Redbridge wards of Chadwell, Clementswood, Goodmayes, Ilford Town, Loxford, Mayfield, Newbury, and Seven Kings.
    The Cranbrook and Valentines wards were transferred to Ilford North, with the small part of Wanstead Park ward going to Leyton and Wanstead. To partly compensate, the Chadwell Heath ward was transferred from Dagenham and Rainham.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1945 | Jim Ranger | Labour |
| 1950 | Albert Cooper | Conservative |
| 1966 | Arnold Shaw | Labour |
| 1970 | Albert Cooper | Conservative |
| February 1974 | Arnold Shaw | Labour |
| 1979 | Neil Thorne | Conservative |
| 1992 | Mike Gapes | Labour |
| February 2019 | Mike Gapes | The Independent Group for Change |
| 2019 | Sam Tarry | Labour |
| 2024 | Jas Athwal | Labour |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jas Athwal | 16,537 | 40.2 | –25.4 |
| | Independent | Noor Begum | 9,643 | 23.4 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Sayeed Syduzzaman | 6,142 | 14.9 | –5.6 |
| | Green | Syed Siddiqi | 3,437 | 8.3 | +7.0 |
| | Reform UK | Raj Forhad | 2,329 | 5.7 | +3.8 |
| | Workers Party | Golam Tipu | 1,366 | 3.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Clare | 1,340 | 3.3 | –0.1 |
| | TUSC | Andy Walker | 376 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,896 | 16.8 | –27.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,170 | 50.8 | –11.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 80,993 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 30,246 | 65.2 |
| | Conservative | 9,837 | 21.2 |
| | Others | 3,082 | 6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1,546 | 3.3 |
| | Brexit Party | 1,034 | 2.2 |
| | Green | 623 | 1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 46,368 | 62.6 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 74,065 |
General election 2019: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sam Tarry | 35,085 | 65.6 | –10.2 |
| | Conservative | Ali Azeem | 10,984 | 20.5 | –0.4 |
| | The Independent Group for Change | Mike Gapes | 3,891 | 7.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ashburn Holder | 1,795 | 3.4 | +2.1 |
| | Brexit Party | Munish Sharma | 1,008 | 1.9 | N/A |
| | Green | Rosemary Warrington | 714 | 1.3 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,101 | 45.1 | –9.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,477 | 62.9 | –7.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | –4.9 | |
General election 2017: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 43,724 | 75.8 | +11.8 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Chapman | 12,077 | 20.9 | –5.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Farid Ahmed | 772 | 1.3 | –0.7 |
| | Green | Rosemary Warrington | 542 | 0.9 | –2.0 |
| | UKIP | Tariq Saeed | 477 | 0.8 | –4.4 |
| | Friends Party | Kane Khan | 65 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 31,647 | 54.9 | +16.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,657 | 69.9 | +13.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 82,487 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +8.4 | |
General election 2015: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 33,232 | 64.0 | +14.6 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Chapman | 13,455 | 25.9 | −1.5 |
| | UKIP | Amjad Khan | 2,705 | 5.2 | +3.0 |
| | Green | Rosemary Warrington | 1,506 | 2.9 | +0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ashburn Holder | 1,014 | 2.0 | −15.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,777 | 38.1 | +16.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,912 | 56.4 | −1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 91,987 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +8.1 | |
General election 2010: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 25,311 | 49.4 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Toby Boutle | 14,014 | 27.4 | +0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anood Al-Samerai | 8,679 | 17.0 | −3.5 |
| | Green | Wilson Chowdhry | 1,319 | 2.6 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Terry Murray | 1,132 | 2.2 | +0.6 |
| | Save King George Hospital | John Jestico | 746 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,297 | 22.0 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,201 | 58.0 | +4.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 86,220 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +0.2 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 20,856 | 48.9 | −10.7 |
| | Conservative | Stephen Metcalfe | 11,628 | 27.2 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Matthew E. Lake | 8,761 | 20.5 | +9.2 |
| | British Public Party | Kashif Rana | 763 | 1.8 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Colin H. Taylor | 685 | 1.6 | −1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,228 | 21.7 | −12.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,693 | 53.6 | −0.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 79,646 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | −6.1 | |
General election 2001: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 24,619 | 59.6 | +1.1 |
| | Conservative | Suresh Kumar | 10,622 | 25.7 | −4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ralph Scott | 4,647 | 11.3 | +5.0 |
| | UKIP | Harun Khan | 1,407 | 3.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,997 | 33.9 | +5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,295 | 54.3 | −15.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 76,025 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +2.7 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 29,273 | 58.5 | +13.5 |
| | Conservative | Neil Thorne | 15,073 | 30.1 | −14.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Aina Khan | 3,152 | 6.3 | −3.3 |
| | Referendum | David Hodges | 1,073 | 2.1 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Bruce G. Ramsey | 868 | 1.7 | N/A |
| | BNP | Aron Owens | 580 | 1.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,200 | 28.4 | +27.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,019 | 70.2 | −6.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 71,202 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +16.6 | |
General election 1992: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mike Gapes | 19,418 | 45.4 | +7.9 |
| | Conservative | Neil Thorne | 19,016 | 44.4 | −4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | George G. Hogarth | 4,126 | 9.6 | −4.5 |
| | Natural Law | Nandkishore Bramachari | 269 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 402 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,829 | 76.7 | +4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,741 | | |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.0 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Neil Thorne | 20,351 | 48.4 | +2.9 |
| | Labour | Kenneth Jones | 15,779 | 37.5 | +3.1 |
| | Liberal | Ralph Scott | 5,928 | 14.1 | −5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,572 | 10.9 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,058 | 71.8 | +1.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,572 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1983: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Neil Thorne | 18,672 | 45.5 | −1.3 |
| | Labour | John Hogben | 14,106 | 34.4 | −8.3 |
| | Liberal | Ralph Scott | 7,999 | 19.5 | +10.6 |
| | BNP | R.A. Martin | 235 | 0.6 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,566 | 11.1 | +7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,012 | 70.6 | −5.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,208 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Neil Thorne | 19,290 | 46.8 | +6.6 |
| | Labour | Arnold Shaw | 17,602 | 42.7 | −2.0 |
| | Liberal | Ralph Scott | 3,664 | 8.9 | −5.72 |
| | National Front | Terence Fitzgerald | 636 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,688 | 4.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,230 | 75.9 | +6.17 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 54,295 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arnold Shaw | 17,538 | 44.71 | +4.64 |
| | Conservative | Neil Thorne | 15,789 | 40.25 | +2.84 |
| | Liberal | E. Yates | 5,734 | 14.62 | −7.90 |
| | More Prosperous Britain | Tom Keen | 169 | 0.43 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,749 | 4.46 | +1.80 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,230 | 69.73 | −7.20 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 56,257 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arnold Shaw | 17,201 | 40.07 | −2.96 |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 16,058 | 37.41 | −8.84 |
| | Liberal | Gareth Wilson | 9,666 | 22.52 | +14.11 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,143 | 2.66 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,925 | 76.93 | +8.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,799 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
General election 1970: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 18,369 | 46.25 | +4.48 |
| | Labour | Arnold Shaw | 17,087 | 43.03 | −4.56 |
| | Liberal | Gerald Leslie Wilson | 3,341 | 8.41 | −2.22 |
| | National Front | Malcolm Eric Leslie Skeggs | 727 | 1.83 | N/A |
| | Independent | Michael Joseph Marks | 190 | 0.48 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,282 | 3.22 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,714 | 68.13 | −8.80 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,292 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arnold Shaw | 20,613 | 47.59 | +9.52 |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 18,093 | 41.77 | −0.36 |
| | Liberal | Irene Watson | 4,606 | 10.63 | −8.99 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,520 | 5.82 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,312 | 76.93 | +1.92 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 56,302 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
General election 1964: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 18,352 | 42.13 | −8.37 |
| | Labour | Arnold Shaw | 16,659 | 38.25 | +3.20 |
| | Liberal | Peter McGregor | 8,547 | 19.62 | +5.17 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,693 | 3.88 | −11.57 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,558 | 75.01 | −2.90 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,066 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 23,876 | 50.50 | −6.23 |
| | Labour | Gordon Borrie | 16,569 | 35.05 | −8.22 |
| | Liberal | Raymond V Netherclift | 6,832 | 14.45 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,307 | 15.45 | +1.99 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,277 | 77.91 | +2.59 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,678 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 27,292 | 56.73 | +1.98 |
| | Labour | James Ranger | 20,814 | 43.27 | −1.98 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,478 | 13.46 | +3.96 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,106 | 75.32 | −7.34 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,866 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 30,177 | 54.75 | +5.24 |
| | Labour | James Ranger | 24,938 | 45.25 | +3.72 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,239 | 9.50 | +1.52 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,115 | 82.66 | −2.71 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,678 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1950: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Albert Cooper | 28,087 | 49.51 | +13.21 |
| | Labour | James Ranger | 23,558 | 41.53 | −6.47 |
| | Liberal | Ronald Acott Hall | 4,170 | 7.35 | −8.35 |
| | Communist | Dave Kelly | 913 | 1.61 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,529 | 7.98 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,728 | 85.37 | +14.27 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,720 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Ilford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Ranger | 19,339 | 48.0 | |
| | Conservative | Edward Boulton | 14,633 | 36.3 | |
| | Liberal | Eric Arthur Holloway | 6,322 | 15.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,706 | 11.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,294 | 71.1 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 56,669 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |