# Erith and Thamesmead (UK Parliament constituency)

Erith and Thamesmead (/ˈɪərɪθ ... tɛmzmiːd/) is a constituency created in 1997 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Abena Oppong-Asare of the Labour Party.

## History

The seat was created for the 1997 general election from parts of the old Woolwich and Erith and Crayford constituencies.
John Austin was the MP for this constituency from its creation for the 1997 general election until he stepped down at the 2010 election. The seat was then held for Labour by a local activist Teresa Pearce, who defeated the Conservative candidate Colin Bloom, a councillor for Bickley ward in Bromley.
Pearce increased her majority at the 2015 general election to rank 125th of the party's 232 MPs then elected.

### 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.

## Constituency profile

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. The Conservatives' strongest wards are in the Bexley part of the seat, in particular Northumberland Heath ward. The remaining wards from Bexley and Greenwich have traditionally seen more support for the Labour Party, in both local and national elections. There is a significant demographic divide within the seat, with Northumberland Heath being over 85% white, and Erith and Belvedere are also predominantly white. However, Thamesmead and Plumstead have much more diverse populations, where no single ethnic group has more than half of the population.
The eastern part of the seat includes significant areas of industry along the River Thames, including Crossness Sewage Treatment Works.

## Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Eynsham, Glyndon, Lakedale, St Nicholas, and Thamesmead Moorings.
2010–2024: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, Lesnes Abbey, Northumberland Heath, and Thamesmead East, and the London Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead, and Thamesmead Moorings.
Following its 2007 review of parliamentary representation in South London, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended for the 2010 general election 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 respectively; that part of Plumstead ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Eltham; and that parts of Lesnes Abbey ward, Northumberland Heath ward and Erith ward be transferred to Erith and Thamesmead from Bexleyheath and Crayford.
2024–present: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Belvedere, Erith, and Thamesmead East, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich wards of Abbey Wood, Plumstead & Glyndon, Plumstead Common (part), Shooters Hill (part), Thamesmead Moorings, West Thamesmead, and parts of Woolwich Arsenal and Woolwich Common.
    The Greenwich Borough wards of Glyndon and Shooters Hill were transferred from Greenwich and Woolwich, and Eltham (replaced by Eltham and Chislehurst) respectively. To partly compensate, southernmost parts in Bexley Borough were transferred to Bexleyheath and Crayford.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1997 | John Austin | Labour |
| 2010 | Teresa Pearce | Labour |
| 2019 | Abena Oppong-Asare | Labour |

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

General election 2024: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Abena Oppong-Asare | 22,246 | 55.1 | −3.3 |
| | Reform UK | Michael Pastor | 5,944 | 14.7 | +9.7 |
| | Conservative | Richard Mark | 5,564 | 13.8 | −14.4 |
| | Green | Sarah Barry | 3,482 | 8.6 | +5.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pierce Chalmers | 1,872 | 4.6 | −0.3 |
| | Workers Party | Mohammed Shahed | 1,071 | 2.7 | N/A |
| | Independent | Diana Diamond | 200 | 0.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,302 | 40.4 | +10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,379 | 51.2 | −5.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 78,886 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 6.5 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 25,141 | 58.4 |
| | Conservative | 12,153 | 28.2 |
| | Brexit Party | 2,174 | 5.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 2,119 | 4.9 |
| | Green | 1,226 | 2.8 |
| | Others | 272 | 0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 43,085 | 56.2 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 76,728 |
General election 2019: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Abena Oppong-Asare | 19,882 | 48.0 | −9.5 |
| | Conservative | Joe Robertson | 16,124 | 39.0 | +4.0 |
| | Brexit Party | Tom Bright | 2,246 | 5.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sam Webber | 1,984 | 4.8 | +3.1 |
| | Green | Claudine Letsae | 876 | 2.1 | +1.0 |
| | CPA | Richard Mitchell | 272 | 0.7 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,758 | 9.0 | −13.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,284 | 63.3 | −0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 65,399 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.7 | |
General election 2017: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Teresa Pearce | 25,585 | 57.5 | +7.7 |
| | Conservative | Edward Baxter | 15,571 | 35.0 | +7.6 |
| | UKIP | Ronie Johnson | 1,728 | 3.9 | −13.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Waddington | 750 | 1.7 | −0.6 |
| | Green | Claudine Letsae | 507 | 1.1 | −1.1 |
| | CPA | Temi Olodu | 243 | 0.5 | −0.1 |
| | Independent | Doro Oddiri | 80 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,014 | 22.5 | +0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,464 | 63.8 | +3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 69,724 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.1 | |
General election 2015: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Teresa Pearce | 21,209 | 49.8 | +4.9 |
| | Conservative | Anna Firth | 11,684 | 27.4 | −4.1 |
| | UKIP | Ronie Johnson | 7,368 | 17.3 | +14.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Waddington | 972 | 2.3 | −9.7 |
| | Green | Ann Garrett | 941 | 2.2 | +1.4 |
| | CPA | Sidney Cordle | 255 | 0.6 | −0.3 |
| | English Democrat | Graham Moore | 188 | 0.4 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,525 | 22.4 | +9.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,617 | 60.5 | −0.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 70,397 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.5 | |
General election 2010: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Teresa Pearce | 19,068 | 44.9 | −7.9 |
| | Conservative | Colin Bloom | 13,365 | 31.5 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Cunliffe | 5,116 | 12.0 | −0.0 |
| | BNP | Kevin Saunders | 2,184 | 5.1 | +0.9 |
| | UKIP | Pamela Perrin | 1,139 | 2.7 | −1.1 |
| | English Democrat | Laurence Williams | 465 | 1.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Abbey Akinoshun | 438 | 1.0 | N/A |
| | CPA | Sidney Cordle | 379 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | Green | Marek Powley | 322 | 0.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,703 | 13.4 | −17.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,476 | 60.8 | +7.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 69,900 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −6.4 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

2005 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 19,926 | 52.8 |
| | Conservative | 10,038 | 26.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 4,553 | 12.1 |
| | Others | 3,220 | 8.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 37,737 | 53.8 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 70,127 |
General election 2005: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Austin | 20,483 | 54.4 | −4.9 |
| | Conservative | Chris R. Bromby | 8,983 | 23.9 | −1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Steven T. Toole | 5,088 | 13.5 | +2.1 |
| | BNP | Brian Ravenscroft | 1,620 | 4.3 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Barrie R. Thomas | 1,477 | 3.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,500 | 30.5 | −3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,651 | 52.3 | +2.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 72,058 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −7.7 | |
General election 2001: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Austin | 19,769 | 59.3 | −2.8 |
| | Conservative | Mark Brooks | 8,602 | 25.8 | +5.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Barry Kempton | 3,800 | 11.4 | −0.6 |
| | Socialist Labour | Hardev Singh Dhillon | 1,180 | 3.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,167 | 33.5 | −8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,351 | 50.2 | −15.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,371 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -4.2 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Erith and Thamesmead :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Austin | 25,812 | 62.1 | +19.1 |
| | Conservative | Nadhim Zahawi | 8,388 | 20.2 | –11.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex H.C. Grigg | 5,001 | 12.0 | –13.4 |
| | Referendum | John E. Flunder | 1,394 | 3.4 | N/A |
| | BNP | Victor J. Dooley | 718 | 1.7 | N/A |
| | UKIP | M.L. Jackson | 274 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,424 | 41.9 | +30.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,587 | 65.6 | –8.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,417 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
1992 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 21,245 | 43.0 |
| | Conservative | 15,615 | 31.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 12,555 | 25.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 49,415 | 74.2 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 66,600 |