Romford is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Andrew Rosindell. Rosindell was elected as a Conservative but defected to Reform UK in January 2026.
It was created in 1885 and was subject to significant changes in boundaries in 1918 and 1945. It initially covered a huge swathe of what is now East London, with parts of the constituency progressively removed as they experienced significant increases in population as London expanded. The constituency has more or less coincided with the town of Romford since 1955.
Contents
Constituency profile
Romford is a constituency in Greater London in England, within the Borough of Havering. It covers the town of Romford and parts of the neighbouring town of Hornchurch.
Romford is a large, suburban town, located around 14 miles (23 km) east of the centre of London. Traditionally a rural market town, Romford underwent large-scale suburban development during the interwar period. Today, the town is one of Outer London's major retail and entertainment centres and is served by the Elizabeth line. Overall, this constituency has average levels of wealth; there is some deprivation in Romford town centre, where most residents live in dense flats, whilst the outer suburbs are more affluent with many semi-detached homes. These outer neighbourhoods include the wealthy Gidea Park, an Edwardian housing estate. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the rest of London but higher than the UK average.
Romford has a low population of older adults and an above-average proportion of working-age adults with families. Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is low. They have low levels of education and a high proportion work in the health and construction sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is above-average. White people made up 72% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians were 13% of residents and Black people were 8%.
At the local borough council, all seats in this constituency are represented by Reform UK councillors. Voters in Romford strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 68% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%, making Romford one of the top 40 most Brexit-supporting constituencies out of 650 nationwide according to Electoral Calculus.
Boundaries
Historic
1885–1918: The Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, and part of the Sessional Division of Becontree.
1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Barking and Romford, and the Rural District of Romford.
1945–1950: The Borough of Romford.
1950–1955: The Borough of Romford, and the Urban District of Brentwood.
1955–1974: The Borough of Romford.
1974–1983: The London Borough of Havering wards of Bedfords, Central, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, and Oldchurch.
1983–1997: The London Borough of Havering wards of Brooklands, Chase Cross, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, Oldchurch, Rise Park, and St Edward's.
1997–2010: The London Borough of Havering wards of Ardleigh Green, Brooklands, Chase Cross, Collier Row, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Mawney, Oldchurch, Rise Park, and St Edward's.
2010–2024: The London Borough of Havering wards of Brooklands, Havering Park, Hylands, Mawneys, Pettits, Romford Town, and Squirrel's Heath.
NB: Contents, but not the boundaries of the constituency, were changed as a result of a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022.
Current
Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the composition of the constituency was, from the 2024 general election onward, expanded slightly to include parts of the Emerson Park ward (as it existed on 1 December 2020), primarily that part of polling district EM2 to the west of the River Ravensbourne.
Following this minor change, as well as reflecting the 2022 local government review, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Havering from the 2024 general election:
Havering-atte-Bower; Hylands and Harrow Lodge; Marshalls and Rise Park; Mawneys; Rush Green and Crowlands; St Alban's; St Edward's; Squirrels Heath.
History
This seat was created in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It included the civil parishes of Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch and Romford which together formed the Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, combined with Barking (including Great Ilford), Dagenham, East Ham, Little Ilford and Wanstead. The 1918 revision removed the populous county borough of East Ham (including Little Ilford) and the municipal borough of Ilford. Wanstead became part of the Epping constituency. The parishes of Cranham, Great Warley and Upminster were gained from Chelmsford and Rainham and Wennington were gained from South East Essex. The Romford constituency then comprised the parishes of Barking, Cranham, Dagenham, Great Warley, Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch, Noak Hill, Rainham, Romford, Upminster and Wennington.
At the 1935 general election there were 167,939 people registered to vote, making Romford the largest constituency in the country. By 1939 this had risen to 207,101, although Hendon had become larger. The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 caused the constituency to be divided. The revised boundary coincided with the municipal borough of Romford, which had been enlarged in the 1930s to include Havering-atte-Bower and Noak Hill. The Brentwood Urban District, which had been expanded in the 1930s to include Hutton, Ingrave and South Weald, was included in the constituency from 1950 to 1955. Harold Hill was removed from the constituency in 1974. The constituency shared boundaries with the Romford electoral division for election of councillors to the Greater London Council at elections in 1973, 1977 and 1981. Subsequent boundary revisions have been relatively minor, with Ardleigh Green gained from Upminster in 1997 and Hylands gained from Hornchurch in 2010.
Members of Parliament
Although Romford was, through much of the 20th century, highly marginal in terms of majorities obtained, its boundaries have changed significantly. It has been Conservative since the February 1974 general election, except for the 1997 landslide. It was one of the few Conservative gains in 2001. The 2015 result made the seat the 157th-safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.
Election results 2024–present
Election results 2010–2024
Election results 1997–2010
Election results 1974–1997
Election results 1955–1974
Election results 1945–1955
Election results 1918–1945
Election results 1885–1918
Elections in the 1890s
Caused by Wigram's resignation
Caused by Theobald's death