Leicester East is a constituency of the United Kingdom House of Commons represented since 13 December 2019 by Claudia Webbe, a member of the Labour Party. The seat is one of three held by the Labour candidate in 2019 from a total of ten in Leicestershire. Since the seat was recreated in 1974, it returned twice members of other parties from 1981 until 1987 and since 1987 has returned Labour's candidate. In 2019 Labour held the seat with a substantially reduced majority of 6,019, down from 22,428 in the previous election just 2 years earlier.
Boundaries
1918–1950: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Latimer, Spinney Hill, and West Humberstone. 1974–1983: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Charnwood, Evington, Humberstone, and Latimer. 1983–2010: The City of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Charnwood, Coleman, Evington, Humberstone, Latimer, Rushey Mead, Thurncourt, and West Humberstone. 2010–present: The City of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Charnwood, Coleman, Evington, Humberstone & Hamilton, Latimer, Rushey Mead, and Thurncourt. 2015–present: The City of Leicester wards of Belgrave, Rushey Mead, Troon, North Evington, Evington, Humberstone & Hamilton and Thurncourt. The newly-created Troon Ward replaced the old Charnwood Ward covering the Northfields Estate and the adjacent Industrial Estate Area to the north, of which it takes its name.
Constituency profile
This is an urban seat in the commercial and engineering centre of Leicester. The seat excludes the heart of the city centre, skirting its tightly planned ring road. A golf course is situated in the south-east and a large municipal garden in the north-west of the boundaries. Leicester East has a relatively high Asian population. In the 2011 census, two-thirds of the population were non-white and 48.5% of people described themselves as Asian. Almost a third of the population are Hindu and the majority of others of Asian ethnicity are of Muslim or Sikh faiths. Those of mixed ethnicities are gradually increasing — to 3.1% of the population in 2011. The bulk of the eastern outskirts are relatively compact and much of the remainder of the county by the 21st century has become transformed economically into a retirement and commuter belt for the city and its railway links. The division's south-west quarter is within normal walking distance of all parts of Leicester City Centre and the seat is served by buses and cycle routes into the city centre.
In 1974 the seat was recreated. ;Summary of results Leicester East has been won by the Labour Party's candidate in 10 of 11 elections since its recreation. Its MP, Keith Vaz, has won an absolute majority of votes since the 1992 general election. The 2015 result made the seat the 37-safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. Leicester East was narrowly won by Conservative candidate Bruinvels at the height of the Tory party's popularity in 1983; the following election saw Labour's Keith Vaz regain the seat; he has held it at every election thereafter, and since 1992 has always won by margins of over 20% and 11,000 votes. Vaz won his highest majority ever, 22,428 votes, in 2017. In 2019 Labour held the seat with a substantially reduced majority of 6,019, down from 22,428 in the previous election just 2 years earlier. though reflecting a widespread national trend for the Labour Party in that particular election. ;Opposition parties The candidate fielded by the Conservative Party has been runner-up in every election save for Bruinvels' win in 1983. The candidate of UKIPfor the first time took third place in 2015, her 2010 counterpart having won 1.5% of the vote and the party not having stood before. The pro-UKIP swing between 2010 and 2015 elections, of 7.4%, was less than the national average of 9.5%. Cooper fell 1.8% short of second place in 2005, giving the best result of a Liberal Democrat to date, attracting just under one fifth of the vote. ;Turnout Turnout in the recreated seat has ranged between 78.7% in 1992 to 62.1% in 2001.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1918–1950
MPs since 1974
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
In 2005 this seat bucked the national trend as there was a swing to Labour whereas the national swing was 2.5% to the Conservatives.
