Created in 1974 from the former seats of Wembley North and Wembley South, Brent North was a Conservative seat until 1997, held by Lancastrian former headmaster Rhodes Boyson with initially two fairly small 14% margins[n 3] before the Conservative-dominated period beginning in 1979 which gave Boyson larger majorities until Labour won the seat in 1997. At the general elections of 1997 and 2001, Brent North produced the highest swing to Labour nationally.[4] The winning candidate in 1997 was Glasgow-born Barry Gardiner, the youngest mayor of Cambridge in its history and former academic, who has held the seat ever since. The Liberal Democrats and their two predecessor parties (Liberal and SDP) amassed their largest share of the vote in 1974. Labour's percentage majority almost halved at the 2005 general election from 30.1% to 15.8% and fell slightly to 15.4% in 2010, faced with a new Conservative challenger, Harshadbhai Patel.[5] The Labour Party vote increased in both the 2015 and 2017 general elections and then dramatically decreased to a 15.8% margin in 2019.
Boundariesedit
Map of present boundaries
1974–1983: The London Borough of Brent wards of Barnhill, Fryent, Kenton, Kingsbury, Preston, Queensbury, Roe Green, St Andrew's, Sudbury, Sudbury Court, and Tokyngton.
1983–1997: The London Borough of Brent wards of Barnhill, Fryent, Kenton, Kingsbury, Preston, Queensbury, Roe Green, St Andrew's, Sudbury, and Sudbury Court.
1997–2010: The London Borough of Brent wards of Barnhill, Fryent, Kenton, Kingsbury, Preston, Queensbury, Roe Green, Sudbury, and Sudbury Court.
2010–present: The London Borough of Brent wards of Alperton, Barnhill, Fryent, Kenton, Northwick Park, Preston, Queensbury, Sudbury, and Wembley Central.
^"Brent North: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^"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.
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – London | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
^"Highest constituency swings in each general election since 1951". election.demon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
^"United Kingdom Parliamentary Election results 1997-: London Boroughs". election.demon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 December 2000. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
^"Brent North 1974–". Hansard 1803–2005 (online). UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^"Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
^"Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^"Brent North parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^"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.
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Election results for Brent North, 7 May 2015". Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^Gilbert, Christine (9 April 2015). "Election of a Member of Parliament for the BRENT NORTH Constituency: STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED" (PDF). London Borough of Brent. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.