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> United Kingdom > England > East of England > East of England
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| Established | February 28, 1974 |
| Disbanded | Still Active |
| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modified | RBH April 18, 2021 10:32pm |
| Description |
At the end of World War II, Harlow had a population of only 5,000. However, the post-war Labour Government took the decision in 1946 to create a new town here, which now numbers more than 80,000 residents. Nearly 90% of the constituency's voters live in the town of Harlow, with the remainder residing in the outlying, and Tory inclined, villages of Roydon, Nazeing and Sheering. Harlow itself consists mainly of large council estates formerly belonging to the local development corporation which built the town in the decades after the war. Although many local authority tenants took advantage of the "right to buy" during the 1980s, a high proportion of constituents still live in council houses. There is continuing development at the town's newest housing estate in Church Langley on the east side of the town, which is giving a boost to the ratio of owner occupiers in the area. The new town was specifically designed as a group of neighbourhood communities, and the council has sought to emphasise this in its devolution of power to local communities. The Community Associations are also very strong. Harlow prides itself on having pioneered innovative social and community facilities: the first all-purpose health centre in 1955, one of the first holiday play schemes in the early 1960s, and one of the earliest after-school care schemes in 1979. The town also boasts the largest youth recreational football league in Europe - among the products of which is former England football coach, Glenn Hoddle. On the cultural side, a unique sculpture collection can be found throughout the town, with works by such eminent artists as Rodin, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Elizabeth Frink. This was seen as something of a safe Tory seat in the 1980s, but in 1997 the seat went to Labour's Bill Rammell, who scored a 22% majority. The seat was held in 2001, but the majority was cut to 13%. The council results recently have seen the city on a knife edge. Labour and the Lib Dems run the hung council in coalition.
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