BBC Profile:
The current constituency was created in 1983 with the merger of Battersea North and Battersea South. From 1935 until its abolition, the southern constituency elected Labour MPs. The old northern constituency was held by Labour from 1946 until 1983. Labour at first held the unified constituency too, but in 1987 a swing of 4.6% to the Conservatives gave John Bowis the seat.

In 1997 Battersea's constituents elected Martin Linton for Labour with a 10.2% swing. The 2001 election witnessed a further increase in Labour support. The result in 2005 saw a swing to the Conservatives with Linton returning by 163 votes.

Boundary changes at the election to Battersea have been minimal, with the seat gaining the part of Fairfield ward that was in Putney's boundaries, while losing Wandsworth Common ward to Tooting. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

Thanks to the influx of commuters, Battersea's social and demographic profile has changed considerably over the last quarter of a century. By 2001, the number of skilled manual workers was less than half the national average.

Striking as it is to those long-familiar with the area, the gentrification of Battersea is sometimes overstated. Owner-occupancy may be higher than in the past but it is still low compared with the national average.

Clapham Junction railway station has recently become part of the new London

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BBC Profile:
The current constituency was created in 1983 with the merger of Battersea North and Battersea South. From 1935 until its abolition, the southern constituency elected Labour MPs. The old northern constituency was held by Labour from 1946 until 1983. Labour at first held the unified constituency too, but in 1987 a swing of 4.6% to the Conservatives gave John Bowis the seat.

In 1997 Battersea's constituents elected Martin Linton for Labour with a 10.2% swing. The 2001 election witnessed a further increase in Labour support. The result in 2005 saw a swing to the Conservatives with Linton returning by 163 votes.

Boundary changes at the election to Battersea have been minimal, with the seat gaining the part of Fairfield ward that was in Putney's boundaries, while losing Wandsworth Common ward to Tooting. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

Thanks to the influx of commuters, Battersea's social and demographic profile has changed considerably over the last quarter of a century. By 2001, the number of skilled manual workers was less than half the national average.

Striking as it is to those long-familiar with the area, the gentrification of Battersea is sometimes overstated. Owner-occupancy may be higher than in the past but it is still low compared with the national average.

Clapham Junction railway station has recently become part of the new London Overground network, and continues to be the busiest railway interchange in the United Kingdom.

Despite its nationwide fame, Battersea power station has not been redeveloped since being decommissioned in 1983, as numerous plans having fallen through.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
Lab 16,615 (40.67%)
C 16,283 (39.85%)
LD 5,906 (14.45%)
Green 1,720 (4.21%)
UKIP 334 (0.82%)

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