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  Dagenham


Parliament DETAILS
Parents > United Kingdom > England > London > London  
Established July 05, 1945
Disbanded May 01, 2010
ContributorRP
Last ModifiedRBH November 29, 2019 07:28pm
Description Dagenham lies to the east of London and is part of the borough of Barking and Dagenham. Its name was formerly synonymous with Ford motors. It was here, just after the establishment of Britain's largest-ever council estate in the 1920s, that in 1931, Henry Ford sited the country's first production line. Ford's major British manufacturing plant was based here for more than 70 years until global overcapacity prompted the closure of the car assembly business in February 2001, with the loss of approximately 1,900 jobs. Ford retains a presence here, however, as the factory has now become its primary centre for the manufacture of diesel engines. Labour MP John Parker represented the area for almost 50 years until his retirement in 1983 - he was Father of the House for the last four years of his tenure. His replacement proved to have a rather less longstanding relationship with the House of Commons. Bryan Gould was a Euro-sceptic at a time of Euro-enthusiasm in the party. Having been defeated by John Smith for the Labour leadership in 1992, he resigned his seat two years later and returned to his native New Zealand. The 1994 by-election was won by Judith Church but she stood down in 2001. The new MP, Jon Cruddas, a former political adviser to the Labour Party and at the Downing Street Policy Unit, won the seat with a numerical majority approximately half of his predecessor's - a far cry from the 31,735 majority enjoyed by John Parker in 1950. The British National Party has shown a recent resurgence in this area. It gained a seat on the local council at the expense of Labour in September 2004. At the 2001 General Election there was a substantial increase in support for the party, which saved its deposit.

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May 05, 2005 05:00pm UK Parliament - Dagenham  May 17, 2005 12:00pm

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