General Election 2024 London seats: Who will be my MP in… Harrow West
Millions of voters across London will go to the polls on July 4 to elect the new Government. The Standard is looking at key battleground seats in the capital, and has published an interactive map.
Here we turn the spotlight on:
Estimated declaration time 3.30am
Candidates for main parties (in alphabetical order):
Michael Beavis - Reform UK
Rupert George - Green
Abbas Merali - Conservatives
Chris Noyce - Liberal Democrats
Gareth Thomas - Labour
Summary: Solidly suburban and with the famous Harrow School in its environs, this constituency was safe Tory territory until Gareth Thomas seized it in Tony Blair’s New Labour triumph of 1997.
Mr Thomas has been the MP ever since, and has been serving on the Labour frontbench as a shadow trade minister. He is standing anew, defending a 2019 majority of 8,692.
Wards: Greenhill; Harrow on the Hill; Headstone; Marlborough; North Harrow; Rayners Lane; Roxbourne; Roxeth; Wealdstone North; Wealdstone South; West Harrow.
I’m not sure if I’m in this constituency: Here’s how you can check
Boundary changes impact: Minor changes on its edges have made Harrow West fractionally more favourable for Labour.
YouGov MRP poll prediction: Labour hold.
Evening Standard view: Labour’s Gareth Thomas is a local boy but Harrow is also home turf for Conservative Susan Hall, who won the area with an anti-Ulez message when she went down to defeat by Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral election.
It is the sort of suburban, car-reliant, small-business-minded constituency that the Tories will be eyeing for an eventual recovery. But that is for another year, and Mr Thomas will be targeting a bigger majority this time.
Click below to see more key seats across London:
