Hampstead and Highgate

Hampstead and Highgate is a mostly suburban constituency in Greater London, located around 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of the centre of London. It covers the neighbourhoods of Hampstead, Highgate, Belsize Park, Swiss Cottage and parts of Kilburn. Like much of suburban London, the area grew rapidly in population with the arrival of rail transport in the late 19th century. Hampstead is known for being home to many wealthy celebrities and politicians,^[4] whilst Kilburn has high levels of deprivation.^[5] The average house price in the constituency is over £1.2 million, double the London average and more than four times the national average.^[6]

In general, residents of the constituency are young and highly-educated. They are unlikely to be homeowners but have very high rates of income and professional employment. White people made up 66% of the population at the 2021 census, a higher proportion than the rest of London.^[6] White people of non-British origin were 27%, Asians were 14% and Black people were 7%.^[7] At the local borough council level, the west of the constituency around Kilburn and Swiss Cottage is represented by the Labour Party, whilst the wealthier areas of Hampstead and Highgate elected Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Voters in the constituency overwhelmingly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 76% voted to remain, making Hampstead and Highgate one of the top 15 most remain-supporing constituencies out of 650 nationwide.^[6]

Some areas here were amongst the wealthiest in the UK, but the seat always had an intellectual, artistic middle-class vote associated with the intelligentsia (see main page on Hampstead). It also contained Kilburn, with its large Irish community. The Labour incumbent in Hampstead and Highgate at the time of abolition, Glenda Jackson, retained the new constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn in 2010 with a majority of just 42.^[8]

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London