Constituency profile

Barking

London · Borough constituency · Barking and Dagenham borough

Nesil Caliskan MP
Sitting MP

Nesil Caliskan

Labour

First elected July 2024

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
London
Borough constituency, Barking and Dagenham council
Last 5 GE winners
LLLLL
Labour 5/5
EU referendum 2016
60.0% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +8.1pp above mean
Current outlook
Labour +7.6pp
vs Reform UK 24.1%
LondonStrong Leave areaDiverse

About the Barking constituency

Barking is a borough constituency in London, covering most or all of Barking and Dagenham. The sitting MP is Nesil Caliskan (Labour), first elected in July 2024.

At the 2024 general election, Labour won Barking with 44.5% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 14.2%, a majority of 11,054 votes. Turnout was 45.7%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has Labour on 31.7% and Reform UK on 24.1% in Barking, a margin of 7.6 points. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, Barking is a strongly Leave-voting area (an estimated 60.0% voted Leave in 2016). About 34.1% of residents hold a degree, 39.3% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 33 (2021 Census).

Across the most recent general elections on record here, the seat has been won by Labour each time.

Who lives in Barking? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
60.0%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
34.1%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
22.3%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
39.3%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
58.4%
UK average ~36%
Median age
32.8
UK median ~40
Age 65+
10.2%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
38.3%
UK average ~28%

How did Barking vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab hold · majority 11,054 votes (30.3pp) · turnout 45.7%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Barking

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Council layer (not Westminster)

Barking within Barking and Dagenham

The Westminster constituency of Barking sits entirely within Barking and Dagenham Council. Local council elections are a separate ballot from Westminster general elections - the figures below are from the council elections held on Thursday 7 May 2026.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seatProjection
Barking and Dagenham
70 LSOAs
100%View projection ›

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Barking at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Barking at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010Lab holdMargaret Hodge54.3%17.8%8.2%2.9% UKIP0.7%16.1%16,55561.4%
2015Lab holdMargaret Hodge57.7%16.3%1.3%22.2% UKIP2.1%0.4%15,27258.2%-3.2
2017Lab holdMargaret Hodge67.8%22.5%1.3%6.4% UKIP1.5%0.6%21,60861.9%+3.7
2019notionalLabour winnerMargaret Hodge 2019 MP, pre-review boundary60.9%26.8%3.3%-1.8%7.2%13,99357.1%-4.8
2024Lab holdNesil Caliskan44.5%11.8%2.8%14.2% Ref13.7%13.1%11,05445.7%-11.4

Earlier years are on pre-2024 boundaries; comparable results on the new boundary will be added when sourced.

Constituencies most like Barking

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Barking. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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