Under a review of parliamentary representation, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended in a boundary report published in 2007 that:
parts of Golders Green ward and Finchley Church End ward be transferred from Hendon
part of Woodhouse ward be transferred from Chipping Barnet;
parts of Mill Hill ward and Coppetts ward be transferred to Hendon and Chipping Barnet respectively.
The majority of the constituency's territory was previously in the former Finchley seat, created in 1918, and was most famously represented by former ConservativePrime Minister Margaret Thatcher between 1959–1992; although boundary changes meant that she never again attained her large majority of 1959, and was re-elected by a 10-point margin in 1974, she was nonetheless returned by majorities of 8,000 and 9,000 votes or 20-point margins at the three general elections throughout her premiership. Since the nominal result at the 1992 general election, and officially from its creation, the seat has been a national bellwether. The 2015 general election result gave the seat the 65th most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.
Constituency profile
The area is relatively hilly for Greater London and has numerous London Underground stations. Finchley and Golders Green was overwhelmingly built on in the first half of the 20th century when it was at the fringe of London. The area has since the coming of the railways had little industry of its own, its local economy tending towards high street retail and tradespeople and instead, the workforce has a high proportion of central London commuters. In common with much of the London Borough of Barnet, the local housing stock is larger than the London average; most houses have gardens greatly exceeding their footprint and there are many older subdivided townhouses. The proportion of social housing and ex-council housing is lower than the London average and is in varying condition, unlike many urban hubs in the capital which have seen greater redevelopment of neglected housing stock. It is a mostly affluent and middle-class constituency, but has historically strong Labour Party support in areas of East and West Finchley. Over 20% of residents are Jewish.
Members of Parliament
According to Rallings and Thrasher, the boundary changes which came into force for the general election of 2010 meant that this seat notionally already had a Conservative majority, albeit a very small one.
