Bethnal Green & Bow
Labour hold

This seat in the heart of the east end of London looks like a Labour stronghold, but it produced one of the oddest - though little noticed - results in 1997 when there was actually a swing to the Conservatives of more than 5pc. How did this happen? The main issue concerned Labour's choice for this apparently plum redrawn seat. Oona King, a 29-year-old woman with a mixed ethnic background - her father a black American, her mother Jewish - did not appeal to many traditional Labour voters. The Conservative Dr Kabir Choudury, on the other hand, was the founder director-general of the Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and had a strong local power base to work from. However, Ms King pulled through with an 11,000 majority and her high media profile may well ensure a smoother run this time around.

Oona King - one of Labour's ten non-white MPs, brings to the Commons a café-au-lait complexion and sexual chemistry born of the multi-cultural union between her African-American civil rights emigre father Professor Preston King, and her Jewish-Geordie mother, Hazel Stern - a melange at variance with the Bengali origins of most of her non-white constituents. With a singular extemporaneous oratorical style, accompanied by gentle swaying, she was born in 1967, educated at Haverstock School, Hampstead and York University, before working for Labour MEPs, including Glenys Kinnock. A backer of PR, and dubbed Labour's answer to Whoopi Goldberg, she is tenacious, talented, sharp and tough, as well as exuding immense charm, and must be counted the sexiest woman in the House of Commons.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 0.00% 14.99% 0.00 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.06% 2.49% 2.27 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 0.00% 4.43% 0.00 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 0.00% 7.27% 0.00 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 2.73% 2.56% 106.63 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 3.46% 2.04% 169.44 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 10.56% 3.94% 267.89 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 0.29% 13.04% 2.23 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 0.00% 12.70% 0.00 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 0.00% 8.14% 0.00 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 7.74% 4.02% 192.34 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 0.00% 3.19% 0.00 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 3.60% 11.31% 31.79 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 26.64% 3.06% 869.88 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.29% 2.52% 11.47 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 44.61% 2.10% 2,124.34 Unclassified Unclassified 0.03% 0.06% 42.40

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 7.95% 9.41% 84.40 £5-10K 13.48% 16.63% 81.07 £10-15K 14.22% 16.58% 85.79 £15-20K 12.53% 13.58% 92.23 £20-25K 10.27% 10.39% 98.82 £25-30K 8.17% 7.77% 105.05 £30-35K 6.42% 5.79% 110.76 £35-40K 5.02% 4.33% 115.90 £40-45K 3.93% 3.27% 120.51 £45-50K 3.09% 2.48% 124.62 £50-55K 2.44% 1.90% 128.30 £55-60K 1.94% 1.47% 131.59 £60-65K 1.55% 1.15% 134.55 £65-70K 1.24% 0.91% 137.20 £70-75K 1.00% 0.72% 139.60 £75-80K 0.81% 0.57% 141.76 £80-85K 0.66% 0.46% 143.72 £85-90K 0.55% 0.37% 145.51 £90-95K 0.45% 0.31% 147.13 £95-100K 0.37% 0.25% 148.61 £100K + 2.08% 1.34% 155.03