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. Here we turn the spotlight on:
Candidates for main parties (in alphabetical order):
Blaise Maxime Pascal Baquiche – Liberal Democrats
Mona Crocker – Green Party
Mr Hands has seen off four challengers, three Labour and one Liberal Democrat to hold onto this seat since it was created in 2010. City fund manager Nicola Horlick came second in 2019 for the Lib-Dems amid the Brexit row.
Labour is believed to be the main challenger to the Tories this time around. Mr Hands has a majority of 11,241 but judging how many early mornings he spends meeting people outside local Tube stations he seems to realise it could be close.
Wards: The seat includes nine wards in Hammersmith and Fulham including Fulham Reach, Fulham Town, Lillie, Munster, Palace & Hurlingham, Parsons Green & Sandford, Sands End, Walham Green, and West Kensington, as well as four wards in Kensington and Chelsea including Chelsea Riverside, Redcliffe, Royal Hospital and Stanley.
Chelsea and Fulham constituency map – Purple shaded area: current constituency boundary. Green outlines: new constituency boundaries
OpenStreetMap contributors/CARTO
Boundary changes impact (Thrasher and Rawlings analysis): Boundary changes have made this seat less Conservative and more Labour. It was 49.9 per cent Conservative in 2019, 25.9 per cent Lib Dem, and 23.2 per cent Labour. Under the new boundaries it would have been 45.5 per cent Tory, 29.1 per cent Labour and 23.8 per cent Lib Dem.
YouGov MRP poll prediction: Labour gain from Tories.
Evening Standard view: London is a city which is turning increasingly Labour. But if Sir Keir Starmer’s party wins in Chelsea and Fulham it is likely to be a grim night for the Conservatives across the country.
