Hayes and Harlington includes almost all of Heathrow airport, and many of the big issues facing the constituency revolve around its major employer.
The proposed construction of a fifth terminal, which would also be in the constituency, is controversial: the air and noise pollution it would bring need to be balanced against extra employment. Most of those who work there do so in an ancillary and airside capacity.
The seatís working class origins result from its creation as an industrial area at the beginning of the 20th century. It has taken advantage of successive booms, most obviously in air travel since 1945. It now serves as a logistical and new technology centre for Europe, because of its excellent transport links. That has brought economic benefits - unemployment below the national average and waves of Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Asian and Somali immigration to fill vacancies.
This seat was one of a number around the country which the Conservatives won after the sitting Labour MP defected to the SDP and split the non-Conservative vote in the 1983 election. While some seats returned another Labour MP almost immediately, here it took 14 years.