 The Member of parliament (MP) for Harlow since the 2010 general election is Conservative Robert Halfon.He defeated Labour's Phil Waite, his predecessor being Bill Rammell, who had been the MP since the 1997 election, but had only held the seat at the 2005 general election by a majority of 97 votes.Elections to the district council are held in three out of every four years, with one-third of the 33 seats on the council being elected at each election.