Lewisham West and Penge (UK Parliament constituency)

Lewisham West and Penge is a constituency in Greater London created in 2010 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ellie Reeves of the Labour Party.[n 1]

Lewisham West and Penge
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Lewisham West and Penge in Greater London
CountyGreater London
Electorate69,399 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsForest Hill, Penge and Sydenham
Current constituency
Created2010
Member of ParliamentEllie Reeves (Labour)
Number of membersOne
Created fromLewisham West
Beckenham

History

Following the adoption of the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies this constituency was created for the 2010 general election with electoral wards from the London Boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham. The greater electorate and area of the constituency is in the London Borough of Lewisham.

Political history

At the 2010 general election a strong Liberal Democrat challenge edged the Conservative candidate narrowly into third. The 2015 Liberal Democrat candidate moved into fifth position on results night.[2] The 2015 result made the seat the 106th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[3]

Its predecessor seat, Lewisham West, from which this constituency was largely created, was a marginal bellwether for much of its existence, flipping back and forth between Labour and the Conservatives. The Conservative Party gained it in 1979, the year their Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came to power and returned her party to government. However, Labour won it back in 1992, despite failing to win the election nationally; it has since become increasingly safe for the party. This is attributed to the area becoming more ethnically diverse and less suburban in character, a trend which has favoured Labour. Despite the 2010 boundary changes adding parts of the Beckenham constituency, which has historically been a safe seat for the Conservatives, these wards are now inclined towards Labour and represented by the party on Bromley Council. Together with the remaining areas in Lewisham, which compose the bulk of the constituency, this means that all wards included in Lewisham West and Penge have a full slate of Labour councillors, and the constituency is thus dominated by the party at both local and national level.

Constituency profile

The seat comprises the south-western portion of Lewisham borough with the northwestern tip of Bromley borough. At the heart of the seat is Sydenham, with most of Forest Hill in the north. Its ambit also includes some of the Crystal Palace and Sydenham Hill (the park and site of the palace itself is on the intersection of five boroughs) and the nearby areas of Anerley and Penge. The parts of Beckenham around Clock House and Kent House railway stations are also included.[4] The Guardian summarised it in 2010 as "suburban south-east London, with a large Afro-Caribbean population."

Boundaries

The seat covers the following electoral wards: Bellingham; Forest Hill; Perry Vale; Sydenham (London Borough of Lewisham) and Clock House; Crystal Palace; Penge & Cator (London Borough of Bromley).

To create the new constituency the Boundary Commission for England transferred Perry Vale ward, Bellingham ward, Forest Hill ward, and Sydenham ward from the former Lewisham West constituency. Clock House ward, Crystal Palace ward, and Penge and Cator ward were transferred from Beckenham constituency.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[5] Party
2010 Jim Dowd Labour
2017 Ellie Reeves Labour

Election results

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2019: Lewisham West and Penge[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ellie Reeves 31,860 61.2 -5.4
Conservative Aisha Cuthbert 10,317 19.8 -3.2
Liberal Democrats Alex Feakes 6,260 12.0 +5.8
Green James Braun 2,390 4.6 +2.4
Brexit Party Teixeira Hambro 1,060 2.0 N/A
CPA Katherine Hortense 213 0.4 -0.2
Majority 21,543 41.4 -1.6
Turnout 52,100 69.8 -3.2
Registered electors 74,615
Labour hold Swing -1.1
General election 2017: Lewisham West & Penge[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ellie Reeves 35,411 66.6 +16.0
Conservative Shaun Bailey 12,249 23.0 -1.1
Liberal Democrats John Russell 3,317 6.2 -1.5
Green Karen Wheller 1,144 2.1 -6.3
UKIP Hoong-Wai Cheah 700 1.3 -6.5
CPA Katherine Hortense 325 0.6 N/A
Populist Party Russell White 50 0.1 N/A
Majority 23,162 43.0 +16.6
Turnout 52,196 73.0 +6.4
Registered electors 72,899
Labour hold Swing +8.5
General election 2015: Lewisham West and Penge[9][10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Dowd 24,347 50.6 +9.5
Conservative Russell Jackson 11,633 24.2 -1.3
Green Tom Chance 4,077 8.5 +6.4
UKIP Gary Harding 3,764 7.8 +5.3
Liberal Democrats Alex Feakes 3,709 7.7 -20.4
TUSC Martin Powell-Davies 391 0.8 N/A
Independent David Hansom 160 0.3 N/A
Liberty GB George Whale 84 0.1 N/A
Majority 12,714 26.4 +13.5
Turnout 48,165 66.6 +1.4
Registered electors 72,290
Labour hold Swing +5.4
General election 2010: Lewisham West and Penge[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Dowd[n 2] 18,501 41.1 N/A
Liberal Democrats Alex Feakes 12,673 28.1 N/A
Conservative Chris Phillips 11,489 25.5 N/A
UKIP Peter Staveley 1,117 2.5 N/A
Green Romayne Phoenix 931 2.1 N/A
CPA Stephen Hammond 317 0.7 N/A
Majority 5,828 12.9 N/A
Turnout 45,028 65.2 N/A
Registered electors 69,022
Labour win (new seat)

See also

Notes and references
Notes
  1. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  2. Served as MP for Lewisham West in the 2005–2010 Parliament
References
  1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. "Electoral Commission - Previous UK general elections". www.electoralcommission.org.uk.
  3. List of Labour MPs elected in 2015 by % majority UK Political.info. Retrieved 2017-01-29
  4. "Area and Property Guide for se19 - Mouseprice". www.mouseprice.com.
  5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
  6. "General election 2019". lewisham.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  7. "Lewisham West and Penge parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
  8. http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf
  9. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. "Election results for Lewisham West and Penge, 7 May 2015". councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk. May 7, 2015.
  11. "Lewisham West & Penge parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. "BBC News - Election 2010 - Constituency - Lewisham West & Penge". news.bbc.co.uk.

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