Bromley and Chislehurst is a
constituency represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
since
2006 by
Bob Neill, a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
.
Constituency profile
This constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income, has low unemployment and is largely suburban with significant parkland and sports areas.
Most of the housing is owner-occupied although there are significant proportions of
social housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...
in parts of
Mottingham
Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...
and
Bromley Common. The 2011 census shows that the borough is 84.3% White European/British, lower than the national average (86%) and higher than then London average (59%).
Until 2006 it was one of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's
safest seats but the by-election of that year saw the party's electoral majority fall steeply from over 13,000 (in the 2005 election) to just over 600 votes (see below - "Election results"). They have since rebuilt this majority, which currently stands at just under 11,000.
History
The
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
parliamentary constituency was created in 1918. In 1974 Bromley became
Ravensbourne.
Before the 1997 election western wards of
Chislehurst merged with eastern wards in Ravensbourne to form Bromley and Chislehurst.
Bromley/Ravensbourne/Chislehurst summary
The earlier Bromley, later Ravensbourne, seat was markedly prosperous in regional terms and did not elect
Labour Party MPs during its 1918 to 1974 existence. One of the Ravensbourne wards,
Plaistow and Sundridge, had a Communist Councillor in the 1940s. Prime Minister (1957-1963)
Harold Macmillan was the MP for
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
from 1945 until his retirement in 1964, when he was succeeded by
John Hunt. Hunt, on the left of the Conservative party, held the seat (renamed
Ravensbourne in 1974) until 1997.
The Chislehurst seat had a
Labour Party MP from
1966 until
1970.
A
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
was held on 29 June 2006, upon the death of the previous MP
Eric Forth
Eric Forth (9 September 1944 – 17 May 2006) was a British Conservative politician. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Birmingham North from 1979 to 1984. He then served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestershir ...
the month before, which returned
London Assembly member
Bob Neill as the new Conservative MP with an electoral majority of just over 600 votes - compared to the previous Conservative majority of over 13,000 in the 2005 general election. Turnout was down by a significant margin. In 2010 Bob Neill was re-elected with a Conservative majority greater than that achieved in 2005.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bickley, Bromley Common and Keston, Chislehurst, Hayes, Martins Hill and Town, Mottingham, and Plaistow and Sundridge.
2010–present: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bickley, Bromley Town, Chislehurst, Cray Valley West, Mottingham and Chislehurst North, and Plaistow and Sundridge.
Bromley and Chislehurst constituency covers the northern part of the
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,3 ...
including the east of Bromley, its town centre, and Chislehurst.
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in London
Notes
References
Further reading
*Cook, Chris and Ramsden, John. ''By-elections in British politics'' (Routledge, 2003)
External links
nomis Constituency Profile for Bromley and Chislehurst— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
(Election results from 1922 onwards)
(Election results from 1955 onwards)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley And Chislehurst (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Politics of the London Borough of Bromley
Parliamentary constituencies in London
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997