Camberwell and Peckham 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

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since its 1997 creation by

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

of the Labour Party. Harman had served for the previous constituency of Peckham since 1982. She is a former cabinet minister and the "Mother of the House of Commons", having the longest record of continuous service of any female MP.

Constituency profile

The constituency is very ethnically diverse, and has the highest proportion of black, African, and Afro-Caribbean residents of all constituencies in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, according to

Office of National Statistics An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

2011 Census figures, at 37.4%. This includes 22.4% being African (highest), 9.3% being Caribbean and 5.7% being of any other black background (highest). More than two-fifths (40.8%) of residents were born outside of the UK. With 50.6% of all residential properties being social housing, it also has the highest proportion of social housing of any parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. More than three in 10 residents are single parents. The area is also socially diverse with fine Georgian houses in parts of Camberwell, while

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BB ...

to the east has experienced considerable regeneration in recent years. At least two conservation area groupings exist containing pockets of upmarket housing stock, principally Camberwell Grove and Camberwell Green.Conservation Area Appraisals
Southwark Council. Retrieved 2017-01-22. The housing stock has expanded in the early-21st century due to major increases in Central London property prices, which has led to new private sector-funded housing initiatives. As such, rents across the private rented sector have multiplied, affecting its long-term communities who have entrenched high reliance overall on the rented sector, pushing residents away by

eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...

or further away from owning their own homes near to their communities.Poverty and wealth across Britain 1968 to 2005
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 16 July 2007.

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...

, one of London's largest teaching hospitals, and the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the ...

are major employers in the constituency. One in seven residents are employed in human health and social work.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Southwark wards of Barset, Brunswick, Consort, Faraday, Friary, Liddle, St Giles, The Lane, and Waverley. 2010–present: The London Borough of Southwark wards of Brunswick Park, Camberwell Green, Faraday, Livesey, Nunhead, Peckham, Peckham Rye, South Camberwell, and The Lane. The constituency incorporates the areas of Camberwell, Peckham and

in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

, together with parts of its other districts of

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

East Dulwich East Dulwich is an area of South East London, England in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms the eastern part of Dulwich, with Peckham to the east and Camberwell to the north. This South London suburb was first developed in the nineteent ...

South Bermondsey South Bermondsey is a ward in the London Borough of Southwark created in 2010 out of Burgess Ward in southeast London, England. The area is served by South Bermondsey railway station, with a future station at Surrey Canal Road. Nearby neighbor ...

and

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

Political history

The constituency was created in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. All results since 1997 have been strong Labour Party majorities of 36.8% of the vote or greater. As the predecessor seats were Labour (in this instance the length of party tenure can be dated to 1936) and council wards tend to have strong majorities for the party, the seat has the three main hallmarks of a safe seat. Its only MP to date is

, a former Cabinet minister and former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, twice its acting

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

during leadership elections in 2010 and 2015, and former Shadow Culture Secretary. She had been the MP for the preceding constituency of Peckham since a by-election in 1982.

Members of Parliament

Official portrait of Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP crop 2

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Camberwell and Peckham
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. *
UK General Elections since 1832
Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources

(election results from 1922 onwards)

(election results from 1955 onwards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Camberwell And Peckham (UK Parliament Constituency) Politics of the London Borough of Southwark Parliamentary constituencies in London Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Camberwell Peckham Harriet Harman