Southwark Central (UK Parliament constituency)
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Southwark (''Br'' ˆsʌðɨk"Southwark", in ''The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World'' (1952), New York: Columbia University Press. Central was a
borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by ...
returning a single Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom through the first past the post voting system. The constituency was a very compact and urban area, and was one of three divisions of the Parliamentary Borough of Southwark, which was identical to the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark, in
South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
. The creation of the constituency was recommended by the Boundary Commission in a report issued in 1917, and formally created by the
Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...
. It came into existence at the 1918 general election. As the borough of Southwark had only 67,279 electors on 15 October 1946, the relevant date for the subsequent Boundary Commission review, the borough was only entitled to a single Member of Parliament. As a consequence Southwark Central was abolished as a separate constituency by the Representation of the People Act 1948, along with its neighbours Southwark North and Southwark South East and went out of existence at the 1950 general election, forming part of the re-established
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
constituency.


Boundaries

When the constituency was created, it was defined to include three whole wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark (St Mary's, St Paul's and Trinity) together with a small section of the St George's ward. This formed an area in two main parts linked by a narrow strip of land around Elephant and Castle. The southern section, between
Kennington Park Road Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards ...
and Walworth Road, including the St Mary and St Paul wards, was almost entirely residential. It stretched to
Kennington Park Kennington Park is a public park in Kennington, south London and lies between Kennington Park Road and St. Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854 on the site of what had been Kennington Common, where the Chartists gathered for their biggest "mons ...
and to Avenue Road, being the southern boundary of the borough. Around the Elephant and Castle area the constituency included
Newington Butts Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park Road leading to ...
and the Metropolitan Tabernacle, but at its narrowest point it was only about 100 yards between the western boundary on Newington Causeway and the eastern boundary on the railway line through Elephant & Castle railway station. North of Elephant and Castle, the constituency turned to the east and included a second area of Newington between
New Kent Road New Kent Road is a road in the London Borough of Southwark. The road was created in 1751 when the Turnpike Trust upgraded a local footpath. This was done as part of the general road improvements associated with the creation of Westminster Br ...
and
Newington Causeway __NOTOC__ Newington Causeway is a road in Southwark, London, between the Elephant and Castle and Borough High Street. Elephant & Castle Underground station is at the southern end. It follows the route of the old Roman road Stane Street. In 19 ...
in the Trinity ward. The southern boundary of this part of the constituency continued along New Kent Road to divide St George's ward along it and Tower Bridge Road up to the borough boundary with Bermondsey. The northern part of Trinity ward, north of Wickham Place, was not included."Parliamentary Borough of Southwark" in "Report of the Boundary Commission (England and Wales)", vol. III ( Cd. 8758). The constituency's last MP, future Chancellor
Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 â€“ 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...
, described it as "postage stamp-sized".Roy Jenkins, "A Life at the Centre", Random House, 1991, p. 70.


Members of Parliament


Elections


Elections in the 1910s


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1930s


Elections in the 1940s


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southwark Central (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in London (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950 Politics of the London Borough of Southwark