Beckenham () is a constituency represented in the

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of the

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since 2010 by Bob Stewart, 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

The constituency is mostly leafy and suburban — one widely known gazetteer summarised this in 2012: There are significant areas of open land to the south around Hayes and Keston. The upmarket town centre of Beckenham is split between this constituency and

Lewisham West and Penge 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. History Following the adoption of the Boundary Commissi ...

to the west. All wards have voted between 60 and 70%

since the seat's inception. In times when

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

has led in the national polls the seat has remained Conservative. The smallest majority in a general election was 9.3%, in 1997; in all other elections except 2001 there have been majorities of more than 15%. The seat happened to become safer in its cut down to six wards (from ten) in 2010. This removed the three most Labour inclined wards of the borough, centered on Penge, and one other, taken from the more suburban parts that lean strongly or weakly Conservative. Since 1983 there has been a close contest for second place between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Labour's share has remained much greater than in

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

whereas the Liberal Democrat share has remained much greater than in

Croydon Central Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...

History

The constituency has only elected Conservatives as its MPs since 1950. The closest the Conservatives have ever come to losing this seat was at a by-election in November 1997, at the height of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's '

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' as Prime Minister, following the resignation of the previous MP

Piers Merchant Piers Rolf Garfield Merchant (2 January 1951 – 21 September 2009) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne Central from 1983 to 1987, and then MP for Beckenham from 1992 until he ...

in a sex scandal. Even then, the former MP for Hastings who lost her seat in the earlier 1997 general election,

Jacqui Lait Jacqueline Anne Harkness Lait (born 16 December 1947) is a British Conservative Party politician and former Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituencies of Hastings and Rye (1992–1997) and Beckenham (1997–2010). Early life Lait was bo ...

, managed to win the seat by just over 1,000 votes. Between 1957 and 1992 the long-serving MP for Beckenham was Sir Philip Goodhart, who was soon after 1979 discovered by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

to be a right-of-centre or 'wet conservative' and consequently his career as a junior minister came to a quick end. Goodhart is best known for his book on the workings of the Conservative MPs' 1922 Committee, and for his brother Charles, who was a famous economics professor at

LSE LSE may refer to: Computing * LSE (programming language), a computer programming language * LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology * Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...

and sat for some time on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee. Before Sir Philip Goodhart, the former Conservative Chief Whip Patrick Buchan-Hepburn represented Beckenham in Parliament.

Boundaries

1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Beckenham, and the Urban District of Penge. 1974–1983: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Anerley, Clock House, Copers Cope, Eden Park, Lawrie Park and Kent House, Manor House, Penge, and Shortlands. 1983–1997: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Anerley, Clock House, Copers Cope, Eden Park, Kelsey Park, Lawrie Park and Kent House, Penge, and Shortlands. 1997–2010: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Anerley, Clock House, Copers Cope, Eden Park, Kelsey Park, Lawrie Park and Kent House, Penge, Shortlands, West Wickham North, and West Wickham South. 2010–present: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bromley Common and Keston, Copers Cope, Hayes and Coney Hall, Kelsey and Eden Park, Shortlands, and West Wickham. Note that - despite the changes in ward names - the 1974-1983 boundaries and the 1983-1997 boundaries listed above are almost exactly the same boundaries. Similarly - despite the changes in local authorities and the listing of wards - the 1950-1974 boundaries and the 1997-2010 boundaries listed are almost exactly the same boundaries. Beckenham constituency covers the north-western 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 ...

. The local government ward boundaries were redrawn for the 2002 local elections, though this did not affect parliamentary limits until the 2010 general election.

Pre-2010 boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, the

Boundary Commission for England The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission for ...

made revisions to this seat. Clock House ward, Crystal Palace ward, and Penge and Cator ward were transferred from Beckenham to help create the new constituency of

. Parts of Bromley Common and Keston, Hayes and Coney Hall, and Shortlands wards were transferred to Beckenham from

Bromley and Chislehurst Bromley and Chislehurst is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2006 by Bob Neill, a Conservative. Constituency profile This constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income, h ...

. A small part of Bromley Common and Keston ward was transferred to Beckenham from

and a tiny part of Bromley Town ward was transferred from Beckenham to Bromley and Chislehurst.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Notes

References

External links

Politics Resources
(election results from 1922 onwards)

(election results from 1955 onwards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckenham (Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of the London Borough of Bromley Parliamentary constituencies in London Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950