Bromley and Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)

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Bromley and Chislehurst
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Bromley and Chislehurst in Greater London.
County Greater London
Population 88,633 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate 65,508 (December 2010)[2]
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Bob Neill (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Ravensbourne, Chislehurst
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency London
The wards and boundaries for the Bromley and Chislehurst Parliament constituency (red) as first used in the 2010 general election, shown within the London Borough of Bromley (yellow)

Bromley and Chislehurst is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2006 by Bob Neill of the Conservative Party.[n 1]

Constituency profile

Aside from a few ex-council estates which retain significant proportions of social housing in parts of Mottingham and Bromley Common, this constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income, has low unemployment and is largely suburban with significant parkland and sports areas.[3][4] 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%).[5] Until 2006 it was one of the Conservative Party'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").

History

The Bromley parliamentary constituency was created in 1918.[n 2] In 1974 Bromley became Ravensbourne.

Before the 1997 election western wards of Chislehurst merged with eastern wards in Ravensbourne to form Bromley and Chislehurst.[n 3]

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 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 was held on 29 June 2006, upon the death of the previous MP Eric Forth 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 including the east of Bromley, its town centre, and Chislehurst.

Members of Parliament

Election Member[6][7] Party
1997 Eric Forth Conservative
2006 by-election Bob Neill Conservative

Election results

Elections in 2010s

General Election 2015: Bromley and Chislehurst [8][9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Neill [11] 23,343 53.0 -0.5
Labour John Courtneidge [12] 9,779 22.2 +5.6
UKIP Emmett Jenner [11] 6,285 14.3 +11.0
Liberal Democrat Sam Webber[13] 2,836 6.4 -15.5
Green Roisin Robertson[14] 1,823 4.1 +2.8
Majority 13,564 30.8 -0.8
Turnout 44,066 68.4 +1.1
Conservative hold Swing -3.0
General Election 2010: Bromley and Chislehurst[5][15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Neill 23,569 53.5 +2.4
Liberal Democrat Sam Webber 9,669 22.0 +1.7
Labour Chris Kirby 7,295 16.6 -5.4
UKIP Emmett Jenner 1,451 3.3 +0.1
BNP Rowena Savage 1,070 2.4 N/A
Green Roisin Robertson 607 1.5 -1.7
English Democrats Jon Cheeseman 376 0.9 N/A
Majority 13,900 31.6 +2.7
Turnout 44,037 67.3 +2.5
Conservative hold Swing +14.65

Elections in 2000s

Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Neill 11,621 40.1 –10.0
Liberal Democrat Ben Abbotts 10,988 37.9 +17.6
UKIP Nigel Farage 2,307 8.0 +4.8
Labour Rachel Reeves 1,925 6.6 –15.6
Green Ann Garrett 811 2.8 –0.4
National Front Paul Winnett 476 1.6 N/A
Independent John Hemming-Clark 442 1.5 N/A
English Democrats Steven Uncles 212 0.7 N/A
Monster Raving Loony John Cartwright 132 0.5 N/A
Independent Nick Hadziannis 65 0.2 N/A
Money Reform Anne Belsey 33 0.1 N/A
Majority 633 2.2 –26.7
Turnout 29,012 40.2 –24.7
Conservative hold Swing –13.8
General Election 2005: Bromley and Chislehurst[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Eric Forth 23,583 51.1 +1.6
Labour Rachel Reeves 10,241 22.2 –6.4
Liberal Democrat Peter Brooks 9,368 20.3 +1.4
UKIP David Hooper 1,475 3.2 +0.3
Green Ann Garrett 1,470 3.2 N/A
Majority 13,342 28.9
Turnout 46,137 64.8 +0.5
Conservative hold Swing +4.0
General Election 2001: Bromley and Chislehurst[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Eric Forth 21,412 49.5 +3.2
Labour Sue Polydorou 12,375 28.6 +3.4
Liberal Democrat Geoff Payne 8,180 18.9 –4.8
UKIP Rob Bryant 1,264 2.9 +0.7
Majority 9,037 20.9
Turnout 43,231 64.3 –9.7
Conservative hold Swing –0.1

Elections in 1990s

General Election 1997: Bromley and Chislehurst[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Eric Forth 24,428 46.3 N/A
Labour Rob Yeldham 13,310 25.2 N/A
Liberal Democrat Paul Booth 12,530 23.8 N/A
UKIP Rob Bryant 1,176 2.2 N/A
Green Frances Speed 640 1.2 N/A
National Front Michael Stoneman 369 0.7 N/A
Liberal Gabriel Aitman 285 0.5 N/A
Majority 11,118 21.1 N/A
Turnout 52,738 74.1 N/A
Conservative 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. Before 1918 the area was part of the larger Sevenoaks constituency
  3. Outlying parts of predecessor constituencies joined Beckenham, Lewisham West and Penge and Orpington
References

Further reading

  • Cook, Chris and Ramsden, John. By-elections in British politics (Routledge, 2003)

External links

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