Eltham (UK Parliament constituency)

Eltham
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Eltham in Greater London.
County	Greater London
Electorate	63,059 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of parliament	Clive Efford (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Woolwich West
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

Eltham /ɛltəm/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

It is a marginal Labour-held seat covering roughly the southern half of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London.

Boundaries

1983-1997: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Avery Hill, Coldharbour, Deansfield, Eltham Park, Herbert, Middle Park, New Eltham, Nightingale, Palace, Sherard, Sutcliffe, Tarn, and Well Hall.

1997-2010: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Avery Hill, Coldharbour, Deansfield, Eltham Park, Herbert, Middle Park, New Eltham, Palace, Plumstead Common, Sherard, Shrewsbury, Slade, Sutcliffe, Tarn, and Well Hall.

2010-present: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Coldharbour and New Eltham, Eltham North, Eltham South, Eltham West, Kidbrooke with Hornfair, Middle Park and Sutcliffe, and Shooters Hill.

The constituency is in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. Before 1983, a constituency with similar boundaries was called Woolwich West.

The seat is bordered by the constituencies of:

• Bromley and Chislehurst
• Erith and Thamesmead
• Greenwich and Woolwich
• Lewisham East
• Old Bexley and Sidcup

History

Eltham is famous as being the birthplace of American-raised comedian and Hollywood film star Bob Hope. Shooters Hill and Blackheath presents open green and well-planted parkland with many residential locations that also share in impressive views over Canary Wharf commercial district of London. Eltham itself has a short, winding and typical high street, and is bypassed however by a main Road (the A20).

The seat was held by high profile Tory Peter Bottomley for over two decades (as Woolwich West and then Eltham) before Labour gained the seat in 1997. After fairly comfortable victories then and in 2001, the Labour majority decreased quite significantly in 2005, though Labour were able to resist some of the national swing against the party in 2010 to hold the seat.

Most of Eltham itself is Conservative, but Eltham West and the remaining wards in the seat are inclined to Labour. Conservative support has tended to be strongest in the south (on the Bromley borders), where there are more owner-occupied houses and the area is more middle-class. Labour has fared well in the northern areas of the constituency towards Greenwich, and in areas such as Shooters Hill and Well Hall.

The Eltham Conservative Association became the first in London to select a prospective parliamentary candidate by means of an open primary election where any voter on the electoral roll was entitled to attend and vote. David Gold (PPC Brighton Pavilion 2001) defeated Jackie Doyle-Price (PPC Sheffield Hillsborough 2005) and Eric Ollerenshaw (former Greater London Assembly member) by winning more than 50% of the ballot in the first round at a meeting chaired by Michael Portillo on 31 July 2006 at the Bob Hope Theatre. Approximately 140 people turned up for the open primary meeting.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Peter Bottomley	Conservative
	1997	Clive Efford	Labour

Election results

General Election 2015: Eltham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clive Efford	18,393	42.6	+1.1
	Conservative	Spencer Drury	15,700	36.4	−1.2
	UKIP	Peter Whittle	6,481	15.0	+12.6
	Liberal Democrat	Alex Cunliffe	1,308	3.0	−9.6
	Green	James Parker	1,275	3.0	+2.0
Majority			2,693	6.2	+2.2
Turnout			43,157	67.4	+0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%	±%
General Election 2010 Electorate: 63,059 Turnout: 41,964 (67.0%) +8.6		Labour hold Majority: 1,663 (4.0%) -5.3 Swing: −1.8% from Lab to Con		Clive Efford	Labour	17,416	41.5	−0.7
				David Gold	Conservative	15,753	37.5	+2.9
				Steven Toole	Liberal Democrat	5,299	12.6	−4.7
				Roberta Woods	BNP	1,745	4.2	+1.6
				Ray Adams	UKIP	1,011	2.4	−0.4
				Arthur Hayles	Green	419	1.0	N/A
				Mike Tibby	English Democrats	217	0.5	N/A
				Andrew James Graham	Independent	104	0.2	−0.2
General Election 2005 Turnout: 35,305 (61.7%) +3.0		Labour hold Majority: 3,276 (9.3%) −11.4 Swing: −5.7% from Lab to Con		Clive Efford	Labour	15,381	43.6	−9.2
				Spencer Drury	Conservative	12,105	34.3	+2.2
				Ian Gerrard	Liberal Democrat	5,669	16.1	+3.9
				Jeremy Elms	UKIP	1,024	2.9	+0.8
				Barry Roberts	BNP	979	2.8	N/A
				Andrew James Graham	Independent	147	0.4	−0.7
General Election 2001 Turnout: 33,792 (58.7%) −17.0		Labour hold Majority: 6,996 (20.7%) −2.7		Clive Efford	Labour	17,855	52.8	−1.8
				Mrs. Sharon Marina Massey	Conservative	10,859	32.1	+0.9
				Martin Morris	Liberal Democrat	4,121	12.2	+3.7
				Terrence Frederick Jones	UKIP	706	2.1	N/A
				Andrew James Graham	Independent	251	0.7	N/A
General Election 1997 Turnout: 43,428 (75.7%) -3.0		Labour gain from Conservative Majority: 10,182 (23.4%)		Clive Efford	Labour	23,710	54.6	+12.7
				Clive D. Blackwood	Conservative	13,528	31.2	−14.8
				Mrs. Amanda J. Taylor	Liberal Democrat	3,701	8.5	−3.2
				Matthew D. Clark	Referendum	1,414	3.3	N/A
				Henry Middleton	Liberal	584	1.3	N/A
				William A. Hitches	BNP	491	1.1	N/A
General Election 1992 Turnout: 40,929 (78.7%)		Conservative hold Majority: 1,666 (4.07%)		Peter Bottomley	Conservative	18,813	46.0	−1.5
				Clive Efford	Labour	17,147	41.9	+9.9
				Christopher P. McGinty	Liberal Democrat	4,804	11.7	−8.8
				Andrew James Graham	Independent	165	0.4	N/A
General Election 1987 Turnout: 76.92%		Conservative hold Majority: 6,460 (15.53%) Swing: −1.6% from Con to Lab		Peter Bottomley	Conservative	19,752	47.5	−0.4
				Rees David Vaughan	Labour	13,292	32.0	+2.7
				Edward John Randall	Liberal	8,542	20.5	−1.7
General Election 1983 New constituency Turnout: 74.1% (N/A)		Conservative win Majority: 7,592 (18.6%)		Peter Bottomley	Conservative	19,530	47.9	N/A
				C.P. Moore	Labour	11,938	29.3	N/A
				E.J. Randall	Liberal	9,030	22.2	N/A
				P.T. Banks	BNP	276	0.7	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London
• Politics of Greenwich
• Royal Borough of Greenwich
• Greenwich London Borough Council

References

Notes

References

External links

• Eltham Labour Party
• Eltham | Greenwich Conservatives