Old Bexley and Sidcup (UK Parliament constituency) explained

Old Bexley and Sidcup
Parliament:uk
Map1:OldBexleySidcup2007
Map Entity:Greater London
Year:1983
Type:Borough
Electorate:74,317 (2023)[1]
Region:England
Towns:Bexley, Sidcup, part of Welling
European:London
Elects Howmany:One

Old Bexley and Sidcup is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1983 creation. Its first Member of Parliament (MP) was former Prime Minister Edward Heath, who previously represented Bexley (1950–1974) and Sidcup (1974–1983). The seat has been held since a 2021 by-election by Louie French of the Conservative Party, following the death of incumbent James Brokenshire.

History and profile

The seat was created in 1983 by combining a small part of the abolished seat of Bexleyheath, chiefly Old Bexley, with the abolished seat of Sidcup.

On 29 January 2008 the Conservative Party withdrew the whip from the constituency's MP, Derek Conway, following alleged misuse of funds revealed by the MPs expenses controversy, who declined to resign as MP and became an Independent. He retired from national politics in 2010.

Sir Edward Heath (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1970–1974) held this area (also referring to its main predecessor seats, Bexley and Sidcup) from 1950 until 2001 when he retired at the age of 84, at the time the longest-serving MP in the Commons, known as the Father of the House.

Political overviewThe seat has been won at general elections since creation by the Conservative Party candidate. The 1997 New Labour landslide saw the party's majority fall to its lowest level of 7% of the vote. Its greatest level has to date been 41.5% of the vote — in 1987.

In 2010 the seat was won by the Conservative candidate James Brokenshire, who had transferred to this seat and approved by his local party when his former seat of Hornchurch was abolished in boundary changes. His 2015 result made the seat the 105th safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.[2] The seat was left vacant following Brokenshire's death on 7 October 2021.[3] [4] until a by-election was held on 2 December which resulted in a Conservative hold.

Boundaries

Historic

1983–1997: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Blackfen, Blendon and Penhill, Cray, Lamorbey, St Mary's, Sidcup East, and Sidcup West.

1997–2010: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Blackfen, Blendon and Penhill, Cray, Danson, East Wickham, Falconwood, Lamorbey, St Mary's, Sidcup East, and Sidcup West.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Bexley wards of Blackfen and Lamorbey, Blendon and Penhill, East Wickham, Falconwood and Welling, Longlands, St Mary's, and Sidcup.

As its name suggests, the seat covers the Bexley and Sidcup areas; it formerly included Danson Park which owing to more development in the south was moved to the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of:

The revised contents take into account the local government boundary review for Bexley which became effective in May 2018. Boundaries were extended slightly by adding the parts of the expanded East Wickham and Falconwood & Welling wards previously in Bexleyheath and Crayford.

Constituency profile

Old Bexley and Sidcup has average incomes among the highest of all constituencies,[6] a high proportion of semi-detached and detached homes[7] and low unemployment[8] with a lower than average dependency on social housing.[6]

The constituency generally consists of middle-class and lower middle-class outer London suburbia, served by the Dartford Loop and Bexleyheath commuter railway lines to Central London. Sidcup has been largely developed to neat garden suburb-inspired building schemes for most homes.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1983Sir Edward HeathConservative
2001Derek ConwayConservative
2008Independent
2010James BrokenshireConservative
2021 by-electionLouie FrenchConservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[9]
PartyVote%
33,158 63.9
12,389 23.9
4,303 8.3
1,791 3.5
Others 226 0.4
Turnout51,86769.8
Electorate74,317

Elections in the 1980s

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – London . Boundary Commission for England . 22 June 2024 . dmy .
  2. Web site: Conservative Members of Parliament 2015 . UK Political.info . 2017-02-12 . 2017-06-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170608170823/http://www.ukpolitical.info/conservative-mps-elected-2015.htm . live.
  3. News: Former Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire dies, aged 53 . BBC News . 8 October 2021 . 8 October 2021 . 8 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008110127/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58844606 . live .
  4. Statement by the Brokenshire Family . 8 October 2021 . JBrokenshire . 1446425338918080513 . 8 October 2021 . 8 October 2021 . https://archive.today/20211008111825/https://twitter.com/JBrokenshire/status/1446425338918080513 . live.
  5. Web site: The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023 . Schedule 1 Part 3 London region.
  6. Web site: Local statistics - Office for National Statistics. neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
  7. Web site: 2011 census interactive maps. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160129132219/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/census-data/2011-census-interactive-content/index.html. 2016-01-29.
  8. https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/nov/17/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics Unemployment claimants by constituency
  9. Web site: Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019 . 11 July 2024 . Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News . UK Parliament.