Camberwell and Peckham is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

since its 1997 creation by

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

of the Labour Party. Harman had served for the previous constituency of

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

. She is a former cabinet minister and the "Mother of the House of Commons", having the longest record of continuous service of any female MP.

Constituency profile

The constituency is very ethnically diverse, and has the highest proportion of black, African, and Afro-Caribbean residents of all constituencies in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, according to Office of National Statistics 2011 Census figures, at 37.4%. This includes 22.4% being African (highest), 9.3% being Caribbean and 5.7% being of any other black background (highest). More than two-fifths (40.8%) of residents were born outside of the UK. With 50.6% of all residential properties being social housing, it also has the highest proportion of social housing of any parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. More than three in 10 residents are single parents. The area is also socially diverse with fine Georgian houses in parts of

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...

, while Nunhead to the east has experienced considerable regeneration in recent years. At least two

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

groupings exist containing pockets of upmarket housing stock, principally Camberwell Grove and Camberwell Green.Conservation Area Appraisals
Southwark Council. Retrieved 2017-01-22. The housing stock has expanded in the early-21st century due to major increases in Central London property prices, which has led to new private sector-funded housing initiatives. As such, rents across the private rented sector have multiplied, affecting its long-term communities who have entrenched high reliance overall on the rented sector, pushing residents away by

eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...

or further away from owning their own homes near to their communities.Poverty and wealth across Britain 1968 to 2005
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 16 July 2007.

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...

, one of London's largest teaching hospitals, and the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the ...

are major employers in the constituency. One in seven residents are employed in human health and social work.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Southwark wards of Barset, Brunswick, Consort, Faraday, Friary, Liddle, St Giles, The Lane, and Waverley. 2010–present: The London Borough of Southwark wards of Brunswick Park, Camberwell Green, Faraday, Livesey, Nunhead, Peckham, Peckham Rye, South Camberwell, and The Lane. The constituency incorporates the areas of

and Nunhead in the London Borough of Southwark, together with parts of its other districts of Walworth, East Dulwich, South Bermondsey and

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

Political history

The constituency was created in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. All results since 1997 have been strong Labour Party majorities of 36.8% of the vote or greater. As the predecessor seats were Labour (in this instance the length of party tenure can be dated to 1936) and council wards tend to have strong majorities for the party, the seat has the three main hallmarks of a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combina ...

. Its only MP to date is

, a former Cabinet minister and former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, twice its acting

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

during leadership elections in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, and former Shadow Culture Secretary. She had been the MP for the preceding constituency of

since a by-election in 1982.

Members of Parliament

Official portrait of Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP crop 2

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Camberwell and Peckham
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. *
UK General Elections since 1832
Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources

(election results from 1922 onwards)

(election results from 1955 onwards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Camberwell And Peckham (UK Parliament Constituency) Politics of the London Borough of Southwark Parliamentary constituencies in London Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Camberwell Peckham Harriet Harman