Bermondsey and Old Southwark is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

. Since 2015, it has been represented by

Neil Coyle Neil Alan John Coyle (born 30 December 1978) is a British Labour politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015. Coyle has at times been the subject of debate during his time in parliam ...

of the Labour Party. He was suspended from the party in February 2022 following an accusation of racism, but reinstated in May 2023.

History and boundaries

The seat was created for the 2010 general election, almost identical to

North Southwark and Bermondsey North Southwark and Bermondsey was a parliamentary constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created for the 1997 general election. Minor bo ...

seat previously held by

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British former politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, and a strategic adviser to Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. Hughes was deputy leader of the Lib ...

from the 1997 general election, on a review of parliamentary representation in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

by the

Boundary Commission for England In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each f ...

facing very minor boundary changes. The constituency lies within the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

. Prior to the 2023 boundary changes, it contained the Old Southwark area of the former

Metropolitan Borough of Southwark The Metropolitan Borough of Southwark (''Br'' �sʌðɨk was a metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was created to cover the western section of the ancient borough of Southwark and the parish of Newington. In common ...

and the neighbourhoods of

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

and

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...

. Within the constituency are

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

Walworth Walworth ( ) is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the ...

and Newington which were part of the old

Metropolitan Borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

. The eastern half of the seat includes Bermondsey and Rotherhithe which were part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, Metropolitan borough in the County of London, created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899. It was abolished and its area became part of the London B ...

, and which had been a separate constituency also. This seat is based on the 1997–2010

constituency. Following the 2002 redrawing of ward boundaries, parts of Faraday and Livesey wards that were part of North Southwark and Bermondsey transferred to Camberwell and Peckham. 2010–2024: The new seat was created from the following electoral wards within the

: Cathedrals, Chaucer, East

, Grange, Newington, Riverside,

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South 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, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

, South

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

Surrey Docks The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East London, located on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the River Thames. The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to 1969. Most were subsequently fi ...

. 2024–present: Following the

2023 review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency boundaries were approved by the Privy Council on 15 Nov ...

, which came into effect for the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, the constituency is composed of the following wards of the London Borough of Southwark (as they existed on 1 December 2020): * Borough & Bankside; Chaucer; London Bridge & West Bermondsey; North Bermondsey; Rotherhithe; St. George's; South Bermondsey; Surrey Docks. ''The contents reflect the new ward structure which became effective in May 2018. To bring the electorate within the permitted range, Newington was transferred to

Vauxhall and Camberwell Green Vauxhall and Camberwell Green is a List of UK Parliament constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Following the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster con ...

, and North

was transferred to

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east 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 vi ...

.''

Constituency profile

Comprising the northern part of the London Borough of Southwark, the seat lies immediately to the south of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. At 9.4% of the population, Bermondsey and Old Southwark has the fourth highest proportion of LGB+ people in the country. The southern halves of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

crossings

and

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

are in the seat, as is the historic Southwark area, with its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

and

Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built ...

. There is also extensive commercial development that has spilled over the river from the city, notably the

Shard London Bridge The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey mixed-use development supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that form ...

. To the east, the seat also includes the Rotherhithe peninsula, where contemporary housing now replaces former industrial areas, particularly around

Canada Water Canada Water is an area of Rotherhithe in the London Docklands, Docklands of south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube station, Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately n ...

and the neighbourhood of

. At its southern end, the seat includes parts of

. Here the seat adjoins Camberwell and Peckham, one of the safest Labour seats in London. The seat had remained a rare example of an inner London

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

seat since

first won it in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, until he lost it at the 2015 general election to Labour.

Members of Parliament

Note: the first MP was elected for predecessor Bermondsey seats continuously from a by-election in 1983 until the seat was created in 2010: see the former constituency of North Southwark and Bermondsey.

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Notes

References

External links

Politics Resources
(election results from 1922 onwards)

(election results from 1955 onwards)

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Coord, 51.49, -0.07, type:city_region:GB-SWK, display=title Bermondsey Parliamentary constituencies in London Politics of the London Borough of Southwark Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010