Bromley and Chislehurst was 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 ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

represented 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 ...

from

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

until its abolition 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 ...

Bob Neill Sir Robert James MacGillivray Neill KC (Hon) (born 24 June 1952) is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bromley and Chislehurst from 2006 to 2024. He served as a Parliame ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Constituency profile

The Bromley and Chislehurst constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income and has low unemployment; it is largely suburban with significant parkland and sports areas. Most of the housing is owner-occupied although there are significant proportions of

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

in parts of

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of the London Borough of Bromley, the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located southwest of Eltham, . It was historically wi ...

and

Bromley Common Bromley Common is an unincorporated village in Greater London, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is south of Bromley town centre and Bickley, west of Southborough and Petts Woo ...

. 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%). Until 2006 it was one of the Conservative Party's safest seats; the by-election of that year saw the party's electoral majority fall steeply from over 13,000 (in the

2005 election The following elections occurred in the year 2005. * 2005 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2005 Burkinabé presidential election * 2005 Burundian Senate election * 2005 Burundian communal elections * 2005 Burundian constitutio ...

) to just over 600 votes. The party has since rebuilt its majority, which currently stands at just under 11,000.

History

The

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

parliamentary constituency was created in 1918. In 1974 Bromley became Ravensbourne. Before the 1997 election western wards of

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

merged with eastern wards in Ravensbourne to form Bromley and Chislehurst.

Bromley/Ravensbourne/Chislehurst summary

The earlier Bromley seat, later Ravensbourne, was markedly prosperous in regional terms and did not elect Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) during its 1918 to 1974 existence. However, one of the Ravensbourne wards, Plaistow and Sundridge, had a communist councillor in the 1940s. Prime Minister (1957–1963)

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

was the MP for

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 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

until

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. A

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held on 29 June 2006, upon the death of the previous MP

Eric Forth Eric Forth (9 September 1944 – 17 May 2006) was a British Conservative politician. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Birmingham North from 1979 to 1984. He then served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestersh ...

the month before, which returned

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

member

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. 2010–2024: 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 covered the northern part of the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

including the east of Bromley, its town centre, and Chislehurst.

Abolition

Further to the completion of the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, the seat was abolished for the

, with its contents distributed three ways: * The majority of the electorate, comprising

Bickley Bickley is a district and a local government electoral ward in South East London, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located 10.4 miles (16.7 km) south east of Charing Cross, bordering Elmstead to the north, Chislehurst to the n ...

, Plaistow and Sundridge, to form the basis of the new constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill *

and

to be included in the new constituency of Eltham and Chislehurst * The Cray Valley West ward (

St Paul's Cray St Paul's Cray is an area of South East Greater London, London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent. It is located south of Sidcu ...

) to be reunited with Cray Valley East ( St Mary's Cray) in the

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

constituency

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Bromley and Chislehurst
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.

(Election results from 1922 onwards)

(Election results from 1955 onwards)

(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Coord, 51.3984, 0.0450, type:landmark_region:GB-BRY, display=title Politics of the London Borough of Bromley Parliamentary constituencies in London (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024