Lewisham Deptford (UK Parliament constituency)

Lewisham Deptford is a

parliamentary 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. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

since 2015 by

Vicky Foxcroft Victoria Jane Foxcroft (born 9 March 1977) is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford since 2015. Early life and career She talked to Gloria De Piero on GB News about her experiences of a ...

of the Labour Party.

History

This seat was created in 1974. It has remained largely urban in its constituent areas which have been altered on reform by the Boundary Commission very lightly overall. The area of

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

wholly within the seat was a major London dockyard and in its early history contained chandleries, repair yards, connected with the Royal Navy, later having a high concentration of London's expansive import and export wharves and warehouses; this extended well within the 2010-drawn confines of the seat towards

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Gree ...

which had major railway yards. ;Political history The seat has been won by three Members of Parliament, all of which were and remained during their public service members of the Labour Party. The 2015 result made the seat the 23rd safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority and the 9th safest in the capital. In the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency voted remain by 75.4%.

Constituency profile

This constituency takes in Lewisham's northern tip – a short stretch alongside 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 the ...

– along with the

and

districts, and the centre of

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one o ...

itself. These are historically some of the more deprived in London with high crime rates and social problems,. However, in the 21st century, counter to this, more upmarket housing developments are springing up as former industrial sites are cleared away. To the South East of the seat, Lewisham town centre adjoins Ladywell. The area is relatively affordable, given the short commuting distance to Central London and

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central ...

, via the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of L ...

and

South East Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the Ch ...

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

and wider halls of residence make this a popular living area for those staying and studying in

Greater London Greater may refer to: * Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film * Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 * Greater Bank, an Austra ...

, giving a substantial student minority to the

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or con ...

. At the Western extremity of the seat, just inside the current boundaries, is

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which ...

, home to

Millwall FC Millwall Football Club () is a professional Association football, football club in Bermondsey, Greater London, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. ...

. Lewisham Deptford has been one of Labour's safest London seats since its 1974 creation – it was the party's 25th safest in Britain at the 2001 election – though social change in the last decade has seen things become a little more competitive; the most popular opposition in 2005 and 2010 was formed by the active Liberal Democrat party in the area. In terms of share of the vote, it received the 44th largest Labour vote in 2010, of the 650 constituencies.

Boundaries

1974–1983: The London Borough of Lewisham wards of Brockley, Deptford, Drake, Grinling Gibbons, Ladywell, Marlowe, and Pepys. 1983–2010: The London Borough of Lewisham wards of Blythe Hill, Crofton Park, Drake, Evelyn, Grinling Gibbons, Ladywell, Marlowe, and Pepys. 2010–present: The London Borough of Lewisham wards of Brockley, Crofton Park, Evelyn, Ladywell, Lewisham Central, New Cross, and Telegraph Hill. The constituency covers the northern and north-western parts of the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throu ...

. The

Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern I ...

which redrew this seat in 2010 also resulted in the creation of a new cross-borough constituency of

Lewisham West and Penge Lewisham West and Penge is a constituency in Greater London created in 2010 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ellie Reeves of the Labour Party. History Following the adoption of the Boundary Commissio ...

which takes electoral wards from Lewisham and Bromley.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in 2010s

Elections in 2000s

Elections in 1990s

Elections in 1980s

Elections in 1970s

Notes

References

External links

Politics Resources
(election results from 1922 onwards)

(election results from 1955 onwards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewisham Deptford Politics of the London Borough of Lewisham Parliamentary constituencies in London Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1974 Deptford