Beckenham (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEC : Beckenham (UK Parliament constituency)
| Borough constituency | |
|---|---|
| |
| Beckenham shown within Greater London | |
| Created: | 1950 |
| MP: | Jacqui Lait |
| Party: | Conservative |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Greater London |
| EP constituency: | London |
Boundaries
Beckenham parliamentary constituency covers the north-west part of the London Borough of Bromley.The northernmost third of the constituency, around Penge and Crystal Palace, can be categorised as being similar in character to neighbouring Lewisham and North Croydon, having an inner-city feel about it and many ethnic minority residents. This part of the constituency votes strongly for Labour, with the Lib Dems also competitive, especially in local elections.
The remaining two thirds of the constituency consists of leafy Bromley suburbia, also taking in the town of Beckenham itself. This area votes 60-70% for the Conservatives and is the reason why the constituency has been safely Conservative even in disastrous years such as 1997 and 2001.
Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, the Boundary Commission for England had made revisions to the existing Beckenham constituency.The addition of Hayes and Bromley Common wards from the Bromley and Chislehurst seat is predicted to make Beckenham one of the safest Conservative seats in the country.
The electoral wards used in the creation of the modifided seat are;
- Bromley Common and Keston, Copers Cope, Hayes and Coney Hall, Kelsey and Eden Park, Shortlands and West Wickham.
History
Beckenham has never elected anyone other than a Conservative as its MP in modern times. It is a safe Conservative seat because there is a solid core of Conservative voters in the suburban parts of the constituency and the opposition is somewhat divided between Labour and Lib Dem. Unlike neighbouring Orpington constituency, a strong Lib Dem challenge could never succeed by squeezing out Labour votes here because of the presence of so many traditional Labour voters in the Penge and Crystal Palace areas, which are quite inner-London in character.The closest the Conservatives have ever come to losing this seat was at a by-election in November 1997, at the height of Tony Blair's 'honeymoon period' as Prime Minister, following the resignation of the previous MP Piers Merchant in a sex scandal.
Even then, the former MP for Hastings Jacqui Lait managed to hold on to the seat for the Conservatives by just over 1,000 votes.
Piers Merchant was MP for Beckenham between 1992 and his resignation in 1997 and was generally regarded as a good constituency MP. He is now an active member of UKIP.
Between 1957 and 1992 the long-serving MP for Beckenham was Sir Philip Goodhart, who was soon discovered by Mrs Thatcher to be a 'wet' and consequently his career as a junior minister came to a quick end early in her premiership. Goodhart is best known for his book on the workings of the Conservative MPs' 1922 Committee, and for his brother Charles, who was a famous economics professor at LSE and sat for some time on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee.
Before Sir Philip Goodhart, the former Conservative Chief Whip Patrick Buchan-Hepburn represented Beckenham in Parliament.
Members of Parliament
- 1950 – 1957: Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, Conservative
- 1957 – 1992: Philip Goodhart, Conservative
- 1992 – 1997: Piers Merchant, Conservative
- 1997 – present: Jacqui Lait, Conservative
Election results
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See also
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