Bexley (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Bexley
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1945–February 1974
Seatsone
Created from Chislehurst, Dartford
Replaced by Bexleyheath, Sidcup

Bexley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Bexley district of what is now south-east London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Contents

History

Bexley in Kent, boundaries used 1955-74 Bexley1955Constiuency.svg
Bexley in Kent, boundaries used 1955-74

The constituency was created for the 1945 general election, from parts of the Chislehurst and Dartford seats, and abolished for the 1974 general election and replaced by two new constituencies of Bexleyheath and Sidcup.

The constituency's boundaries were co-terminous with those of the Municipal Borough of Bexley.

The MP when the constituency was abolished, the then Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, fought and won the new Sidcup constituency in 1974. He went on to represent the new seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup from 1983 until he retired from parliament in 2001 after being an MP for 50 years.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1945 Jennie Adamson Labour Previously MP for Dartford from 1937; resigned 1946
1946 by-election Ashley Bramall Labour
1950 Rt Hon Edward Heath Conservative Leader of the Conservative Party 1965–1975; Prime Minister 1970–1974; subsequently MP for Sidcup
Feb 1974 constituency abolished: see Bexleyheath & Sidcup

Election results

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Jennie Adamson 24,686 56.93
Conservative John Lockwood 12,92329.80
Liberal Ward Smith5,75013.26
Majority11,76327.13
Turnout 43,35976.65
Labour win (new seat)
1946 Bexley by-election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Ashley Bramall 19,759 52.46 -4.47
Conservative John Lockwood 17,90847.54+17.74
Majority1,8514.92-22.21
Turnout 37,667
Labour hold Swing -11.1

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 25,854 46.0 +16.2
Labour Ashley Bramall 25,72145.7-11.2
Liberal Mary Edith Hart4,1867.4-5.9
Communist Charlie Job [1] 4810.9New
Majority1330.2N/A
Turnout 56,24288.7+12.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +13.6
General election 1951: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 29,069 51.45 +4.57
Labour Ashley Bramall 27,43048.55+2.82
Majority1,6392.99+2.75
Turnout 56,49987.80-0.87
Conservative hold Swing +0.86
General election 1955: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 28,610 54.27 +2.73
Labour Rubeigh James Minney 24,11145.73-2.82
Majority4,4998.54+5.55
Turnout 42,72182.55-5.25
Conservative hold Swing +2.76
General election 1959: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 32,025 57.79 +3.52
Labour Ashley Bramall 23,39242.21-3.52
Majority8,63315.58+7.04
Turnout 55,51785.38-2.83
Conservative hold Swing +3.52

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 25,716 47.4 -10.4
Labour Leslie Leonard Reeves21,12738.9-3.3
Liberal Peter L. MacArthur6,16111.4New
Anti-Common Market League John Paul1,2632.3New
Majority4,5898.5-7.1
Turnout 54,22784.5-0.9
Conservative hold Swing -3.6
General election 1966: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 26,377 48.1 +0.7
Labour Russell L. Butler24,04443.9+5.0
Liberal Richard Faulkner Lloyd4,4058.0−3.4
Majority2,3334.2-4.3
Turnout 54,82685.8+1.3
Conservative hold Swing +2.1

Election in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bexley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Edward Heath 27,075 53.0 +4.9
Labour John Cartwright 19,01737.2−6.7
Liberal Edward Harrison3,2226.3−1.7
Independent Edward James Robert Lambert Heath9381.8New
Ind. Conservative Michael Paul Coney8331.6New
Majority8,05815.8+11.6
Turnout 51,08576.2−9.6
Conservative hold Swing +5.8

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Stoate</span> British politician

Howard Geoffrey Alvan Stoate is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dartford constituency in Kent from 1997 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Bexley and Sidcup (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Old Bexley and Sidcup is a constituency created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament represented since 2021 by Louie French of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Montgomeryshire is a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eltham (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliament constituency since 1983

Eltham is a constituency in Greater London created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Clive Efford of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bexleyheath and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliament constituency in England since 1997

Bexleyheath and Crayford is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by David Evennett, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliament constituency since 1885

Dartford is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Gareth Johnson of the Conservative Party. It is the longest bellwether constituency in the country: the party of the winning candidate has gone on to form the government at every UK general election since 1964. Candidates for the largest two parties nationally have polled first and second since 1923 in Dartford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Brokenshire</span> British politician (1968–2021)

James Peter Brokenshire was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in Theresa May's cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2018 and then as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2018 to 2019. He also served as a minister at the Home Office under David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Brokenshire was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornchurch from 2005 to 2010, and for Old Bexley and Sidcup from 2010 until his death in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliamentary constituencies in London</span>

The region of Greater London, including the City of London, is divided into 73 parliamentary constituencies which are sub-classified as borough constituencies, affecting the type of electoral officer and level of expenses permitted.

Bexleyheath was a parliamentary constituency in south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Chislehurst was a parliamentary constituency in what is now the London Borough of Bromley. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Erith and Crayford was a constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK's Parliament.

Bristol South East was a constituency in the city of Bristol that returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Sidcup was a parliamentary constituency centred on Sidcup, an outer suburb of London in the London Borough of Bexley. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Bacon</span> British Conservative politician

Gareth Andrew Bacon is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington since 2019. He has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing since November 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellie Reeves</span> British Labour politician

Eleanor Claire Reeves is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham West and Penge since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator since 2023. She previously served as Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales from April 2020 to December 2021 and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Bexley London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Bexley

The 2022 Bexley London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. 45 members of Bexley London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup on 2 December 2021, following the death of the sitting member of parliament, James Brokenshire, who had been the Conservative MP for the constituency since 2010. The by-election was the fifth of the 58th Parliament, which was elected in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louie French</span> British Conservative politician

Louie Thomas French is a British politician who has been the member of parliament (MP) for Old Bexley and Sidcup since the 2021 by-election. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a councillor on Bexley London Borough Council from 2014 until 2022. Prior to his parliamentary career, he worked as a lead portfolio manager for the financial planning and investment firm Tilney.

References

Notes
  1. Stevenson, Graham. "Job Charlie". Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Constituency represented by the leader of the opposition
1965–1970
Succeeded by
Preceded by Constituency represented by the prime minister
1970–1974
Succeeded by