Bermondsey and Old Southwark (UK Parliament constituency)

Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bermondsey and Old Southwark in Greater London.
County	Greater London
Electorate	77,186 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	2010 (2010)
Member of Parliament	Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat)
Number of members	One
Created from	North Southwark and Bermondsey
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

Bermondsey and Old Southwark is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons, electing one Member of Parliament using the first past the post system.

The seat was created for the 2010 general election. It was created following a review of parliamentary representation in North and South London by the Boundary Commission for England

Boundaries

This seat is based on the 1997-2010 North Southwark and Bermondsey constituency. It takes its name from the old metropolitan boroughs of Bermondsey and Southwark. 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. This successor seat is made from the following electoral wards within the London Borough of Southwark:

• Cathedrals, Chaucer, East Walworth, Grange, Newington, Riverside, Rotherhithe, South Bermondsey, Surrey Docks.

Constituency Profile

Comprising the northern part of the London Borough of Southwark, the seat lies immediately to the south of the City of London and encapsulates the great diversity in the capital.

The southern halves of the iconic Thames crossings London Bridge and Tower Bridge are in the seat, as is the historic Southwark area, with its ancient Cathedral, Globe Theatre and the famous Borough Market. There is also extensive commercial development that has spilled over the river from the City - when completed, the Shard London Bridge office development will be the tallest building in the country.

To the East, the seat also includes the Rotherhithe peninsula, where contemporary housing now replaces former industrial areas, particularly around Canada Water. Further from the river is the neighbourhood of Bermondsey where high levels of deprivation and unemployment contrast starkly with the business districts by London Bridge.

At its southern end, the seat includes parts of Walworth a traditionally poor part of London - here the seat adjoins Camberwell and Peckham, one of the safest Labour seats in London.

Members of Parliament

The Member of Parliament for Bermondsey and Old Southwark is Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes who has sat for the various Bermondsey seats since a by-election in 1983, as a Liberal MP until 1988 and as a Liberal Democrat since then.

Election		Member	Party
	2010	Simon Hughes	Liberal Democrats

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Simon Hughes	21,590	48.4	+0.7
	Labour Co-op	Val Shawcross	13,060	29.2	-2.4
	Conservative	Loanna Morrison	7,638	17.1	+4.1
	BNP	Stephen Tyler	1,370	3.1	+3.1
	Green	Tom Chance	718	1.6	-1.4
	Independent	Alan Kirkby	155	0.3	+0.3
	(no label)	Steve Freeman	120	0.3	+0.3
Majority			8,530	19.1
Turnout			44,651	57.5	+8.8
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+1.6

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London
• Southwark local elections