Eltham (UK Parliament constituency)

Eltham
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Eltham in Greater London.
County	Greater London
Electorate	63,059 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Clive Efford (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Woolwich West
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

Eltham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency is located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, in south-east London. Before 1983, a constituency with similar boundaries was called Woolwich West. It adjoins the following constituencies:

• Bromley and Chislehurst
• Erith and Thamesmead
• Greenwich and Woolwich
• Lewisham East
• Old Bexley and Sidcup

It is made up of seven electoral wards from the Royal Borough of Greenwich:

• Coldharbour and New Eltham, Eltham North, Eltham South, Eltham West, Kidbrooke with Hornfair, Middle Park and Sutcliffe, Shooters Hill

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, and as a consequence of changes to ward boundaries, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that part of Plumstead ward be transferred from Eltham to the constituency of Erith and Thamesmead; that parts of Glyndon ward and Woolwich Common ward be transferred from Eltham to Greenwich and Woolwich; and that parts of Middle Park and Sutcliffe ward, Eltham West ward and Kidbrooke with Hornfair ward be transferred from Greenwich and Woolwich to Eltham.

History

Famous as the birthplace of American-raised comedian and Hollywood film star Bob Hope, and more infamously, where the black youth Stephen Lawrence was murdered, the seat was held by high profile Tory Peter Bottomley for over two decades (as Woolwich West and then Eltham) before Labour gained the seat in 1997. After fairly comfortable victories then and in 2001, the Labour majority decreased quite significnatly in 2005, though Labour were able to resist the national swing against them in 2010 to hold the seat then.

The new boundaries and wards of the Eltham parliamentary constituency (red) shown with the rest of the Royal Borough of Greenwich (yellow).

The Eltham Conservative Association became the first in London to select a candidate, David Gold, by means of an open primary election where any voter on the electoral roll was entitled to attend and vote at a meeting chaired by Michael Portillo on 31 July 2006 at the Bob Hope Theatre.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Peter Bottomley	Conservative
	1997	Clive Efford	Labour

Election Results

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%	±%
General Election 2010 Electorate: 63,059 Turnout: 41,964 (67.0%) +8.6		Labour hold Majority: 1,663 (4.0%) -5.3 Swing: -1.8% from Lab to Con		Clive Efford	Labour	17,416	41.5	-0.7
				David Gold	Conservative	15,753	37.5	+2.9
				Steven Toole	Liberal Democrat	5,299	12.6	-4.7
				Roberta Woods	BNP	1,745	4.2	+1.6
				Ray Adams	UKIP	1,011	2.4	-0.4
				Arthur Hayles	Green	419	1.0	N/A
				Andrew Graham	Independent	104	0.2	-0.2
General Election 2005 Turnout: 35,305 (61.7%) +3.0		Labour hold Majority: 3,276 (9.3%) -11.4 Swing: -5.7% from Lab to Con		Clive Efford	Labour	15,381	43.6	-9.2
				Spencer Drury	Conservative	12,105	34.3	+2.2
				Ian Gerrard	Liberal Democrat	5,669	16.1	+3.9
				Jeremy Elms	UKIP	1,024	2.9	+0.8
				Barry Roberts	BNP	979	2.8	N/A
				Andrew Graham	Independent	147	0.4	-0.7
General Election 2001 Turnout: 33,792 (58.7%) -17.0		Labour hold Majority: 6,996 (20.7%) -2.7		Clive Efford	Labour	17,855	52.8	-1.8
				Sharon Massey	Conservative	10,859	32.1	+0.9
				Martin Morris	Liberal Democrat	4,121	12.2	+3.7
				Terrence Jones	UKIP	706	2.1	N/A
				Andrew Graham	Independent	251	0.7	N/A
General Election 1997 Turnout: 43,428 (75.7%) -3.0		Labour gain from Conservative Majority: 10,182 (23.4%)		Clive Efford	Labour	23,710	54.6	+12.7
				Clive Blackwood	Conservative	13,528	31.2	-14.8
				Amanda Taylor	Liberal Democrat	3,701	8.5	-3.2
				M Clark	Referendum Party	1,414	3.3	N/A
				H Middleton	Liberal	584	1.3	N/A
				William Hitches	BNP	491	1.1	N/A
General Election 1992 Turnout: 40,929 (78.7%)		Conservative hold Majority: 1,666 (4.07%)		Peter Bottomley	Conservative	18,813	46.0
				Clive Efford	Labour	17,147	41.9
				Christopher McGinty	Liberal Democrat	4,804	11.7
				Andrew Graham	Independent	165	0.4

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London

External links

• Labour Party's Eltham website
• Eltham Conservatives
• Conservative Parliamentary Candidate David Gold's website