Old Bexley and Sidcup (UK Parliament constituency)

Old Bexley and Sidcup
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Old Bexley and Sidcup in Greater London.
County	Greater London
Electorate	65,161 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	James Brokenshire (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	London

revised wards and boundaries of the Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency (green) within the London Borough of Bexley (yellow and green)

Old Bexley and Sidcup 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.

History

Sir Edward Heath, prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974, held this seat and its predecessors from 1950, and announced his retirement at the end of the 1997-2001 parliament; at the age of 85 he was by now the nation's oldest member of parliament.

His successor was Derek Conway, elected as a Conservative Party candidate. However on 29 January 2008 the Conservative Party withdrew the whip from Derek Conway following alleged misuse of funds, and he became an Independent MP. He retired in 2010, and was succeeded by the Conservative James Brokenshire, who had transferred to this seat when his former seat of Hornchurch was abolished in boundary changes.

Boundaries

The seat covers the Bexley and Sidcup areas, it formerly included Welling and Danson Park which moved to Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency at the 2010 election.

It is made up of eight electoral wards from the London Borough of Bexley:

• Blackfen and Lamorbey, Blendon and Penhill, Cray Meadows, East Wickham, Falconwood and Welling, Longlands, St Mary’s, Sidcup

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 Danson Park ward be transferred from Old Bexley and Sidcup to the constituency of Bexleyheath and Crayford.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Rt Hon Sir Edward Heath	Conservative
	2001	Derek Conway	Conservative
	2008		Independent
	2010	James Brokenshire	Conservative

Election results

Elections in 2010s

General Election 2010: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Brokenshire*	24,625	54.1	+4.1
	Labour	Rick Everitt	8,768	19.3	-8.7
	Liberal Democrat	Duncan Borrowman	6,996	15.4	+1.5
	BNP	John Brooks	2,132	4.7	+1.8
	UKIP	David Coburn	1,532	3.4	-1.2
	English Democrats	Elaine Cheeseman	520	1.1	n/a
	Independents to save Queen Mary’s Hospital	John Hemming-Clark	393	0.9	n/a
	Green	Jonathan Rooks	371	0.8	n/a
	Monster Raving Loony	Napoleon Dynamite	155	0.3	n/a
Majority			15,857	34.9	+12.6
Turnout			45,492	69.3	+4.0
	Conservative gain from Independent Conservative		Swing	+6.3

* Served as MP for Hornchurch in the 2005–2010 Parliament

Elections in 2000s

General Election 2005: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Conway	22,191	49.8	+4.4
	Labour	Gavin Moore	12,271	27.5	−10.0
	Liberal Democrat	Nick O'Hare	6,564	14.7	+1.0
	UKIP	Michael Barnbrook	2,015	4.5	+1.1
	BNP	Claire Sayers	1,227	2.8	n/a
	Independent	Gregory Peters	304	0.7	n/a
Majority			9,920	22.3	+14.4
Turnout			44,572	65.3	+3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.2

General Election 2001: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Conway	19,130	45.4	+3.4
	Labour	Jim Dickson	15,785	37.5	+2.4
	Liberal Democrat	Belinda Ford	5,792	13.7	-2.4
	UKIP	Janice Cronin	1.426	3.4	-1.4
Majority			3,345	7.9	+1.0
Turnout			42,133	62.1	-13.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

Elections in 1990s

General Election 1997: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Edward Heath	21,608	42.05	-18.29
	Labour	Richard Justham	18,039	35.10	+13.50
	Liberal Democrat	Iain King	8,284	16.12	+0.23
	Referendum Party	B Reading	2,457	4.78	n/a
	UKIP	C Bullen	489	0.95	n/a
	BNP	Valerie Tyndall	415	0.81	n/a
	Natural Law	R Stephens	99	0.19	-0.18
Majority			3,569	6.95	-31.79
Turnout			51,391	75.49	-6.45
	Conservative hold		Swing	-15.90

General Election 1992: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Edward Heath	24,450	60.34	-1.80
	Labour	Ms Donna Brierly	8,751	21.60	+0.99
	Liberal Democrat	David J. Nicolle	6,438	15.89	-1.37
	Independent	Barry Rose	733	1.81	n/a
	Natural Law	Robert Stephens	148	0.37	n/a
Majority			15,699	38.74	-2.79
Turnout			40,520	81.94	+4.85
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.40

Elections in 1980s

General Election 1987: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Heath	24,350	62.14	+1.91
	Liberal	T H Pearce	8,076	20.61	-5.43
	Labour	H J A Stoate	6,762	17.26	+3.53
Majority			16,274	41.53	+7.35
Turnout			39,188	77.09	+2.94
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.67

General Election 1983: Old Bexley and Sidcup
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Heath	22,442	60.23	n/a
	Liberal	P Vickers	9,704	26.04	n/a
	Labour	Chris Kiff	5,116	13.73	n/a
Majority			12,738	34.18	n/a
Turnout			37,262	74.15	n/a

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Castle Point	Constituency represented by the Father of the House 1992–2001	Succeeded by Linlithgow