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Beckenham (/ˈbɛkənəm/) is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2010 by Bob Stewart, a Conservative.[n 2]

Beckenham
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Beckenham in Greater London
County	Greater London
Population	87,011 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	66,470 (December 2010)[2]
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Bob Stewart (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Bromley and Orpington

Constituency profile

The constituency is mostly leafy and suburban — one widely known gazetteer summarised this in 2012:

"The properties on these streets typically include a range of styles, from modern to Mock Tudor. However many local residents are wealthy city commuters. Keston Common and Keston Ponds are both popular attractions for locals...The common theme is large, detached houses with substantial land and typically with asking prices of over £1 million. At the lower end of the market, a one bedroom period conversion flat on Turpington Lane near Bromley Common, or a one bedroom flat in a modern block on Homesdale Road, near the Bickley border, would demand an asking price of approximately £160,000."[3]

There are significant areas of open land to the south around Hayes and Keston. The upmarket town centre of Beckenham is split between this constituency and Lewisham West and Penge to the west.

All wards have voted between 60 and 70% Conservative since the seat's inception. In times when Labour has led in the national polls the seat has remained Conservative. The smallest majority in a general election was 9.3%, in 1997; in all other elections except 2001 there have been majorities of more than 15%. The seat happened to become safer in its cut down to six wards (from ten) in 2010. This removed the three most Labour inclined wards of the borough, centered on Penge, and one other, taken from the more suburban parts that lean strongly or weakly Conservative.

Since 1983 there has been a close contest for second place between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Labour's share has remained much greater than in Orpington whereas the Liberal Democrat share has remained much greater than in Croydon Central.[n 3]

History

The constituency has only elected Conservatives as its MPs since 1950.

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 who lost her seat in the earlier 1997 general election, Jacqui Lait, managed to win the seat by just over 1,000 votes.

Between 1957 and 1992 the long-serving MP for Beckenham was Sir Philip Goodhart, who was soon after 1979 discovered by Margaret Thatcher to be a right-of-centre or 'wet conservative' and consequently his career as a junior minister came to a quick end. 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.

Boundaries

1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Beckenham, and the Urban District of Penge.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Anerley, Clock House, Copers Cope, Eden Park, Lawrie Park and Kent House, Manor House, Penge, and Shortlands.

1983–1997: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Anerley, Clock House, Copers Cope, Eden Park, Kelsey Park, Lawrie Park and Kent House, Penge, and Shortlands.

1997–2010: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Anerley, Clock House, Copers Cope, Eden Park, Kelsey Park, Lawrie Park and Kent House, Penge, Shortlands, West Wickham North, and West Wickham South.

2010–present: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bromley Common and Keston, Copers Cope, Hayes and Coney Hall, Kelsey and Eden Park, Shortlands, and West Wickham.

Note that - despite the changes in ward names - the 1974-1983 boundaries and the 1983-1997 boundaries listed above are almost exactly the same boundaries. Similarly - despite the changes in local authorities and the listing of wards - the 1950-1974 boundaries and the 1997-2010 boundaries listed are almost exactly the same boundaries.

Beckenham constituency covers the north-western part of the London Borough of Bromley. The local government ward boundaries were redrawn for the 2002 local elections, though this did not affect parliamentary limits until the 2010 general election.

Pre-2010 boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, the Boundary Commission for England made revisions to this seat. Clock House ward, Crystal Palace ward, and Penge and Cator ward were transferred from Beckenham to help create the new constituency of Lewisham West and Penge. Parts of Bromley Common and Keston, Hayes and Coney Hall, and Shortlands wards were transferred to Beckenham from Bromley and Chislehurst. A small part of Bromley Common and Keston ward was transferred to Beckenham from Orpington and a tiny part of Bromley Town ward was transferred from Beckenham to Bromley and Chislehurst.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[4]	Party
	1950	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn	Conservative
	1957 by-election	Philip Goodhart	Conservative
	1992	Piers Merchant	Conservative
	1997 by-election	Jacqui Lait	Conservative
	2010	Bob Stewart	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Beckenham[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Stewart	27,282	54.0	-5.3
	Labour	Marina Ahmad	13,024	25.8	-4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Chloe-Jane Ross	8,194	16.2	+8.3
	Green	Ruth Fabricant	2,055	4.1	+1.4
Majority			14,258	28.2	-1.0
Turnout			50,555	73.6	-2.4
Registered electors			68,671
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.5

General election 2017: Beckenham[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Stewart	30,632	59.3	+2.0
	Labour	Marina Ahmad	15,545	30.1	+10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Ireland	4,073	7.9	+1.0
	Green	Ruth Fabricant	1,380	2.7	-1.1
Majority			15,087	29.2	-8.7
Turnout			51,630	76.0	+2.8
Registered electors			67,925
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.3

General election 2015: Beckenham[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Stewart	27,955	57.3	−0.6
	Labour	Marina Ahmad	9,484	19.4	+4.9
	UKIP	Rob Bryant	6,108	12.5	+9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Anuja Prashar	3,378	6.9	-13.7
	Green	Ruth Fabricant[10]	1,878	3.8	+2.5
Majority			18,471	37.9	+0.6
Turnout			48,803	73.2	+1.2
Registered electors			67,439
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.6

General election 2010: Beckenham[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Stewart	27,597	57.9	-1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Jenkins	9,813	20.6	+4.5
	Labour	Damien Egan[12]	6,893	14.5	-4.9
	UKIP	Owen Brolly	1,551	3.3	+0.4
	BNP	Roger Tonks	1,001	2.1	New
	Green	Ann Garrett	608	1.3	New
	English Democrat	Dan Eastgate	223	0.5	New
Majority			17,784	37.3	+20.1
Turnout			47,686	72.0	+6.7
Registered electors			66,219
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.15

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Beckenham[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	22,183	45.3	0.0
	Labour	Liam K. Curran	13,782	28.1	-6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jef W. Foulger	10,862	22.2	+6.2
	UKIP	James D. C. Cartwright	1,301	2.7	+1.0
	Independent	Roderick A. Reed	836	1.7	New
Majority			8,401	17.2	+6.3
Turnout			48,964	65.5	+2.9
Registered electors			74,706
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 2001: Beckenham[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	20,618	45.3	+2.8
	Labour	Richard F. Watts	15,659	34.4	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander D. Feakes	7,308	16.0	-2.1
	Green	Karen A. Moran	961	2.1	New
	UKIP	Christopher N. Pratt	782	1.7	+0.8
	Liberal	Rif Winfield	234	0.5	-0.8
Majority			4,959	10.9	+7.2
Turnout			45,562	62.6	-11.7
Registered electors			72,772
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.9

Elections in the 1990s

1997 Beckenham by-election[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	13,162	41.25	−1.22
	Labour	Robert Nigel Hughes	11,935	37.40	+4.04
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Elizabeth Vetterlein	5,864	18.38	+0.24
	Liberal	Phil Hocknell Rimmer	330	1.03	−0.29
	National Front	John Charley McAuley	267	0.84	+0.13
	Referendum	Leonard Francis Mead	237	0.74	-2.32
	Independent	John Campion	69	0.22	New
	Natural Law	John Douglas Small	44	0.14	New
Majority			1,227	3.85	-5.26
Turnout			31,908	43.63	-31.02
Registered electors			73,127
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1997: Beckenham[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Piers Merchant	23,084	42.47
	Labour	Robert Nigel Hughes	18,131	33.36
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Elizabeth Vetterlein	9,858	18.14
	Referendum	Leonard Francis Mead	1,663	3.06	New
	Liberal	Phil Hocknell Rimmer	720	1.32
	UKIP	Christopher Norman Pratt	506	0.93	New
	National Front	John Charles McAuley	388	0.71	New
Majority			4,953	9.11
Turnout			54,350	74.65
Registered electors			72,807
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Beckenham[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Piers Merchant	26,323	56.87	+0.57
	Labour	Ken Ritchie	11,038	23.85	+6.02
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Christine Williams	8,038	17.37	-8.49
	Liberal	Gerry Williams	643	1.39	N/A
	Natural Law	Patrick Johnston Shaw	243	0.53	N/A
Majority			15,285	33.02	+2.58
Turnout			46,285	77.87	+5.03
Registered electors			59,440
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Beckenham[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	24,903	56.30	-1.09
	Liberal	Colin Darracot	11,439	25.86	-0.73
	Labour	Ken Ritchie	7,888	17.83	+2.30
Majority			13,464	30.44	-0.36
Turnout			44,230	72.84	+3.58
Registered electors			60,718
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Beckenham[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	23,606	57.39	+0.54
	Liberal	Christina Forrest	10,936	26.59	+11.69
	Labour	Jim Dowd	6,386	15.53	-9.55
	BNP	Geoffrey Watt Younger	203	0.49	N/A
Majority			12,670	30.80	-0.97
Turnout			41,131	69.26	-5.44
Registered electors			59,384
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	24,607	56.85	+9.16
	Labour	Jonathan Watkin Mordecai	10,856	25.08	-1.75
	Liberal	Christina Maria Forrest	6,450	14.90	-10.58
	Ecology	Wilfred Vernon	762	1.76	New
	National Front	Nigel Vernon Dickson	606	1.40	New
Majority			13,751	31.77	+10.91
Turnout			43,281	74.70	+4.92
Registered electors			57,939
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	19,798	47.69	-1.39
	Labour	Nicholas John Sharp	11,140	26.83	+3.29
	Liberal	Graham Donald Mitchell	10,578	25.48	-1.91
Majority			8,658	20.86	-0.83
Turnout			41,516	69.78	-9.57
Registered electors			59,497
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	22,976	49.08
	Liberal	Graham Donald Mitchell	12,821	27.39
	Labour	Nicholas John Sharp	11,018	23.54
Majority			10,155	21.69
Turnout			46,815	79.35
Registered electors			58,995
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	30,763	57.83	+6.30
	Labour	Inigo Geoffrey Bing	13,031	24.50	-2.25
	Liberal	Philip Alan Golding	9,404	17.68	-4.04
Majority			17,732	33.33	+8.55
Turnout			53,198	68.74	-9.04
Registered electors			77,385
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	28,837	51.53	-1.95
	Labour	John Grant	14,972	26.75	+3.03
	Liberal	Philip Alan Golding	12,155	21.72	-1.08
Majority			13,865	24.78	-4.98
Turnout			55,964	77.78	+0.43
Registered electors			71,952
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	30,070	53.48	-8.13
	Labour	Alistair Huistean Macdonald	13,338	23.72	+1.13
	Liberal	Hubert Holmes Monroe	12,821	22.80	+7.00
Majority			16,732	29.76	-9.26
Turnout			56,229	77.35	-3.40
Registered electors			72,692
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	36,528	61.61	-7.35
	Labour	Herbert Ferguson	13,395	22.59	-8.45
	Liberal	Hubert Holmes Monroe	9,365	15.80	New
Majority			23,133	39.02	+1.09
Turnout			59,288	80.75	+4.24
Registered electors			73,421
	Conservative hold		Swing

1957 Beckenham by-election[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Goodhart	29,621	62.94	-6.02
	Labour	Neville Sandelson	17,445	37.06	+6.02
Majority			12,176	25.88	-12.04
Turnout			47,066	64.70	-11.81
Registered electors			72,786
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn	38,614	68.96	+1.58
	Labour	Charles F. A. Culling	17,377	31.04	-1.58
Majority			21,237	37.92	+3.16
Turnout			55,991	76.51	-5.87
Registered electors			73,177
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn	41,282	67.38	+7.53
	Labour	A. Philip Magonet	19,982	32.62	+3.21
Majority			21,300	34.76	+4.32
Turnout			61,264	82.38	-4.11
Registered electors			74,370
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Beckenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn	38,102	59.85
	Labour	Alexander Bain	18,723	29.41
	Liberal	Hubert Holmes Monroe	6,834	10.74
Majority			19,379	30.44
Turnout			63,659	86.49
Registered electors			73,605
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

References

External links

• Politics Resources (election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (election results from 1955 onwards)

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