Bermondsey and Old Southwark is a constituency[n 1] in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2015, it has been represented by Neil Coyle, who was elected as a Labour MP but was suspended from the party in February 2022 following an accusation of racism.[3][n 2]

Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bermondsey and Old Southwark in Greater London
County	Greater London
Population	126,522 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	77,186 (December 2010)[2]
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Neil Coyle (Independent)
Number of members	One
Created from	North Southwark and Bermondsey

History and boundaries

Map of present boundaries

The seat was created for the 2010 general election, almost identical to North Southwark and Bermondsey seat previously held by Simon Hughes from the 1997 general election, on a review of parliamentary representation in London by the Boundary Commission for England facing very minor boundary changes.

The constituency lies within the London Borough of Southwark, which contains the Old Southwark area of the former Metropolitan Borough of Southwark and the neighbourhoods of Borough, London Bridge and Bankside. Within the constituency are Elephant and Castle, Walworth and Newington which were part of the old Metropolitan Borough. The eastern half of the seat includes Bermondsey and Rotherhithe which were part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey, and which had been a separate constituency also. This seat is based on the 1997–2010 North Southwark and Bermondsey constituency. 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.

The southern halves of the Thames crossings London Bridge and Tower Bridge are in the seat, as is the historic Southwark area, with its cathedral, the Globe Theatre and Borough Market. There is also extensive commercial development that has spilled over the river from the city, notably the Shard London Bridge.

To the east, the seat also includes the Rotherhithe peninsula, where contemporary housing now replaces former industrial areas, particularly around Canada Water and the neighbourhood of Bermondsey.

At its southern end, the seat includes parts of Walworth. Here the seat adjoins Camberwell and Peckham, one of the safest Labour seats in London.

The seat had remained a rare example of an inner London Liberal Democrat seat since Simon Hughes first won it in 1983, until he lost it at the 2015 general election to Labour.

Members of Parliament

Note: the first MP was elected for predecessor Bermondsey seats continuously from a by-election in 1983 until the seat was created in 2010: see the former constituency of North Southwark and Bermondsey.

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Bermondsey and Old Southwark[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Neil Coyle	31,723	54.1	0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Humaira Ali	15,597	26.6	4.5
	Conservative	Andrew Baker	9,678	16.5	3.5
	Brexit Party	Alex Matthews	1,617	2.8	N/A
Majority			16,126	27.5	5.3
Turnout			58,615	62.9	4.2
	Labour hold		Swing	2.7

General election 2017: Bermondsey and Old Southwark[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Neil Coyle	31,161	53.2	10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Hughes	18,189	31.1	3.3
	Conservative	Siobhan Baillie	7,581	13.0	1.2
	UKIP	Elizabeth Jones	838	1.4	4.9
	Green	John Tyson	639	1.1	2.8
	Independent	James Clarke	113	0.2	N/A
Majority			12,972	22.2	13.4
Turnout			58,521	67.0	5.3
	Labour hold		Swing	6.7

General election 2015: Bermondsey and Old Southwark[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Neil Coyle	22,146	43.1	13.8
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Hughes	17,657	34.3	14.0
	Conservative	Jean-Paul Floru	6,051	11.8	5.3
	UKIP	Andy Beadle	3,254	6.3	6.0
	Green	Liam Lavin	2,023	3.9	2.3
	Left Unity	Kingsley Abrams	142	0.3	N/A
	Independent	Lucy Hall	72	0.1	N/A
	All People's Party	Donald Cole	59	0.1	N/A
	Republican Socialist Party	Steve Freeman	20	0.0	N/A
Majority			4,489	8.7	N/A
Turnout			51,424	61.7	4.2
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	13.9

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London
• Southwark London Borough Council elections

Notes

References

External links

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