Bromley and Chislehurst

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK constituency main

Bromley and Chislehurst was a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2006 until its abolition for the 2024 general election^[1] by Bob Neill, a Conservative.Template:Refn

Constituency profile

The Bromley and Chislehurst constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income and has low unemployment; it is largely suburban with significant parkland and sports areas.^[2]^[3] Most of the housing is owner-occupied although there are significant proportions of social housing in parts of Mottingham and Bromley Common. The 2011 census shows that the borough is 84.3% White European/British, lower than the national average (86%) and higher than then London average (59%).^[4]

Until 2006 it was one of the Conservative Party's safest seats; the by-election of that year saw the party's electoral majority fall steeply from over 13,000 (in the 2005 election) to just over 600 votes. The party has since rebuilt its majority, which currently stands at just under 11,000.^[5]

History

The Bromley parliamentary constituency was created in 1918.Template:Refn In 1974 Bromley became Ravensbourne.

Before the 1997 election western wards of Chislehurst merged with eastern wards in Ravensbourne to form Bromley and Chislehurst.Template:Refn

Bromley/Ravensbourne/Chislehurst summary

The earlier Bromley seat, later Ravensbourne, was markedly prosperous in regional terms and did not elect Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) during its 1918 to 1974 existence. However, one of the Ravensbourne wards, Plaistow and Sundridge, had a communist councillor in the 1940s. Prime Minister (1957–1963) Harold Macmillan was the MP for Bromley from 1945 until his retirement in 1964, when he was succeeded by John Hunt. Hunt, on the left of the Conservative Party, held the seat (renamed Ravensbourne in 1974) until 1997.

The Chislehurst seat had a Labour Party MP from 1966 until 1970.

A by-election was held on 29 June 2006, upon the death of the previous MP Eric Forth the month before, which returned London Assembly member Bob Neill as the new Conservative MP with an electoral majority of just over 600 votes – compared to the previous Conservative majority of over 13,000 in the 2005 general election. Turnout was down by a significant margin. In 2010 Bob Neill was re-elected with a Conservative majority greater than that achieved in 2005.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bickley, Bromley Common and Keston, Chislehurst, Hayes, Martins Hill and Town, Mottingham, and Plaistow and Sundridge.

File:Bromley&Chislehurst.GIF

The wards and boundaries for the Bromley and Chislehurst Parliament constituency (red) as first used in the 2010 general election, shown within the London Borough of Bromley (yellow)

2010–2024: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bickley, Bromley Town, Chislehurst, Cray Valley West, Mottingham and Chislehurst North, and Plaistow and Sundridge.

Bromley and Chislehurst constituency covered the northern part of the London Borough of Bromley including the east of Bromley, its town centre, and Chislehurst.

Abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways:^[1]

The majority of the electorate, comprising Bickley, Bromley, Plaistow and Sundridge, to form the basis of the new constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill
Chislehurst and Mottingham to be included in the new constituency of Eltham and Chislehurst
The Cray Valley West ward (St Paul's Cray) to be reunited with Cray Valley East (St Mary's Cray) in the Orpington constituency

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[6]^[7]	Party
rowspan=2 style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1997	Eric Forth	Conservative
2006 by-election	Bob Neill		Conservative