Greenwich and Woolwich (UK Parliament constituency)

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Greenwich and Woolwich is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Matthew Pennycook of the Labour Party.^{[n 1]}^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The south of the constituency is dominated by the 74 hectare Greenwich Park.^[1] The constituency's high house prices, particularly in its western half, reflect the beauty of its conservation areas and its close proximity to Canary Wharf and the City of London.^[2] The former Royal Docks and North Greenwich are partly industrial in character.^{[n 3]}. Poorer districts in the constituency include the centres of Greenwich and Woolwich, where many residents live in social housing.^[3]

History

Since 1997

The constituency was created for the 1997 general election by the merger of the former Greenwich constituency, and the western half of the former Woolwich constituency. It has been controlled by the Labour Party since its creation, when they polled 63.4% of the vote and a majority of 44.8%. Thirteen years later, the 2010 general election produced the smallest majority as a share of the vote, 24.7%, with the Labour candidate taking 49.2% of votes cast.

The 2015 general election result was the 105th-safest Labour majority of 232 seats won by Labour at that election.^[4]

Greenwich forerunner

Reflecting a demographic split in the latter twentieth century were five and eleven-year periods when the two predecessor seats were represented by candidates from the SDP.

The former Greenwich constituency was a secure Labour Party seat for much of the twentieth century, though it had been a safe Liberal seat throughout most of the nineteenth century. In 1987, it was gained by the Social Democratic Party at a by-election and narrowly regained by Labour five years later at the 1992 general election.

Woolwich forerunner

The former Woolwich constituency (and its predecessor Woolwich East) was a similar safe-Liberal-seat-turned-safe-Labour-seat. Its Labour MP Christopher Mayhew defected to the Liberal Party in 1974 before being defeated, and his Labour successor, John Cartwright, defected to the SDP in 1981. He retained the seat at the 1983 and 1987 general elections, but narrowly lost it to Labour in 1992; in a similar fashion to the neighboring Greenwich seat. In council elections, since the seat's 1997 creation, most wards have tended to elect Labour councillors and few wards other than the Blackheath Westcombe ward have tended to elect Conservative councilors.

1945-1997 combined summary

Including the pre-1997 predecessors, the area has since World War II been a Labour safe seat, or, as indicated in the 1987 result for Greenwich only, in the best result for a Conservative candidate locally during the years since 1955, occasionally a marginal.^{[n 4]}

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Arsenal, Blackheath, Burrage, Charlton, Ferrier, Hornfair, Kidbrooke, Nightingale, Rectory Field, St Alfege, St Mary's, Trafalgar, Vanbrugh, West, and Woolwich Common.

2010–2024: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Blackheath Westcombe, Charlton, Glyndon, Greenwich West, Peninsula, Woolwich Common, and Woolwich Riverside.

Part of Woolwich Common ward transferred to Greenwich and Woolwich from the constituency of Eltham; parts of Glyndon ward transferred from Eltham and Erith and Thamesmead; and parts of Kidbrooke with Hornfair, Eltham West, and Middle Park & Sutcliffe wards be transferred from Greenwich and Woolwich to Eltham.

2024–present: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Blackheath Westcombe (part), Charlton Hornfair (part), Charlton Village and Riverside, East Greenwich, Greenwich Creekside, Greenwich Park, Greenwich Peninsula, Woolwich Arsenal (part), Woolwich Common (part), Woolwich Dockyard, and small parts of Shooters Hill and Plumstead Common.^[5]

Glyndon ward transferred to Erith and Thamesmead to bring the electorate within the permitted range.^[6]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[7]	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1997	Nick Raynsford	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	2015	Matthew Pennycook	Labour

Election results

File:Gre & W Election Results.png

Election results 1997-2024