Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK constituency main Orpington is a constituency created in 1945 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Gareth Bacon, a Conservative. It is the largest constituency in Greater London by area, covering the east and south of the London Borough of Bromley.

History

Orpington was created in a major boundary review enacted at the 1945 general election, which followed an absence of reviews since 1918. The seats of Dartford and Chislehurst had both seen their electorate grow enormously into newly built houses since the 1918 review and were treated as one and reformed into four seats, creating the additional seats of Bexley and this one in 1945.

Political history

The seat has been won by a Conservative since creation except for the 1962, 1964 and 1966 Liberal Party wins of Eric Lubbock.

The 2015 result made the seat the 43rd safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.

Role in the Liberal Party revival

The seat is famous for its 1962 by-election when it was taken in a shock result and substantial victory by the Liberal Party candidate Eric Lubbock. He lost the seat in the 1970 general election.

The constituency shared boundaries with the Orpington electoral division for election of councillors to the Greater London Council at elections in 1973, 1977 and 1981.

Boundaries and boundary changes

Dates	Local authority	Maps	Wards
1945–1950	Orpington Urban District Municipal Borough of Beckenham Municipal Borough of Bromley	File:Orpington1945Constituency.svg	The urban district of Orpington, and part of the municipal boroughs of Beckenham and Bromley.
1950–1955	Orpington Urban District Dartford Rural District	File:Orpington1950Constituency.svg	The urban district of Orpington, and the rural district of Dartford except the parishes of Darenth, Stone, Sutton at Hone, and Wilmington.
1955–1974	Orpington Urban District (before 1965) London Borough of Bromley (after 1965) London Borough of Bexley (after 1965)	File:Orpington1955Constituency.svg	The urban district of Orpington.
1974–1983	London Borough of Bromley	File:Orpington1974Constituency.svg	Biggin Hill, Chelsfield, Darwin, Farnborough, Goddington, Petts Wood, and St Mary Cray.
1983–1997	London Borough of Bromley	File:Orpington1983Constituency.svg	Chelsfield and Goddington, Crofton, Farnborough, Orpington Central, Petts Wood and Knoll, and St Mary Cray.
1997–2010	London Borough of Bromley	File:OrpingtonConstituency.svg	Biggin Hill, Chelsfield and Goddington, Crofton, Darwin, Farnborough, Orpington Central, Petts Wood and Knoll, St Mary Cray, and St Paul's Cray.
2010–2024	London Borough of Bromley	File:Orpington2007Constituency.svg	Biggin Hill, Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom, Cray Valley East, Darwin, Farnborough and Crofton, Orpington, and Petts Wood and Knoll.
2024–	London Borough of Bromley	File:Orpington 2023 Constituency.svg	Chelsfield, Darwin (except polling district DAR1), Farnborough and Crofton, Orpington, Petts Wood and Knoll, Well Hill, Crockenhill, St Mary Cray, St Paul's Cray.

File:Orpington-P-C.GIF

Map showing the wards of the Orpington parliamentary constituency (red) within the London Borough of Bromley (yellow). Cray Valley West (orange) was included in the constituency at the election in 2005 but transferred to Bromley and Chislehurst in 2010.

1945–1950

The constituency was formed entirely from the existing of constituency Chislehurst

1950–1955

The part of the municipal borough of Beckenham included in the seat was transferred to the new constituency of Beckenham, part of the municipal borough of Bromley included in the seat was transferred to the constituency of Bromley while the Dartford Rural District (expect the parishes of Darenth, Stone, Sutton at Hone and Wilmington) was transferred from Chislehurst

1955–1974

The part of the Dartford Rural District included in the seat was transferred to the constituency of Dartford

1974–1983

Knockholt was transferred to the constituency of Sevenoaks

1983–1997

The wards of Biggin Hill and Darwin were transferred to the constituency of Ravensbourne

1997–2010

The wards of Biggin Hill and Darwin were transferred from the abolished constituency of Ravensbourne. The St Paul's Cray ward was transferred from the abolished constituency of Chislehurst

2010–2024

The ward of Cray Valley West was transferred to the constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst

Summary

The seat has changed a little in subsequent boundary reviews since 1955. For the 1997 general election the Ravensbourne seat which had emerged in the west by Bromley was divided between three constituencies which before then overshot the London Borough of Bromley, adding to Orpington the community of Biggin Hill.

Current

File:Orpington 2023 Constituency.svg

Orpington from 2024

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was defined as comprising the following wards of the London Borough of Bromley as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom; Cray Valley East; Cray Valley West; Darwin (part¹); Farnborough and Crofton; Crockenhill ; Well Hill;Hockenden ;Orpington; Petts Wood and Knoll.

^1.Area marked “4” on the map of the Orpington constituency produced by the Boundary Commission for England

The boundary with Bromley and Chislehurst (to be renamed Bromley and Biggin Hill) was realigned with Cray Valley West ward being transferred in (thus uniting the two Cray Valley wards), offset by the loss of Biggin Hill.

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the London Borough of Bromley from the 2024 general election:

• Chelsfield; Darwin (except polling district DAR1); Farnborough and Crofton; Orpington; Petts Wood and Knoll; Well Hill; Crockenhill; St Mary Cray; St Paul's Cray.

Constituency profile

The constituency is in the quite uniformly larger-housing dominated London Borough of Bromley, which has low unemployment and forms the southeastern limits of Greater London. It contains the largely buffered settlements of St Mary Cray, parts of St Pauls Cray, Swanley and Ruxley, then ascends through Orpington, Farnborough, and Chelsfield to the uppermost tracts of the North Downs and to the Biggin Hill settlement, which has an airport and retains some of the hill-farming and woodland which dominated the area through the Industrial Revolution until the inter-war period.

The wealth of the Conservative vote comes from Biggin Hill, Biggin Hill Valley, Downe and Orpington. The area mainly comprises detached and semi-detached houses surrounded by winding roads and vast areas of parkland, which since the seat's creation have continually returned Conservative candidates, with the exception of 1962, when a Liberal MP was elected.

Members of Parliament

Election	Member	Party		Notes
1945	Waldron Smithers	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color	Member for Chislehurst (1924–1945), Died in December 1954
1955 by-election	Donald Sumner	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color	Seat vacated after Sumner accepted an appointment as a County Court judge
1962 by-election	Eric Lubbock	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color	Liberal Chief Whip (1963–1970)
1970	Ivor Stanbrook	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color
1992	John Horam	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color	Parliamentary Secretary for the Public Service (1995) Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (1995–1997)
2010	Jo Johnson	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color	Minister of State at the Cabinet Office (2014–2015) Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (2015–2018, 2019) Minister of State for Transport (2018)
2019	Gareth Bacon	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color	Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing (2023–2024) Shadow Secretary of State for Transport (2024–)

Elections

File:Orp Election Results.png

Election results 1945–2024

Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Ju Owens	12,386	26.9
		Mark James	8,896	19.3
		Graeme Casey	4,728	10.3
		Seamus McCauley	2,319	5.0
		John Bright	240	0.5
Majority			5,118	11.1
Turnout			46,073	64.7
	hold		Swing	−15.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result
Party		Vote	%
Template:Party color cell	Conservative	30,308	61.9
Template:Party color cell	Labour	9,681	19.8
Template:Party color cell	Liberal Democrats	7,145	14.6
Template:Party color cell	Green	1,824	3.7
Turnout		48,958	68.4
Electorate		71,571

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General election 2019: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Simon Jeal	8,504	17.5
		Allan Tweddle	7,552	15.5
		Karen Wheller	1,783	3.7
Majority			22,378	45.9
Turnout			48,721	70.7
	hold		Swing	+3.7

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election 2017: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Nigel de Gruchy	12,309	24.4
		Alex Feakes	3,315	6.6
		Brian Philp	2,023	4.0
		Tamara Galloway	1,060	2.1
Majority			19,453	38.5
Turnout			50,469	74.3
	hold		Swing	−1.6

By numerical vote share, the 2017 general election saw Orpington become the safest Conservative seat in London.

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General election 2015: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Idham Ramadi	8,173	16.7
		Nigel de Gruchy	7,645	15.6
		Peter Brooks	3,330	6.8
		Tamara Galloway	1,732	3.5
Majority			19,979	40.7
Turnout			49,032	72.6
	hold		Swing	−8.1

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General election 2010: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David McBride	12,000	24.5
		Stephen Morgan	4,400	9.0
		Mick Greenhough	1,360	2.8
		Tess Culnane	1,241	2.5
		Tamara Galloway	511	1.0
		Chris Snape	199	0.4
Majority			17,200	35.2
Turnout			48,911	72.2
	hold		Swing	+11.7

Elections in the 2000s

2005 notional result
Party		Vote	%
Template:Party color cell	Conservative	24,370	52.5
Template:Party color cell	Liberal Democrats	18,859	40.6
Template:Party color cell	Labour	2,674	5.8
Template:Party color cell	UKIP	559	1.2
Turnout		46,462	69.9
Electorate		66,448

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General election 2005: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Chris Maines	21,771	39.8
		Emily Bird	4,914	9.0
		Mick Greenhough	1,331	2.4
Majority			4,947	9.0
Turnout			54,734	70.0
	hold		Swing	+4.2

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election 2001: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Chris Maines	22,065	43.3
		Chris Purnell	5,517	10.8
		John Youles	996	2.0
Majority			269	0.5
Turnout			50,912	64.6
	hold		Swing	−2.2

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1997: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Chris Maines	21,465	35.7
		Sue Polydorou	10,753	17.9
		David Clark	2,316	3.8
		James Carver	526	0.9
		Robin Almond	494	0.8
		Nicholas Wilton	191	0.3
Majority			2,952	4.8
Turnout			60,162	76.3
	hold		Swing	−11.0

1992 notional result
Party		Vote	%
Template:Party color cell	Conservative	36,770	55.3
Template:Party color cell	Liberal Democrats	18,840	28.3
Template:Party color cell	Labour	9,837	14.8
Template:Party color cell	Others	1,085	1.6
Turnout		66,532	81.1
Electorate		82,032

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election 1992: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Chris Maines	14,486	30.2
		Stephen Cowan	5,512	11.5
		Robin Almond	539	1.1
Majority			12,935	27.0
Turnout			47,958	83.7
	hold		Swing	−0.1

Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1987: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Jonathan Fryer	14,529	31.0
		Steven Cowan	5,020	10.7
Majority			12,732	27.2
Turnout			46,810	78.5
	hold		Swing	+2.2

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election 1983: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Cook	15,418	34.5
		David Bean	3,439	7.7
		L.T. Taylor	215	0.5
Majority			10,151	22.8
Turnout			44,641	76.0
	hold		Swing	−2.6

Elections in the 1970s

1979 notional result
Party		Vote	%
Template:Party color cell	Conservative	26,735	57.2
Template:Party color cell	Liberal	13,692	29.3
Template:Party color cell	Labour	5,719	12.2
Template:Party color cell	Others	558	1.2
Turnout		46,704
Electorate

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General election 1979: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Cook	16,074	29.0
		Anne Weyman	6,581	11.9
		Frank Hitches	516	0.9
	Homeland Party	Ian MacKillian	146	0.3
Majority			16,076	29.0
Turnout			55,467	81.7
	hold		Swing	+9.7

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election October 1974: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Kina-Maria Lubbock	19,384	37.3
		C. Spillane	8,121	15.6
Majority			5,010	9.7
Turnout			51,899	79.0
	hold		Swing	+1.6

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election February 1974: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robin Young	22,771	40.7
		David Grant	6,752	12.1
Majority			3,664	6.6
Turnout			55,598	86.1
	hold		Swing	+2.0

1970 notional result
Party		Vote	%
Template:Party color cell	Conservative	23,900	47.3
Template:Party color cell	Liberal	22,600	44.8
Template:Party color cell	Labour	4,000	7.9
Turnout		50,500	78.9
Electorate		64,041

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General election 1970: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Eric Lubbock	23,063	44.7
		David Grant	4,098	8.0
Majority			1,322	2.6
Turnout			51,546	79.1
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:If empty" |	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+3.0

Elections in the 1960s

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General election 1966: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Norris McWhirter	20,993	43.3
		David Sleigh	4,870	10.0
Majority			1,622	3.4
Turnout			48,478	86.9
	hold		Swing	−1.6

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General election 1964: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Norris McWhirter	19,565	41.8
		Peter Merriton	4,609	9.8
Majority			3,072	6.6
Turnout			46,811	85.3
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:If empty" |	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+20.1

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

1962 Orpington by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Goldman	14,991	34.7
		Alan Jinkinson	5,350	12.4
Majority			7,855	18.2
Turnout			43,187	80.3
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:If empty" |	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+26.8

Elections in the 1950s

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General election 1959: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Norman Hart	9,543	22.2
		Jack Galloway	9,092	21.2
Majority			14,760	34.4
Turnout			42,938	82.8
	hold		Swing	+1.1

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1955 Orpington by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		R. David Vaughan Williams	10,426	34.2
Majority			9,656	31.6
Turnout			30,508	55.4
	hold		Swing	+3.2

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election 1951: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		R. David Vaughan Williams	16,241	37.3
Majority			11,003	25.3
Turnout			43,485	82.0
	hold		Swing	+0.7

Template:Election box winning candidate with party linkTemplate:Election box registered electors

General election 1950: Orpington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		George Vaughan	14,161	32.8
		Ruth Abrahams	4,523	10.5
Majority			10,289	23.9
Turnout			43,134	85.1
	hold		Swing	+6.5

Elections in the 1940s

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See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• UK Constituency Maps
• BBC Vote 2001 Includes 1997 and 2001 results
• BBC Election 2005
• Political Science Resources Template:Webarchive
• Orpington UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Orpington UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Orpington UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK