Beckenham Borough constituency
Beckenham shown within Greater London
Created:	1950
MP:	Jacqui Lait
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Greater London
EP constituency:	London

Beckenham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. A borough constituency (in Scotland, a burgh constituency) is a type of parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Greater London is the top level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Jacqui Lait (born December 16, 1947, Paisley) is a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament for Beckenham. ... This is a list of political parties in the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... In the United Kingdom each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Ceremonial counties of England are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England. ... Greater London is the top level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... Sign in the entrance of the European Parliament building in Brussels, written in all the official languages used in the European Union as of July 2006 The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The debating chamber, or hemicycle, in Strasbourg The European Parliament building in Brussels The European Parliament (formerly European... London is a constituency of the European Parliament. ... In the United Kingdom each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... The plurality voting system, also known as first past the post, is a voting system used to elect a single winner in a given election. ...

Boundaries

Beckenham parliamentary constituency covers the north-west part of the London Borough of Bromley. Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. ... The London Borough of Bromley is a London Borough of outer southeast London, England. ...

The northernmost third of the constituency, around Penge and Crystal Palace, can be categorised as being similar in character to neighbouring Lewisham and North Croydon, having an inner-city feel about it and many ethnic minority residents. This part of the constituency votes strongly for the Liberal Democrats, with Labour also competitive. Penge is a place in the London Borough of Bromley. ... Crystal Palace is an area in south London, England within the postcode London SE19, named after the Crystal Palace, relocated to Upper Norwood in 1854. ... Lewisham is an area within the London Borough of Lewisham in south-east London. ... Croydon, Greater London is a major urban town and commercial centre 9. ...

The remaining two thirds of the constituency consists of leafy Bromley suburbia, also taking in the town of Beckenham itself. This area votes 60-70% for the Conservatives and is the reason why the constituency has been safely Conservative even in disastrous years such as 1997 and 2001. Bromley is the principal town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. ... Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. ...

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, the Boundary Commission for England had made revisions to the existing Beckenham constituency. South London area South London (known colloquially as South of the River) is the area of London south of the River Thames. ... In the United Kingdom, the four Boundary Commissions are responsible for determining the boundaries of House of Commons constituencies. ...

The addition, from the Bromley and Chislehurst seat, of the Bromley Common & Keston ward, as well as that part of the Hayes & Coney Hall ward that lies outside the constituency, and the removal of the more Liberal Democrat-leaning Penge neighbourhood, is predicted to make Beckenham one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. Bromley and Chislehurst is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Hayes is a place in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London, England. ... Penge is a place in the London Borough of Bromley. ...

The electoral wards used in the creation of the modifided seat are;

• Bromley Common and Keston, Copers Cope, Hayes and Coney Hall, Kelsey and Eden Park, Shortlands and West Wickham.

History

Beckenham has never elected anyone other than a Conservative as its MP in modern times. It is a safe Conservative seat because there is a solid core of Conservative voters in the suburban parts of the constituency and the opposition is somewhat divided between Labour and Lib Dem. Unlike neighbouring Orpington constituency, a strong Lib Dem challenge could never succeed by squeezing out Labour votes here because of the presence of so many traditional Labour voters in Penge, which are quite inner-London in character. Orpington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

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. A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... Piers Rolf Garfield Merchant (born January 2, 1951) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ...

Even then, the former MP for Hastings Jacqui Lait managed to hold on to the seat for the Conservatives by just over 1,000 votes.

Piers Merchant was MP for Beckenham between 1992 and his resignation in 1997 and was generally regarded as a good constituency MP. He is now an active member of UKIP. The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced //) is a libertarian free market British political party. ...

Between 1957 and 1992 the long-serving MP for Beckenham was Sir Philip Goodhart, who was soon discovered by Mrs Thatcher to be a 'wet' and consequently his career as a junior minister came to a quick end early in her premiership. 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. It has been suggested that LSE Computer Security Research Centre be merged into this article or section. ... Headquarters London Central Bank of United Kingdom Currency Pound Sterling -ISO 4217 Code GBP Base borrowing rate 5% Printer(s) De La Rue Mint(s) Royal Mint Website bankofengland. ...

Before Sir Philip Goodhart, the former Conservative Chief Whip Patrick Buchan-Hepburn represented Beckenham in Parliament. The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ...

Members of Parliament

• 1950 – 1957: Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, Conservative
• 1957 – 1992: Philip Goodhart, Conservative
• 1992 – 1997: Piers Merchant, Conservative
• 1997 – present: Jacqui Lait, Conservative

1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn, Baron Hailes (April 2, 1901-November 5, 1974) was the first and only Governor-General of the short-lived West Indies Federation, from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, when the country was disbanded. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Sir Philip Carter Goodhart (born 3 November 1925) is a British Conservative politician. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Piers Rolf Garfield Merchant (born January 2, 1951) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jacqui Lait (born December 16, 1947, Paisley) is a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament for Beckenham. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ...

Election results

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Jacqui Lait (born December 16, 1947, Paisley) is a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament for Beckenham. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced //) is a libertarian free market British political party. ... Men of the Colony of Queensland turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Swing in a British political context is a single figure used as an indication of the scale of voter change in a single constituency. ... Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Jacqui Lait (born December 16, 1947, Paisley) is a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament for Beckenham. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) is the principal Green political party in England and Wales. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced //) is a libertarian free market British political party. ... The Liberal Party is a minor United Kingdom political party. ... Men of the Colony of Queensland turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Swing in a British political context is a single figure used as an indication of the scale of voter change in a single constituency. ... The Member of Parliament for Beckenham, Piers Merchant, (Conservative) accepted the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on October 21, 1997. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Jacqui Lait (born December 16, 1947, Paisley) is a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament for Beckenham. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Party is a minor United Kingdom political party. ... In the United Kingdom, the British National Front (most commonly called the National Front or NF) is a far right-wing political party that had its heyday during the 1970s and 80s. ... The Referendum Party were a single-issue party in the United Kingdom formed to contest the 1997 General Election. ... The Natural Law Party was a trans-national political party with national branches in over 80 countries. ... Men of the Colony of Queensland turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Swing in a British political context is a single figure used as an indication of the scale of voter change in a single constituency. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Piers Rolf Garfield Merchant (born January 2, 1951) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... The Referendum Party were a single-issue party in the United Kingdom formed to contest the 1997 General Election. ... The Liberal Party is a minor United Kingdom political party. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced //) is a libertarian free market British political party. ... In the United Kingdom, the British National Front (most commonly called the National Front or NF) is a far right-wing political party that had its heyday during the 1970s and 80s. ... Men of the Colony of Queensland turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Swing in a British political context is a single figure used as an indication of the scale of voter change in a single constituency. ...

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London