Dulwich and West Norwood

Dulwich and West Norwood is an urban and suburban constituency located in South London. It covers the neighbourhoods of Dulwich, West Norwood, Herne Hill and parts of Brixton. Like much of suburban London, the area grew rapidly in population during the late 19th century due to the arrival of rail transport.^[4] The constituency has average levels of deprivation,^[5] with more deprived areas around Brixton and wealthier areas in Dulwich.^[6] House prices are higher than the rest of London and more than double the national average.^[5]

In general, residents of the constituency are young, well-educated and less likely to own cars or homes. They have high levels of income and are more likely to work in professional occupations.^[5] The constituency is ethnically diverse; 2021 census data showed that White people made up 55% of the population, Black people were 25% and mixed race people were 9%. Brixton is particularly known for its Afro-Caribbean community; Black people make up nearly half the population in the area around Loughborough Junction.^[7] At the local council level, all wards covered by the constituency are represented by Labour Party councillors. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, voters in the constituency overwhelmingly supported remaining in the European Union; an estimated 79% voted to remain, the seventh-highest rate out of 650 constituencies nationwide according to Electoral Calculus.^[5]

Quick facts Racial makeup (2021), • White ...

Dulwich and West Norwood
Interactive map of Dulwich and West Norwood
Racial makeup (2021)[8]
• White	57.4%
• Black	23.3%
• Mixed	8.6%
• Asian	6.1%
• Other	4.6%

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The Labour Party has safe majorities of more than a 15% share of the vote since the seat was created in 1997. The runner-up party in four of the seven general elections to date has been the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats twice, and the Green Party twice.

When the constituency was created for the 1997 election, it was estimated that had the seat existed in 1992, Labour would have won it with a majority of less than 2,000 votes over the second placed Conservatives, making it a marginal seat. The 1997 result therefore suggested that the Conservative vote had halved since the previous election. This performance was poorer than the average fall of the Conservative vote in London and led the Almanac of British Politics to note that there was "now no question of this constituency being marginal."^[9]

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the former seats of Dulwich and Norwood. It was represented from its creation until 2015 by the former Secretary of State for Culture (2001–2007), Tessa Jowell.

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London
• Lambeth local elections
• Southwark local elections