Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1945 onwards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orpington is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Gareth Bacon, a Conservative.[n 2] Created in 1945, it is the largest constituency in Greater London by area, covering the east and south of the London Borough of Bromley.[2]
| Orpington | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| |
| County | Greater London |
| Electorate | 71,571 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Orpington and Farnborough |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1945 |
| Member of Parliament | Gareth Bacon (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Chislehurst |
| During its existence contributed to new seat(s) of | Bromley and Biggin Hill |
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.[3]
- 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.[4] 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 |
 | The urban district of Orpington, and part of the municipal boroughs of Beckenham and Bromley.[5] |
| 1950–1955 | Orpington Urban District Dartford Rural District |
 | The urban district of Orpington, and the rural district of Dartford except the parishes of Darenth, Stone, Sutton at Hone, and Wilmington.[6] |
| 1955–1974 | Orpington Urban District (before 1965) London Borough of Bromley (after 1965) London Borough of Bexley (after 1965) |
 | The urban district of Orpington.[7] |
| 1974–1983 | London Borough of Bromley |  | Biggin Hill, Chelsfield, Darwin, Farnborough, Goddington, Petts Wood, and St Mary Cray.[8] |
| 1983–1997 | London Borough of Bromley |  | Chelsfield and Goddington, Crofton, Farnborough, Orpington Central, Petts Wood and Knoll, and St Mary Cray. |
| 1997–2010 | London Borough of Bromley |  | 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 |  | Biggin Hill, Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom, Cray Valley East, Darwin, Farnborough and Crofton, Orpington, and Petts Wood and Knoll. |
| 2024– | London Borough of Bromley | | Chelsfield, Darwin (except polling district DAR1), Farnborough and Crofton, Orpington, Petts Wood and Knoll, Well Hill, Crockenhill, St Mary Cray, St Paul's Cray.[9] |
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
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
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.[10]
1.Area marked “4” on the map of the Orpington constituency produced by the Boundary Commission for England[11]
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,[12][13] 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.[9]
Constituency profile
The constituency is in the quite uniformly larger-housing dominated London Borough of Bromley,[14] which has low unemployment[15] 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[16] and retains some of the hill-farming and woodland which dominated the area through the Industrial Revolution until the inter-war period.[17]
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,[citation needed] which since the seat's creation have continually returned Conservative candidates, with the exceptions of 1962, 1964 and 1966, when a Liberal MP was elected.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[18] | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Waldron Smithers | Conservative | Member for Chislehurst (1924–1945), Died in December 1954 | |
| 1955 by-election | Donald Sumner | Conservative | Seat vacated after Sumner accepted an appointment as a County Court judge | |
| 1962 by-election | Eric Lubbock | Liberal | Liberal Chief Whip (1963–1970) | |
| 1970 | Ivor Stanbrook | Conservative | ||
| 1992 | John Horam | Conservative | Parliamentary Secretary for the Public Service (1995) Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (1995–1997) | |
| 2010 | Jo Johnson | Conservative | 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 | Conservative | Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing (2023–2024) Shadow Secretary of State for Transport (2024–2025) Shadow Minister for London (2024–) Shadow Minister of State for Housing and Planning (2025–) | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gareth Bacon | 17,504 | 38.0 | −23.9 | |
| Labour | Ju Owens | 12,386 | 26.9 | +7.1 | |
| Reform | Mark James | 8,896 | 19.3 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Graeme Casey | 4,728 | 10.3 | −4.3 | |
| Green | Seamus McCauley | 2,319 | 5.0 | +1.3 | |
| SDP | John Bright | 240 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 5,118 | 11.1 | −34.8 | ||
| Turnout | 46,073 | 64.7 | −3.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,203 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −15.5 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 30,308 | 61.9 | |
| Labour | 9,681 | 19.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 7,145 | 14.6 | |
| Green | 1,824 | 3.7 | |
| Turnout | 48,958 | 68.4 | |
| Electorate | 71,571 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gareth Bacon | 30,882 | 63.4 | +0.5 | |
| Labour | Simon Jeal | 8,504 | 17.5 | −6.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Allan Tweddle | 7,552 | 15.5 | +8.9 | |
| Green | Karen Wheller | 1,783 | 3.7 | +1.6 | |
| Majority | 22,378 | 45.9 | +7.4 | ||
| Turnout | 48,721 | 70.7 | −3.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 68,884 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jo Johnson | 31,762 | 62.9 | +5.5 | |
| Labour | Nigel de Gruchy | 12,309 | 24.4 | +8.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Feakes | 3,315 | 6.6 | −0.2 | |
| UKIP | Brian Philp | 2,023 | 4.0 | −12.7 | |
| Green | Tamara Galloway | 1,060 | 2.1 | −1.4 | |
| Majority | 19,453 | 38.5 | −2.2 | ||
| Turnout | 50,469 | 74.3 | +1.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 67,902 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −1.6 | |||
By numerical vote share, the 2017 general election saw Orpington become the safest Conservative seat in London.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jo Johnson | 28,152 | 57.4 | −2.3 | |
| UKIP | Idham Ramadi[27] | 8,173 | 16.7 | +13.9 | |
| Labour | Nigel de Gruchy | 7,645 | 15.6 | +6.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Brooks | 3,330 | 6.8 | −17.7 | |
| Green | Tamara Galloway[28] | 1,732 | 3.5 | +2.5 | |
| Majority | 19,979 | 40.7 | +5.6 | ||
| Turnout | 49,032 | 72.6 | −0.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 68,129 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −8.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jo Johnson | 29,200 | 59.7 | +7.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David McBride | 12,000 | 24.5 | −16.1 | |
| Labour | Stephen Morgan | 4,400 | 9.0 | +3.2 | |
| UKIP | Mick Greenhough | 1,360 | 2.8 | +1.6 | |
| BNP | Tess Culnane | 1,241 | 2.5 | New | |
| Green | Tamara Galloway | 511 | 1.0 | New | |
| English Democrat | Chris Snape | 199 | 0.4 | New | |
| Majority | 17,200 | 35.2 | +26.2 | ||
| Turnout | 48,911 | 72.2 | +2.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 67,732 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +11.7 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| 2005 notional result | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 24,370 | 52.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 18,859 | 40.6 | |
| Labour | 2,674 | 5.8 | |
| UKIP | 559 | 1.2 | |
| Turnout | 46,462 | 69.9 | |
| Electorate | 66,448 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Horam | 26,718 | 48.8 | +4.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Maines | 21,771 | 39.8 | −3.6 | |
| Labour | Emily Bird | 4,914 | 9.0 | −1.9 | |
| UKIP | Mick Greenhough | 1,331 | 2.4 | +0.5 | |
| Majority | 4,947 | 9.0 | +8.5 | ||
| Turnout | 54,734 | 70.0 | +5.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 78,240 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Horam | 22,334 | 43.9 | +3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Maines | 22,065 | 43.3 | +7.7 | |
| Labour | Chris Purnell | 5,517 | 10.8 | −7.0 | |
| UKIP | John Youles | 996 | 2.0 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 269 | 0.5 | −4.4 | ||
| Turnout | 50,912 | 64.6 | −11.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 78,853 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −2.2 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Horam | 24,417 | 40.6 | −14.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Maines | 21,465 | 35.7 | +7.4 | |
| Labour | Sue Polydorou | 10,753 | 17.9 | +3.1 | |
| Referendum | David Clark | 2,316 | 3.8 | New | |
| UKIP | James Carver | 526 | 0.9 | New | |
| Liberal | Robin Almond | 494 | 0.8 | −0.3 | |
| ProLife Alliance | Nicholas Wilton | 191 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 2,952 | 4.8 | −22.1 | ||
| Turnout | 60,162 | 76.3 | −4.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 78,831 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −11.0 | |||
| 1992 notional result | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 36,770 | 55.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 18,840 | 28.3 | |
| Labour | 9,837 | 14.8 | |
| Others | 1,085 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | 66,532 | 81.1 | |
| Electorate | 82,032 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Horam | 27,421 | 57.2 | −1.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Maines | 14,486 | 30.2 | −0.8 | |
| Labour | Stephen Cowan | 5,512 | 11.5 | +0.8 | |
| Liberal | Robin Almond | 539 | 1.1 | New | |
| Majority | 12,935 | 27.0 | −0.2 | ||
| Turnout | 47,958 | 83.7 | +5.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 57,318 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −0.1 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ivor Stanbrook | 27,261 | 58.2 | +1.0 | |
| Liberal | Jonathan Fryer | 14,529 | 31.0 | −3.5 | |
| Labour | Steven Cowan | 5,020 | 10.7 | +3.0 | |
| Majority | 12,732 | 27.2 | +4.5 | ||
| Turnout | 46,810 | 78.5 | +2.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 59,608 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ivor Stanbrook | 25,569 | 57.3 | +0.0 | |
| Liberal | John Cook | 15,418 | 34.5 | +5.2 | |
| Labour | David Bean | 3,439 | 7.7 | −4.5 | |
| BNP | L.T. Taylor | 215 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 10,151 | 22.8 | −5.2 | ||
| Turnout | 44,641 | 76.0 | −5.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 58,759 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −2.6 | |||
Elections in the 1970s
| 1979 notional result[36] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 26,735 | 57.2 | |
| Liberal | 13,692 | 29.3 | |
| Labour | 5,719 | 12.2 | |
| Others | 558 | 1.2 | |
| Turnout | 46,704 | ||
| Electorate | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ivor Stanbrook | 32,150 | 58.0 | +11.0 | |
| Liberal | John Cook[37] | 16,074 | 29.0 | −8.4 | |
| Labour | Anne Weyman[37] | 6,581 | 11.9 | −3.8 | |
| National Front | Frank Hitches[37] | 516 | 0.9 | New | |
| Homeland Party | Ian MacKillian[37] | 146 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 16,076 | 29.0 | +19.3 | ||
| Turnout | 55,467 | 81.7 | +2.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 67,917 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +9.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ivor Stanbrook | 24,394 | 47.0 | −0.2 | |
| Liberal | Kina-Maria Lubbock[38] | 19,384 | 37.3 | −3.3 | |
| Labour | C. Spillane | 8,121 | 15.6 | +3.6 | |
| Majority | 5,010 | 9.7 | +3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 51,899 | 79.0 | −7.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 65,686 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ivor Stanbrook | 26,435 | 47.2 | −0.1 | |
| Liberal | Robin Young | 22,771 | 40.7 | −4.0 | |
| Labour | David Grant | 6,752 | 12.1 | +4.1 | |
| Majority | 3,664 | 6.6 | +4.0 | ||
| Turnout | 55,598 | 86.1 | +7.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 64,967 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.0 | |||
| 1970 notional result[39] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 23,900 | 47.3 | |
| Liberal | 22,600 | 44.8 | |
| Labour | 4,000 | 7.9 | |
| Turnout | 50,500 | 78.9 | |
| Electorate | 64,041 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ivor Stanbrook | 24,385 | 47.3 | +4.0 | |
| Liberal | Eric Lubbock | 23,063 | 44.7 | −1.9 | |
| Labour | David Grant | 4,098 | 8.0 | −2.1 | |
| Majority | 1,322 | 2.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 51,546 | 79.1 | −7.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 65,191 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.0 | |||
Elections in the 1960s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Eric Lubbock | 22,615 | 46.7 | −1.7 | |
| Conservative | Norris McWhirter | 20,993 | 43.3 | +1.5 | |
| Labour | David Sleigh | 4,870 | 10.0 | +0.2 | |
| Majority | 1,622 | 3.4 | −3.2 | ||
| Turnout | 48,478 | 86.9 | +1.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 55,776 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −1.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Eric Lubbock | 22,637 | 48.4 | +27.2 | |
| Conservative | Norris McWhirter | 19,565 | 41.8 | −14.8 | |
| Labour | Peter Merriton | 4,609 | 9.8 | −12.4 | |
| Majority | 3,072 | 6.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 46,811 | 85.3 | +2.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 54,846 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +20.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Eric Lubbock | 22,846 | 52.9 | +31.7 | |
| Conservative | Peter Goldman | 14,991 | 34.7 | −21.9 | |
| Labour | Alan Jinkinson | 5,350 | 12.4 | −9.8 | |
| Majority | 7,855 | 18.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 43,187 | 80.3 | −2.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 53,779 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +26.8 | |||
Elections in the 1950s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Donald Sumner | 24,303 | 56.6 | −3.3 | |
| Labour | Norman Hart | 9,543 | 22.2 | −5.4 | |
| Liberal | Jack Galloway | 9,092 | 21.2 | +8.7 | |
| Majority | 14,760 | 34.4 | +2.1 | ||
| Turnout | 42,938 | 82.8 | +3.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 51,872 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Donald Sumner | 22,166 | 59.9 | ||
| Labour | Norman Hart | 10,230 | 27.6 | ||
| Liberal | Alfred Howard | 4,610 | 12.5 | ||
| Majority | 11,936 | 32.3 | |||
| Turnout | 37,006 | 79.4 | |||
| Registered electors | 46,581 | ||||
| Conservative win (new boundaries) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Donald Sumner | 20,082 | 65.8 | +3.2 | |
| Labour | R. David Vaughan Williams | 10,426 | 34.2 | −3.2 | |
| Majority | 9,656 | 31.6 | +6.3 | ||
| Turnout | 30,508 | 55.4 | −26.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 55,069 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Waldron Smithers | 27,244 | 62.7 | +6.0 | |
| Labour | R. David Vaughan Williams | 16,241 | 37.3 | +4.5 | |
| Majority | 11,003 | 25.3 | +1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 43,485 | 82.0 | −3.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 53,023 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +0.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Waldron Smithers | 24,450 | 56.7 | +8.0 | |
| Labour | George Vaughan | 14,161 | 32.8 | −5.0 | |
| Liberal | Ruth Abrahams | 4,523 | 10.5 | −1.8 | |
| Majority | 10,289 | 23.9 | +13.0 | ||
| Turnout | 43,134 | 85.1 | +12.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 50,704 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +6.5 | |||
Elections in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Waldron Smithers | 20,388 | 48.7 | |
| Labour | Alan Mais | 15,846 | 37.8 | |
| Liberal | Edward Goodfellow | 5,140 | 12.3 | |
| Independent | Guy Milner | 528 | 1.3 | |
| Majority | 4,542 | 10.8 | ||
| Turnout | 41,902 | 72.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 57,625 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | ||||
See also
Notes
- A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
- As with all constituencies, Orpington elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.