Peckham (UK Parliament constituency)

Peckham is a constituency in Greater London in England, within the Borough of Southwark. It covers the neighbourhoods of Peckham, Walworth and parts of Camberwell.

Peckham is a densely-populated urban area located around 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of the centre of London. The area was mostly rural until the Victorian era when it was absorbed into the expanding London conurbation. Much of Peckham and Walworth were redeveloped in the 1960s into large council estates and the area became typical of working-class London, with most residents living in blocks of flats or dense Victorian terraces. Today, the area has high levels of deprivation, especially in the constituency's north-east.^[3] House prices are generally lower than the London average, but due to the constituency's location close to the centre of the capital, the average price is still almost double the UK average.^[4]

Peckham has a large population of young adults and a very low proportion of retirees.^[5] Residents' household income is low compared to the rest of London and very few are homeowners.^[4] The child poverty rate is above-average.^[6] Residents are generally well-educated and a high proportion work in the health and public sectors.^[4][7] The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is high.^[6] White people made up 41% of the population at the 2021 census, around a third of whom were of non-British origin, including a large Spanish community. Black people made up 34% of residents, mostly of West African origin. Asians were 9% with a large population of Chinese origin.

At the local borough council, Peckham is represented by a mixture of Labour Party and Green Party councillors. Voters here strongly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 69% voted to remain compared to the UK-wide figure of 48%.^[4]

The constituency was, by the time of its abolition in 1997, a safe Labour seat. It was held for the last thirteen years of its existence by Harriet Harman, who held the successor seat of Camberwell and Peckham during the whole of its existence, and went on to become the deputy leader of the Labour Party.

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

• Southwark local elections
• parliamentary constituencies in London