Lewisham West (UK Parliament constituency)

Lewisham West
Lewisham West
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Lewisham West in Greater London for the 2005 general election
County	Greater London
1918–2010
Seats	One
Created from	Lewisham
Replaced by	Lewisham West and Penge

Lewisham West was a borough constituency in south-east London represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election from 1918, until it was abolished for the 2010 general election.

History

From 1966 until 1992, Lewisham West was a classic bellwether seat, being won by whichever party won the General Election (with the exception of 1979). However, long-term demographic trends have since turned the seat away from being a Labour-Conservative marginal into a safe Labour seat. Partly this has occurred because of a strong increase in the number of ethnic minority residents. At the same time, the communities of Catford, Sydenham and Forest Hill have become much less leafy and suburban over the past 30 years. The large council estate of Bellingham has always been a Labour stronghold, and the other areas of the seat can also now be regarded as quite safe for Labour, whereas in the past they were not.

Boundaries

1918–1950: The Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham wards of Brockley, Forest Hill, and Sydenham, and parts of the wards of Catford and Lewisham Village.

1950–1974: The Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham wards of Brockley, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Sydenham East, and Sydenham West.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Lewisham wards of Bellingham, Culverley, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Rushey Green, Sydenham East, and Sydenham West.

1983–2010: The London Borough of Lewisham wards of Bellingham, Catford, Forest Hill, Horniman, Perry Hill, Rushey Green, St Andrew, Sydenham East, and Sydenham West.

Lewisham West constituency covered the south-western part of the London Borough of Lewisham, being largely based on the communities of Catford, Sydenham, Forest Hill and Bellingham.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London, the Boundary Commission for England created a new constituency of Lewisham West and Penge, using electoral wards from Bromley and Lewisham.

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
1918	Edward Feetham Coates	Coalition Conservative
1921 by-election	Philip Dawson	Conservative
1938 by-election	Henry Brooke	Conservative
1945	Arthur Skeffington	Labour
1950	Henry Price	Conservative
1964	Patrick McNair-Wilson	Conservative
1966	James Dickens	Labour
1970	John Gummer	Conservative
Feb 1974	Christopher Price	Labour
1983	John Maples	Conservative
1992	Jim Dowd	Labour
2010	constituency abolished: see Lewisham West and Penge

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Lewisham West^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Dowd	16,611	52.0	–9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Feakes	6,679	20.9	+7.5
	Conservative	Evett McAnuff	6,396	20.0	–2.3
	Green	Nick Long	1,464	4.6	New
	UKIP	Jens Winton	773	2.4	+0.8
Majority			9,932	31.1	–7.6
Turnout			31,923	54.7	+4.2
Registered electors			58,349
	Labour hold		Swing	–8.2

General election 2001: Lewisham West^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Dowd	18,816	61.1	–0.9
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	6,896	22.4	–1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Thomas	4,146	13.5	+3.7
	UKIP	Frederick Pearson	485	1.6	New
	Independent	Nick Long	472	1.5	New
Majority			11,920	38.7	+0.6
Turnout			30,815	50.6	–13.5
Registered electors			60,947
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Lewisham West^[3]^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Dowd	23,273	62.0	+15.0
	Conservative	Clare Whelan	8,956	23.8	−19.0
	Liberal Democrats	Kathy McGrath	3,672	9.8	−0.1
	Referendum	Anthony Leese	1,098	2.9	New
	Socialist Labour	Nick Long	398	1.1	New
	Liberal	Elizabeth Oram	167	0.4	New
Majority			14,317	38.1	+33.9
Turnout			37,564	64.0	−9.1
Registered electors			58,659
	Labour hold		Swing	+17.0

General election 1992: Lewisham West^[6]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Dowd	20,378	47.0	+9.1
	Conservative	John Maples	18,569	42.8	−3.4
	Liberal Democrats	Mrs E Neale	4,295	9.9	−6.0
	Anti-Federalist League	P Coulam	125	0.3	New
Majority			1,809	4.2	N/A
Turnout			43,367	73.0	+0.8
Registered electors			59,317
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Lewisham West^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Maples	20,995	46.2	+2.2
	Labour	Jim Dowd	17,223	37.9	–0.5
	Liberal	Sarah Titley	7,247	15.9	–0.9
Majority			3,772	8.3	+2.6
Turnout			45,465	72.2	+1.9
Registered electors			62,923
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.3

General election 1983: Lewisham West^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Maples	19,521	44.0	–0.2
	Labour	Christopher Price	17,015	38.4	–7.7
	Liberal	Hugh Mooney	7,470	16.8	+9.3
	BNP	R. F. Hoy	336	0.8	New
Majority			2,506	5.7	N/A
Turnout			44,342	70.3
Registered electors			63,043
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+3.7

Elections in the 1970s

1979 notional result^[10]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	21,871	46.1
	Conservative	21,004	44.3
	Liberal	3,583	7.6
	Others	991	2.1

Turnout		47,449
Electorate

General election 1979: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Price	20,932	46.4	–1.8
	Conservative	Noel Kemp^[11]	19,882	44.1	+8.5
	Liberal	Godfrey Payne	3,350	7.4	–6.2
	National Front	Peter Williams^[11]	901	2.0	–0.5
Majority			1,050	2.3	–10.3
Turnout			45,065	76.0	+5.9
Registered electors			59,292
	Labour hold		Swing	–5.2

General election October 1974: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Price	21,102	48.2	+5.0
	Conservative	M. Marshall	15,573	35.6	–2.7
	Liberal	J.D. Eagle	5,952	13.6	–2.7
	National Front	P. Williams	1,114	2.5	+0.5
Majority			5,529	12.6	+7.7
Turnout			43,741	70.1	–8.8
Registered electors			62,435
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.9

General election February 1974: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Price	21,118	43.3	–6.4
	Conservative	John Gummer	18,716	38.4	–12.0
	Liberal	J.D. Eagle	7,974	16.3	New
	National Front	P. Williams	1,000	2.0	New
Majority			2,402	4.9	N/A
Turnout			48,808	78.9	+11.6
Registered electors			61,866
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.8

1970 notional result^[12]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	22,200	50.3
	Labour	21,900	49.7

Turnout		44,100	67.3
Electorate		65,499

General election 1970: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	19,676	51.0
	Labour	James Dickens	18,916	49.0
Majority			760	2.0	N/A
Turnout			38,592	68.1
Registered electors
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Dickens	21,018	52.54
	Conservative	Patrick McNair-Wilson	18,984	47.46
Majority			2,034	5.08	N/A
Turnout			40,002	75.68
Registered electors
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1964: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Patrick McNair-Wilson	18,167	44.78
	Labour	Joan Lestor	17,281	42.59
	Liberal	Alan B Mountain	5,123	12.63
Majority			886	2.19
Turnout			40,571	74.82
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Price	22,466	51.74
	Labour	Richard C Edmonds	16,233	37.39
	Liberal	Trevor Smith	4,721	10.87	New
Majority			6,233	14.35
Turnout			38,689	80.30
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Henry Price	24,066	54.94
	Labour	Tom Sargant	19,741	45.06
Majority			4,325	9.88
Turnout			43,807	79.57
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Henry Price	25,449	52.73
	Labour	Arthur Skeffington	22,813	47.27
Majority			2,636	5.46
Turnout			48,262	85.85
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Price	23,628	49.23
	Labour	Arthur Skeffington	21,433	44.65
	Liberal	Alfred Pritchard	2,939	6.12	New
Majority			2,195	4.58	N/A
Turnout			45,061	85.70
Registered electors
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Skeffington	20,008	53.35
	Conservative	Henry Brooke	17,492	46.65
Majority			2,516	6.70	N/A
Turnout			37,500	73.65
Registered electors
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

1938 Lewisham West by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Brooke	22,587	57.1	−7.6
	Labour	Arthur Skeffington	16,939	42.9	+7.6
Majority			5,648	14.2	−15.2
Turnout			39,526	58.0	−5.9
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1935: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Philip Dawson	27,173	64.7	−12.8
	Labour	Michael Stewart	14,803	35.3	+12.8
Majority			12,370	29.4	−25.6
Turnout			41,976	63.9	−5.3
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Philip Dawson	34,289	77.5	+28.4
	Labour	Michael Stewart	9,956	22.5	−3.4
Majority			24,333	55.0	+31.8
Turnout			44,245	69.2	−0.1
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Dawson	20,830	49.1	−10.2
	Labour	Catherine Wadham	10,958	25.9	+5.5
	Liberal	Arthur Roberts	10,590	25.0	+4.7
Majority			9,872	23.2	−15.7
Turnout			42,378	69.3	−6.2
Registered electors			61,191
	Unionist hold		Swing	−7.9

General election 1924: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Dawson	19,723	59.3	+8.4
	Labour	Barbara Drake	6,781	20.4	New
	Liberal	Barrett O'Malley	6,756	20.3	−28.8
Majority			12,942	38.9	+37.1
Turnout			33,260	75.5	+18.5
Registered electors			44,078
	Unionist hold		Swing	+18.6

General election 1923: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Dawson	12,448	50.9	−14.8
	Liberal	Barrett O'Malley	12,009	49.1	+14.8
Majority			439	1.8	−29.6
Turnout			24,457	57.0	−1.1
Registered electors			42,940
	Unionist hold		Swing	−14.8

General election 1922: Lewisham West ^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Dawson	16,216	65.7	*N/A*
	Liberal	Barrett O'Malley	8,469	34.3	N/A
Majority			7,747	31.4	N/A
Turnout			24,685	58.1	N/A
Registered electors			42,455
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

1921 Lewisham West by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Dawson	9,427	39.0	*N/A*
	Anti-Waste League	Walter Windham	8,580	35.4	New
	Liberal	Frank Raffety	6,211	25.6	New
Majority			847	3.6	N/A
Turnout			24,218	59.2	N/A
Registered electors			40,919
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Lewisham West
Party		Candidate	Votes
C	Unionist	Sir Edward Coates	Unopposed
	Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Notes and references

^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.111 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "BBC/ITN NOTIONAL ELECTION 1979". election.demon.co.uk. BBC/ITN. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b Election Expenses. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1980. p. 18. ISBN 0102374805.
^ Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949

Sources

Iain Dale, ed. (2003). The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935. Politico's (reprint). ISBN 1-84275-033-X.
The Times House of Commons 1945. 1945. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
The Times House of Commons 1950. 1950. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
The Times House of Commons 1955. 1955. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)

External links

Lewisham West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK

51°26′06″N 0°02′02″W / 51.435°N 0.034°W / 51.435; -0.034

[electoralcalculus2005-1] "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2001-2] "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1997-3] "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[4] "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.

[5] C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.111 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)

[electoralcalculus1992-6] "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[7] "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

[electoralcalculus1987-8] "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1983-9] "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[10] "BBC/ITN NOTIONAL ELECTION 1979". election.demon.co.uk. BBC/ITN. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[ee79-11] Election Expenses. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1980. p. 18. ISBN 0102374805.

[12] Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.

[13] F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949

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v t e Historic constituencies in London
1918	Balham and Tooting Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey West Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Camberwell North West Clapham Dulwich Chelsea City of London Deptford Finsbury Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham East Lewisham West Limehouse Mile End Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar South Putney Rotherhithe St Marylebone St Pancras North St Pancras South East St Pancras South West Shoreditch Southwark Central Southwark North Southwark South East Stoke Newington Streatham Wandsworth Central Westminster Abbey Westminster St George's Whitechapel and St George's Woolwich East Woolwich West
1950	Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Streatham Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West
1955	Barons Court Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hammersmith North Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Streatham Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West
1974	Acton Barking Battersea North Battersea South Beckenham Bermondsey Bethnal Green and Bow Bexleyheath Brent East Brent North Brent South Brentford and Isleworth Carshalton Chelsea Chingford Chipping Barnet Chislehurst City of London and Westminster South Croydon Central Croydon North East Croydon North West Croydon South Dagenham Dulwich Ealing North Edmonton Enfield North Enfield Southgate Erith and Crayford Feltham and Heston Finchley Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney South and Shoreditch Hammersmith North Hampstead Harrow Central Harrow East Harrow West Hayes and Harlington Hendon North Hendon South Holborn and St Pancras South Hornchurch Hornsey Ilford North Ilford South Islington Central Islington North Islington South and Finsbury Kensington Kingston-upon-Thames Lambeth Central Lewisham Deptford Lewisham East Lewisham West Leyton Mitcham and Morden Newham North East Newham North West Newham South Norwood Orpington Paddington Peckham Putney Ravensbourne Richmond Romford Ruislip-Northwood St Marylebone St Pancras North Sidcup Southall Stepney and Poplar Streatham Surbiton Sutton and Cheam Tooting Tottenham Twickenham Upminster Uxbridge Vauxhall Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford Wimbledon Wood Green Woolwich East Woolwich West
1983	Barking Battersea Beckenham Bethnal Green and Stepney Bexleyheath Bow and Poplar Brent East Brent North Brent South Brentford and Isleworth Carshalton and Wallington Chelsea Chingford Chipping Barnet Chislehurst City of London and Westminster South Croydon Central Croydon North East Croydon North West Croydon South Dagenham Dulwich Ealing Acton Ealing North Ealing Southall Edmonton Eltham Enfield North Enfield Southgate Erith and Crayford Feltham and Heston Finchley Fulham Greenwich Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney South and Shoreditch Hammersmith Hampstead and Highgate Harrow East Harrow West Hayes and Harlington Hendon North Hendon South Holborn and St Pancras Hornchurch Hornsey and Wood Green Ilford North Ilford South Islington North Islington South and Finsbury Kensington Kingston-upon-Thames Lewisham Deptford Lewisham East Lewisham West Leyton Mitcham and Morden Newham North East Newham North West Newham South Norwood Old Bexley and Sidcup Orpington Peckham Putney Ravensbourne Richmond and Barnes Romford Ruislip-Northwood Southwark and Bermondsey Streatham Surbiton Sutton and Cheam Tooting Tottenham Twickenham Upminster Uxbridge Vauxhall Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford Westminster North Wimbledon Woolwich
1997	Barking Battersea Beckenham Bethnal Green and Bow Bexleyheath and Crayford Brent East Brent North Brent South Brentford and Isleworth Bromley and Chislehurst Camberwell and Peckham Carshalton and Wallington Chingford and Woodford Green Chipping Barnet Cities of London and Westminster Croydon Central Croydon North Croydon South Dagenham Dulwich and West Norwood Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush Ealing North Ealing Southall East Ham Edmonton Eltham Enfield North Enfield Southgate Erith and Thamesmead Feltham and Heston Finchley and Golders Green Greenwich and Woolwich Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney South and Shoreditch Hammersmith and Fulham Hampstead and Highgate Harrow East Harrow West Hayes and Harlington Hendon Holborn and St Pancras Hornchurch Hornsey and Wood Green Ilford North Ilford South Islington North Islington South and Finsbury Kensington and Chelsea Kingston and Surbiton Lewisham Deptford Lewisham East Lewisham West Leyton and Wanstead Mitcham and Morden North Southwark and Bermondsey Old Bexley and Sidcup Orpington Poplar and Canning Town Putney Regent's Park and Kensington North Richmond Park Romford Ruislip-Northwood Streatham Sutton and Cheam Tooting Tottenham Twickenham Upminster Uxbridge Vauxhall Walthamstow West Ham Wimbledon