County Greater London Created 1983 Number of members One | Electorate 63,059 (December 2010) Member of parliament Clive Efford (Labour) Created from Woolwich West | |
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Eltham /ɛltəm/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Contents
It is a marginal Labour-held seat covering roughly the southern half of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London.
Boundaries
1983-1997: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Avery Hill, Coldharbour, Deansfield, Eltham Park, Herbert, Middle Park, New Eltham, Nightingale, Palace, Sherard, Sutcliffe, Tarn, and Well Hall.
1997-2010: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Avery Hill, Coldharbour, Deansfield, Eltham Park, Herbert, Middle Park, New Eltham, Palace, Plumstead Common, Sherard, Shrewsbury, Slade, Sutcliffe, Tarn, and Well Hall.
2010–present: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Coldharbour and New Eltham, Eltham North, Eltham South, Eltham West, Kidbrooke with Hornfair, Middle Park and Sutcliffe, and Shooters Hill.
The constituency is in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. Before 1983, a constituency with similar boundaries was called Woolwich West.
The seat is bordered by the constituencies of:
History
Eltham itself has a short, winding and typical high street, which is bypassed by a largely grade-segregated arterial road (the A20 (lined with narrow buffer areas).
The seat was held by high-profile Tory Peter Bottomley for over two decades (as Woolwich West and then Eltham) before Labour gained the seat in 1997. After fairly comfortable victories then and in 2001, the Labour majority decreased quite significantly in 2005, though Labour were able to resist some of the national swing against the party in 2010 to hold the seat.
Most central and southern wards have tended in local elections since 1997 to elect Conservative councillors whereas the other wards are inclined to Labour such as West Eltham. The former areas have more owner-occupied houses and are more middle-class. Labour has fared well in the same period in the northern areas of the constituency towards Greenwich, and in areas such as Shooters Hill and Well Hall with the exception of the conservation area parts of Blackheath adding to one ward.
The Eltham Conservative Association became the first in London to select a prospective parliamentary candidate by means of an open primary election where any voter on the electoral roll was entitled to attend and vote. David Gold (PPC Brighton Pavilion 2001) defeated Jackie Doyle-Price (PPC Sheffield Hillsborough 2005) and Eric Ollerenshaw (former Greater London Assembly member) by winning more than 50% of the ballot in the first round at a meeting chaired by Michael Portillo on 31 July 2006 at the Bob Hope Theatre. Approximately 140 people attended the open primary.