Bermondsey (UK Parliament constituency)

For the current constituency, see Bermondsey and Old Southwark (UK Parliament constituency).

Bermondsey
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bermondsey in Greater London for the February 1974 general election
1885–1918
Seatsone
Created fromSouthwark
Replaced byBermondsey West and Rotherhithe
1950–1983
Seatsone
Created fromBermondsey West and Rotherhithe
Replaced bySouthwark and Bermondsey

Bermondsey was a borough constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Elections were held using the first-past-the-post voting system.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the 1918 general election, when almost all its territory was represented by the new Bermondsey West and a very small amount going into the existing Rotherhithe constituency.

A new Bermondsey constituency was created for the 1950 general election including Rotherhithe, was and abolished for the 1983 election, when it was largely replaced by the new Southwark and Bermondsey constituency.

History

The 1983 by-election was one of the most bitterly contested by-elections in the United Kingdom as it involved Bob Mellish, the retired Labour MP, running a highly personal and homophobic campaign against the Labour candidate, Peter Tatchell. The result was the election of Simon Hughes as a Liberal in a former Labour stronghold.

Boundaries

Dates Local authority Maps Wards
1885–1918 Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey (after 1900)
1950–1974 Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey (before 1965)
London Borough of Southwark (after 1965) 		Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey
1974–1983 London Borough of Wandsworth Abbey, Bricklayers, Browning, Cathedral, Chaucer, Dockyard, Riverside, and Rotherhithe.[1]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1918

Election Member[2] Party[3] Notes
1885 Thorold Rogers Liberal Member for Southwark (1880–1885)
1886 Alfred Lafone Conservative
1892 Reuben Barrow Liberal
1895 Alfred Lafone Conservative
1900 Henry Cust
1906 George Cooper Liberal Died in office
1909 by-election John Dumphreys Conservative
1910 Harold Glanville Liberal Contested Bermondsey West following redistribution
1918 Constituency abolished: see Rotherhithe and Bermondsey West

MPs 1950–1983

Election Member Party Notes
1950 Bob Mellish Labour Labour Chief Whip 1969–1976. Resigned November 1982
1983 by-election Simon Hughes Liberal Contested Southwark and Bermondsey following redistribution
1983 constituency abolished: see Southwark and Bermondsey

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Thorold Rogers 3,469 50.6
Conservative Alfred Lafone 3,386 49.4
Majority 83 1.2
Turnout 6,855 72.7
Registered electors 9,433
Liberal win (new seat)
General election 1886: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Lafone 3,356 52.8 +3.4
Liberal Thorold Rogers 2,998 47.2 −3.4
Majority 358 5.6 N/A
Turnout 6,354 67.4 −5.3
Registered electors 9,433
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +3.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Reuben Barrow 4,390 54.1 +6.9
Conservative Alfred Lafone 3,732 45.9 −6.9
Majority 658 8.2 N/A
Turnout 8,122 75.9 +8.5
Registered electors 10,702
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +6.9
General election 1895: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Lafone 4,182 52.2 +6.3
Liberal Reuben Barrow 3,822 47.8 −6.3
Majority 360 4.5 N/A
Turnout 8,004 73.2 −2.7
Registered electors 10,935
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +6.3

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Cust 4,017 51.9 −0.3
Liberal John Benn 3,717 48.1 +0.3
Majority 300 3.8 −0.6
Turnout 7,734 69.0 −4.2
Registered electors 11,211
Conservative hold Swing −0.3
General election January 1906: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Cooper 4,775 61.3 +13.2
Conservative Henry Cust 3,016 38.7 −13.2
Majority 1,759 22.6 N/A
Turnout 7,791 73.4 +4.4
Registered electors 10,619
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +13.2
1909 Bermondsey by-election[5][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Dumphreys 4,278 47.5 +8.8
Liberal Spencer Leigh Hughes 3,291 36.6 −24.7
Labour Alfred Salter 1,435 15.9 New
Majority 987 10.9 N/A
Turnout 9,004 73.6 +0.2
Registered electors 12,233
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +16.8

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold Glanville 5,477 54.9 −6.4
Conservative John Dumphreys 4,508 45.1 +6.4
Majority 969 9.8 −12.9
Turnout 9,985 82.4 +9.1
Registered electors 12,115
Liberal hold Swing −6.4
General election December 1910: Bermondsey[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold Glanville 4,911 57.1 +2.2
Conservative John Dumphreys 3,695 42.9 −2.2
Majority 1,216 14.2 +4.4
Turnout 8,606 71.0 −11.4
Registered electors 12,115
Liberal hold Swing +2.2

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour Bob Mellish 26,018 76.9
Conservative F Warwick 5,964 17.6
Liberal Bridget Talbot 1,852 5.5
Majority 20,054 59.3
Turnout 33,834 79.7
Registered electors 42,467
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1951: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 26,267 78.9 +2.0
Conservative Ralph Manders 5,265 15.8 –1.8
Liberal Harry Wilson 1,779 5.3 –0.1
Majority 21,002 63.0 +3.8
Turnout 33,311 78.2 –1.5
Registered electors 42,587
Labour hold Swing +1.9
General election 1955: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 21,709 76.7 –2.1
Conservative Catherine Orr-Ewing 4,309 15.2 –0.6
Liberal Harry Wilson 1,554 5.49 +0.2
Ind. Labour Party H Birkett 715 2.5 New
Majority 17,400 61.5 –1.5
Turnout 28,287 69.5 −8.7
Registered electors 40,695
Labour hold Swing –0.8
General election 1959: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 20,528 76.8 +0.1
Conservative Kenneth Payne 6,187 23.2 +7.9
Majority 14,341 53.7 –7.8
Turnout 27,715 70.4 +0.9
Registered electors 37,921
Labour hold Swing –3.9

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 17,481 79.3 +2.4
Conservative Jeremy Porter 4,568 20.7 –2.4
Majority 12,913 58.6 +4.9
Turnout 22,049 63.3 –7.2
Registered electors 34,845
Labour hold Swing +2.4
General election 1966: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 16,605 80.6 +1.3
Conservative Jeremy Porter 3,990 19.4 –1.3
Majority 12,615 61.2 +2.7
Turnout 20,095 60.91 –2.4
Registered electors 33,811
Labour hold Swing +1.3

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bermondsey[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 13,908 76.9 –3.7
Conservative George Nicholson 4,172 23.1 +3.7
Majority 9,736 53.9 –7.4
Turnout 18,090 52.9 –8.0
Registered electors 34,166
Labour hold Swing +3.7
1970 notional result[7]
Party Vote %
Labour 24,700 73.3
Conservative 9,000 26.7
Turnout 33,700 50.4
Electorate 66,835
General election February 1974: Bermondsey[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 24,847 68.6 –4.7
Conservative Howard Flight 6,126 16.9 –9.8
Liberal Chris Hewittson[9] 3,751 10.4 New
National Front G Davey 1,485 4.1 New
Majority 18,721 51.7 +5.1
Turnout 32,706 65.9 +15.5
Registered electors 54,904
Labour hold Swing +2.6
General election October 1974: Bermondsey[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 22,875 73.4 +4.8
Conservative Howard Flight 4,294 13.8 –3.1
Liberal Thomas Taylor 2,520 8.1 –2.3
National Front G Davey 1,488 4.8 +0.7
Majority 18,581 59.6 +7.9
Turnout 31,177 56.4 –9.5
Registered electors 55,254
Labour hold Swing +3.9
General election 1979: Bermondsey[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 19,338 63.6 –9.8
Conservative Alexander Duma 7,582 24.9 +11.2
Liberal Thomas Taylor 2,072 6.8 –1.3
National Front James Sneath 1,175 3.9 –0.9
Workers Revolutionary Anthony Moore 239 0.8 New
Majority 11,756 38.7 −20.9
Turnout 30,406 59.3 +2.9
Registered electors 51,246
Labour hold Swing –10.5

Elections in the 1980s

1983 Bermondsey by-election[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Simon Hughes 17,017 57.7 +50.9
Labour Peter Tatchell 7,698 26.1 −37.5
Real Bermondsey Labour John O'Grady 2,243 7.6 New
Conservative Robert Hughes 1,631 5.5 −19.4
National Front James Sneath 426 1.4 −2.4
Monster Raving Loony David Sutch 97 0.3 New
Independent Patriot Jane Birdwood 69 0.2 New
New Britain Michael Keulemans 62 0.2 New
Independent Labour Barry Giddings 50 0.2 New
Communist Robert Gordon 50 0.2 New
Ecology George Hannah 45 0.2 New
Revolutionary Communist Fran Eden 38 0.1 New
National Labour Party Ann King 25 0.1 New
United Democratic Party Alan Baker 15 0.1 New
Anti-Common Market Free Trade Party David Wedgwood 15 0.1 New
Systems Designer Esmond Bevan 8 0.0 New
Majority 9,319 31.6 N/A
Turnout 29,489 57.7 −1.6
Registered electors 51,096
Liberal gain from Labour Swing +44.2

Note: Esmond Bevan made a mistake and inserted his occupation rather than politics in the nomination paper. He was an Independent Labour candidate.

References

  1. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (London Borough of Southwark) Order 1971. SI 1971/2113". Statutory Instruments 1971. Part III Section 2. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1972. pp. 6231–6233.
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)
  3. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 47. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  5. ^ Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12357, 30 October 1909, Page 5
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Craig, Fred W. S (1983). British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 (2nd ed.). Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0900178078. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  7. ^ Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Craig, Fred W. S (1980). Britain votes 2 : British parliamentary election results 1974-1979. Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0900178183. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  9. ^ "LIBERAL/LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES in the GREATER LONDON REGION 1945-2019" (PDF). liberalhistory.org.uk. Liberal Democrat History Group. pp. 6–98. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  10. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 9 June 2000. Retrieved 19 September 2015.

Sources

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