Dulwich and West Norwood (UK Parliament constituency)

Dulwich and West Norwood is a constituency in South London created in 1997. It has been represented by Helen Hayes of Labour since her election in 2015.

In the 2016 EU referendum, Dulwich and West Norwood voted to remain in the European Union by an estimated 78%. This was the third highest result in the UK, behind Gibraltar and the neighbouring constituency of Vauxhall.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Southwark wards of Alleyn, Bellenden, College, Lyndhurst, Ruskin, and Rye, and the London Borough of Lambeth wards of Gipsy Hill, Herne Hill, Knight's Hill, and Thurlow Park.

2010–present: The London Borough of Southwark wards of College, East Dulwich, and Village, and the London Borough of Lambeth wards of Coldharbour; Gipsy Hill; Herne Hill; Knight’s Hill; Thurlow Park.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The London Borough of Lambeth wards of: Coldharbour; Gipsy Hill; Herne Hill; Knight’s Hill; Thurlow Park.

• The London Borough of Southwark wards of: Champion Hill; Dulwich Village; Dulwich Wood.

No changes to the Borough of Lambeth wards. In the Borough of Southwark, East Dulwich will be included in the new constituency of Lewisham West and East Dulwich, while Champion Hill ward will be added from Camberwell and Peckham (to be abolished).

Following a local government boundary review in the Borough of Lambeth which came into effect in May 2022, the constituency will now comprise the following from the next general election:

• The London Borough of Lambeth wards of: Brixton North (part); Brixton Rush Common (small part); Brixton Windrush; Gipsy Hill; Herne Hill & Loughborough Junction; Knight's Hill; St Martin's (part); West Dulwich (all but a very small part).

• The London Borough of Southwark wards of: Champion Hill; Dulwich Village; Dulwich Wood.

Constituency profile

Situated in South East London, the seat takes in all of Herne Hill, Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, Angell Town in Brixton, Gipsy Hill and West Norwood.

The seat is very ethnically diverse: around 25% of the residents are from an Afro-Caribbean background. In addition, 33% of the population live in social housing, and roughly 10% are single parents. 47.6% of residents have a university degree - the fifteenth-highest proportion across all constituencies.

Political history

The Labour Party has safe majorities of more than a 15% share of the vote since the seat was created in 1997. The runner-up party in four of the seven general elections to date has been the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats twice, and the Green Party once.

When the constituency was created for the 1997 election, it was estimated that had the seat existed in 1992, Labour would have won it with a majority of less than 2,000 votes over the second placed Conservatives, making it a marginal seat. The 1997 result therefore suggested that the Conservative vote had halved since the previous election. This performance was poorer than the average fall of the Conservative vote in London and led the Almanac of British Politics to note that there was "now no question of this constituency being marginal."

The constituency takes in the eastern side of Lambeth Council which include the wards of Coldharbour, Herne Hill, Thurlow Park, Gipsy Hill and Knight's Hill. It also takes in the south western end of Southwark Council which encompass Dulwich Village, Goose Green and Dulwich Hill wards. The Green Party have two councillors in constituency and are the official opposition on Lambeth Council. The Labour Party have twenty-one councillors.

Members of Parliament

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the former seats of Dulwich and Norwood. It was represented from its creation until 2015 by the former Secretary of State for Culture (2001–2007), Tessa Jowell.

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Dulwich and West Norwood was a Unite to Remain constituency, where the Liberal Democrats stood aside in order to back the Green Party. 14% was the largest increase in vote share for any Green candidate at the 2019 General Election.

Elections of the 2000s

Elections of the 1990s

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London
• Lambeth local elections
• Southwark local elections

References

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)