Lewisham East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Heidi Alexander

Heidi Alexander

Heidi Alexander is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Lewisham East since the 2010 general election.- Early life:...

 of the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 was elected as the constituency's MP in the General Election of 6 May 2010.

Constituency profile

Lewisham East is set of neighbourhoods in the inner London Borough of Lewisham, though collectively they have swung a long way against the Conservatives since the 1980s when the then Sports minister Colin Moynihan

Colin Moynihan

Colin Berkeley Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan PC is a former Olympic coxswain who became a businessman, politician and sports administrator.-Early life:...

 represented the seat - the Tories now find themselves in third place having lost it at the 1992 general election.

The relatively leafy former village of Blackheath

Blackheath, London

Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...

 is in the North-East of the borough, and has much more in common with Greenwich

Greenwich

Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...

 than the remainder of Lewisham - indeed some of the area considered to be Blackheath is in Greenwich borough. Extending further south, Lewisham East then takes in some areas of high social deprivation fairly close to Lewisham town centre, and part of Rushey Green

Rushey Green

Rushey Green is an electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ward covers most of central, northern and western Catford.-External links:*...

, a traditional working class area famous for opening one of the first indoor shopping malls in England.

At the southern end of the seat is Grove Park, one of the quieter and more upmarket parts of Lewisham Borough, which, unlike the rest of Lewisham, generally elects Conservative councillors.

Boundaries

The constituency is in east of the London Borough of Lewisham

London Borough of Lewisham

The London Borough of Lewisham is a London borough in south-east London, England and forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham...

, covering areas such as Lee Green, Blackheath

Blackheath, London

Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...

, Hither Green

Hither Green

Hither Green is a district in south east London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated 6.6 miles south east of Charing Cross, and on the Prime Meridian....

 and Grove Park. It is made up of seven electoral wards from the borough:

• Blackheath, Catford South, Downham, Grove Park, Lee Green, Rushey Green, Whitefoot

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South London

South London

South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

, the Boundary Commission for England created a new cross-border constituency Lewisham West and Penge

Lewisham West and Penge (UK Parliament constituency)

Lewisham West and Penge is a cross-border constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

, which meant consequential changes to other existing Lewisham

London Borough of Lewisham

The London Borough of Lewisham is a London borough in south-east London, England and forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham...

 seats.
In Lewisham East the Commission made changes following a review of ward boundaries. Catford South ward, and parts of Rushey Green ward and Whitefoot ward were transferred from the former constituency of Lewisham West. Part of Rushey Green ward was transferred to Lewisham East from Lewisham, Deptford, and part of Lewisham Central ward was transferred from Lewisham East to Lewisham, Deptford.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...	Assheton Pownall Assheton Pownall Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Assheton Pownall was a british Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for Lewisham East from 1918 to 1945. During the late 1930s Pownall was a member of the Anglo-German Fellowship....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1945 United Kingdom general election, 1945 The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...	Herbert Morrison Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950 The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...		constituency abolished
1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...		constituency recreated
	Feb 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...	Roland Moyle Roland Moyle Roland Dunstan Moyle is a British Labour politician.Moyle's father, Arthur Moyle, became a Labour Member of Parliament and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Clement Attlee...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...	Colin Moynihan Colin Moynihan Colin Berkeley Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan PC is a former Olympic coxswain who became a businessman, politician and sports administrator.-Early life:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...	Bridget Prentice Bridget Prentice Bridget Theresa Prentice is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Lewisham East from 1992 to 2010, She was formerly married to fellow Labour MP Gordon Prentice, whom she married on 20 December 1975 and divorcing in 2000.- Background :Prentice was born in Glasgow,...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	2010	Heidi Alexander Heidi Alexander Heidi Alexander is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Lewisham East since the 2010 general election.- Early life:...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Elections in 2010s

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Elections in 1990s

Elections in 1980s

Elections in 1970s

Elections in 1940s