# Croydon Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Croydon Central was a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Labour MP Sarah Jones. The seat bucked the trend in national results in 2019, with Labour holding the seat with a slightly increased majority.
Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the majority of the constituency was incorporated into the re-established seat of Croydon East. Croydon town centre was included in the re-established seat of Croydon West.

## Constituency profile

Croydon Central covered a wedge of the London Borough of Croydon to the east of central Croydon and was much more marginal than the other selected two parliamentary divisions constrained to the borough itself; Croydon South (which was safely Conservative) and Croydon North (which was safely Labour).
The northern parts were characterised by terraced houses and urban areas, with small council estates. Labour gained much support from, in particular, Addiscombe, Fieldway, Woodside and Ashburton. The southern area, largely Conservative, consisted of suburban semi-detached houses, populated by commuters, surrounded by golf courses and parkland. The wards of Shirley, Heathfield and Fairfield gave large Conservative votes.
In the south-east corner was a large former council estate, New Addington; home to more than 10,000 people. The estate is largely White and has included the whole or vast bulk of one or two wards of the United Kingdom in its history.
The New Addington wards saw one of the highest turnouts of British National Party supporters during the 2002 and 2006 council elections, which the BNP described as their "heyday decade," however it never elected a local councillor from the party – its slate of councillors has been consistently from the Labour Party. Except on one occasion in 2010, where a Conservative councillor was elected for the first time since 1968. Historically, Labour's strength in the area had been on the council estates, particularly New Addington, but in 2014, Labour support was reduced by UKIP, gauging 24% of the overall vote.
The two major-stop railway stations on the national network, most office buildings, businesses and shopping centres of Croydon were within the constituency. A wide range of flats formed a major part of the housing sector unlike neighbouring seats, from upmarket expensively-built apartments with dedicated gym and restaurant facilities to ex-local authority brutalist architecture tower blocks, most of which had been replaced by the 2010s.

## Political history

The constituency that preceded Croydon Central, Croydon South (1918–1950) and (1955–1974) had the modern borough area's two periods of brief Labour Party parliamentary representation — David Rees-Williams held the forerunner from the 1945 Labour landslide until unfavourable boundary changes in 1950. David Winnick was MP 1966–1970. Otherwise, the area at parliamentary level has elected, since 1918, Conservative MPs.
In 1997, Croydon's seats were reduced from four to three and the displaced Conservative members had to face one another for the right to stand in the new Croydon Central seat (Croydon North by then a Labour-held seat). The MP for Croydon North East, David Congdon was chosen over Sir Paul Beresford, the MP for the former Croydon Central seat. However, three years after Labour had taken control of Croydon Council, Labour's Geraint Davies saw off Congdon with a majority of 4,000 votes. He retained the seat with a similar majority in 2001, but lost by just 75 votes to Conservative Andrew Pelling in 2005, with the Liberal Democrats and Green Party gaining a local record of 7,000 votes between them.
The 2015 general election result, gave the seat the third-most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority. In 2017, Labour's Sarah Jones gained the seat with a majority of 5,652 votes, the largest in the seat for any party since 1992. Croydon Central was one of five constituencies, the others being Enfield Southgate, Leeds North West, Peterborough and Reading East; which elected Labour MPs in 2017 having not done so since 2001.

## Boundaries

| Dates | Local authority | Wards |
| 1974–1983 | London Borough of Croydon | Broad Green, Central, New Addington, Shirley, and Waddon. |
| 1983–1997 | London Borough of Croydon | Fairfield, Fieldway, Heathfield, New Addington, Spring Park, and Waddon. |
| 1997–2010 | London Borough of Croydon | Addiscombe, Ashburton, Fairfield, Fieldway, Heathfield, Monks Orchard, New Addington, Rylands, Spring Park, and Woodside. |
| 2010–2024 | London Borough of Croydon | Addiscombe, Ashburton, Fairfield, Fieldway, Heathfield, New Addington, Shirley, and Woodside. |
Croydon Central covers the central and eastern parts of the London Borough of Croydon, one of the Borough's three seats. It is bordered by Croydon North and Croydon South, as well as Beckenham to the east.
The seat was redrawn in the 1997 redistribution, taking in territory from most of the pre-1997 Croydon Central constituency (losing Waddon ward to the redrawn Croydon South) and part of the abolished Croydon North East constituency. It covered an area that was Croydon South constituency until 1974 when part of Surrey East was incorporated into a new Croydon South constituency, following the creation of the London Borough of Croydon in 1965.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| February 1974 | John Moore | Conservative |
| 1992 | Sir Paul Beresford | Conservative |
| 1997 | Geraint Davies | Labour |
| 2005 | Andrew Pelling | Conservative |
| 2007 | Andrew Pelling | Independent |
| 2010 | Gavin Barwell | Conservative |
| 2017 | Sarah Jones | Labour |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sarah Jones | 27,124 | 50.2 | −2.1 |
| | Conservative | Mario Creatura | 21,175 | 39.2 | −3.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Sprague | 3,532 | 6.5 | +4.6 |
| | Green | Esther Sutton | 1,215 | 2.2 | +1.1 |
| | Brexit Party | Peter Sonnex | 999 | 1.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,949 | 11.0 | +1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,045 | 66.4 | −4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 81,410 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.6 | |
General election 2017: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sarah Jones | 29,873 | 52.3 | +9.6 |
| | Conservative | Gavin Barwell | 24,221 | 42.4 | −0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gill Hickson | 1,083 | 1.9 | −0.3 |
| | UKIP | Peter Staveley | 1,040 | 1.8 | −7.3 |
| | Green | Tracey Hague | 626 | 1.1 | −1.6 |
| | CPA | John Boadu | 177 | 0.3 | New |
| | Independent | Don Locke | 71 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,652 | 9.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,091 | 71.3 | +3.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 80,045 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.1 | |
General election 2015: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gavin Barwell | 22,753 | 43.0 | +3.6 |
| | Labour | Sarah Jones | 22,588 | 42.7 | +9.1 |
| | UKIP | Peter Staveley | 4,810 | 9.1 | +7.1 |
| | Green | Esther Sutton | 1,454 | 2.7 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Fearnley | 1,152 | 2.2 | −11.0 |
| | TUSC | April Ashley | 127 | 0.2 | New |
| | Progressive Democracy | Martin Camden | 57 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 165 | 0.3 | −5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,941 | 67.7 | +2.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 78,171 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.8 | |
General election 2010: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gavin Barwell | 19,567 | 39.4 | −1.0 |
| | Labour Co-op | Gerry Ryan | 16,688 | 33.6 | −7.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Lambell | 6,553 | 13.2 | +0.4 |
| | Independent | Andrew Pelling | 3,239 | 6.5 | −34.3 '"`UNIQ−−ref−0000003D−QINU`"' |
| | BNP | Cliff le May | 1,448 | 2.9 | New |
| | UKIP | Ralph Atkinson | 997 | 2.0 | −0.2 |
| | Green | Bernice Golberg | 581 | 1.2 | −1.0 |
| | Christian | James Gitau | 264 | 0.5 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | John Cartwright | 192 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| | Independent | Michael Castle | 138 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,879 | 5.8 | +5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,667 | 65.1 | +4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 76,349 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Andrew Pelling | 19,974 | 40.8 | +2.3 |
| | Labour | Geraint Davies | 19,899 | 40.6 | −6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeremy Hargreaves | 6,384 | 13.0 | +1.8 |
| | UKIP | Ian Edwards | 1,066 | 2.2 | +1.0 |
| | Green | Bernice Golberg | 1,036 | 2.1 | New |
| | Veritas | Marianne Bowness | 304 | 0.6 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | John Cartwright | 193 | 0.4 | –0.5 |
| | The People's Choice! Exclusively For All | Janet Stears | 101 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 75 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,957 | 60.6 | +1.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 81,149 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +4.4 | |
General election 2001: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geraint Davies | 21,643 | 47.2 | +1.6 |
| | Conservative | David Congdon | 17,659 | 38.5 | –0.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Booth | 5,156 | 11.2 | +0.3 |
| | UKIP | James Feisenberger | 545 | 1.2 | +0.7 |
| | BNP | Linda Miller | 449 | 1.0 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | John Cartwright | 408 | 0.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,984 | 8.7 | +1.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,860 | 59.1 | –10.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 77,568 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.8 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geraint Davies | 25,432 | 45.6 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative | David Congdon | 21,535 | 38.6 | −16.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | George W. Schlich | 6,061 | 10.9 | –2.4 |
| | Referendum | Charles Cook | 1,886 | 3.3 | +3.3 |
| | Green | Mario−Simon Barnsley | 595 | 1.1 | +1.1 |
| | UKIP | John Woollcott | 290 | 0.5 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,897 | 7.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,799 | 69.6 | −1.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 80,152 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.5 | |
General election 1992: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Beresford | 22,168 | 55.4 | −1.2 |
| | Labour | Geraint Davies | 12,518 | 31.3 | +7.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Deborah Richardson | 5,342 | 13.3 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,650 | 24.1 | −8.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,028 | 71.5 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,798 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −4.1 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Moore | 22,133 | 56.6 | +2.8 |
| | Labour | Bridget Prentice | 9,516 | 24.4 | +1.0 |
| | SDP | Tyrell Burgess | 7,435 | 19.0 | −3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,617 | 32.2 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,084 | 70.5 | +2.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,410 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.9 | |
General election 1983: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Moore | 20,866 | 53.8 | +1.3 |
| | Labour | Andrew MacKinlay | 9,045 | 23.3 | −13.4 |
| | SDP | Tyrell Burgess | 8,864 | 22.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,821 | 30.5 | +14.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,775 | 68.6 | −7.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 56,531 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.4 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Moore | 26,457 | 52.47 | +10.39 |
| | Labour | David White | 18,499 | 36.69 | −5.06 |
| | Liberal | John Johnson | 5,112 | 10.14 | −6.03 |
| | Ind. Conservative | Michael Soper | 238 | 0.47 | New |
| | Workers Revolutionary | Peter Gibson | 116 | 0.23 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,958 | 15.78 | +15.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,422 | 75.68 | +3.09 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,629 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.72 | |
General election October 1974: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Moore | 20,390 | 42.08 | +1.59 |
| | Labour | David Winnick | 20,226 | 41.75 | +3.75 |
| | Liberal | Ian Maxwell | 7,834 | 16.17 | −5.34 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 164 | 0.33 | −2.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,450 | 72.59 | −7.15 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,746 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -1.08 | |
General election February 1974: Croydon Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Moore | 21,353 | 40.49 | New |
| | Labour | Richard Rosser | 20,039 | 38.00 | New |
| | Liberal | Ian Maxwell | 11,346 | 21.51 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,314 | 2.49 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,745 | 79.74 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,140 | | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |