# Bermondsey and Old Southwark (UK Parliament constituency)

Bermondsey and Old Southwark is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2015, it has been represented by Neil Coyle, who was elected as a Labour MP but was suspended from the party from 2022 to 2023 following an accusation of racism.

## History and boundaries

The seat was created for the 2010 general election, almost identical to North Southwark and Bermondsey seat previously held by Simon Hughes from the 1997 general election, on a review of parliamentary representation in London by the Boundary Commission for England facing very minor boundary changes.
The constituency lies within the London Borough of Southwark, which contains the Old Southwark area of the former Metropolitan Borough of Southwark and the neighbourhoods of Borough, London Bridge and Bankside. Within the constituency are Elephant and Castle, Walworth and Newington which were part of the old Metropolitan Borough. The eastern half of the seat includes Bermondsey and Rotherhithe which were part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey, and which had been a separate constituency also.
This seat is based on the 1997–2010 North Southwark and Bermondsey constituency. Following the 2002 redrawing of ward boundaries, parts of Faraday and Livesey wards that were part of North Southwark and Bermondsey transferred to Camberwell and Peckham.
2010-2024: The successor seat is made from the following electoral wards within the London Borough of Southwark: Cathedrals, Chaucer, East Walworth, Grange, Newington, Riverside, Rotherhithe, South Bermondsey, Surrey Docks.
2024-present: Following the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following wards of the London Borough of Southwark (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
* Borough & Bankside; Chaucer; London Bridge & West Bermondsey; North Bermondsey; Rotherhithe; St. George's; South Bermondsey; Surrey Docks.
The contents reflect the new ward structure which became effective in May 2018. To bring the electorate within the permitted range, Newington was transferred to Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, and North Walworth was transferred to Peckham.

## Constituency profile

Comprising the northern part of the London Borough of Southwark, the seat lies immediately to the south of the City of London.
The southern halves of the Thames crossings London Bridge and Tower Bridge are in the seat, as is the historic Southwark area, with its cathedral, the Globe Theatre and Borough Market. There is also extensive commercial development that has spilled over the river from the city, notably the Shard London Bridge.
To the east, the seat also includes the Rotherhithe peninsula, where contemporary housing now replaces former industrial areas, particularly around Canada Water and the neighbourhood of Bermondsey.
At its southern end, the seat includes parts of Walworth. Here the seat adjoins Camberwell and Peckham, one of the safest Labour seats in London.
The seat had remained a rare example of an inner London Liberal Democrat seat since Simon Hughes first won it in 1983, until he lost it at the 2015 general election to Labour.

## Members of Parliament

Note: the first MP was elected for predecessor Bermondsey seats continuously from a by-election in 1983 until the seat was created in 2010: see the former constituency of North Southwark and Bermondsey.
| Election | Member | Party |
| 2010 | Sir Simon Hughes | Liberal Democrat |
| 2015 | Neil Coyle | Labour |
| February 2022 | Neil Coyle | Independent |
| May 2023 | Neil Coyle | Labour |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bermondsey and Old Southwark :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil Coyle | 16,857 | 44.8 | –4.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rachel Bentley | 9,070 | 24.1 | –7.0 |
| | Green | Susan Hunter | 4,477 | 11.9 | N/A |
| | Reform UK | Tony Sharp | 3,397 | 9.0 | +6.6 |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Iliff | 2,879 | 7.7 | –9.1 |
| | Independent | Piers Corbyn | 403 | 1.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Niko Omilana | 273 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Independent | Barry Duckett | 247 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,787 | 20.7 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,603 | 54.1 | –10.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 69,473 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 5.9% | |

### Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 22,776 | 49.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 14,261 | 31.1 |
| | Conservative | 7,710 | 16.8 |
| | Brexit Party | 1,113 | 2.4 |
| | Green | 25 | 0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 45,885 | 65.0 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 70,602 |
General election 2019: Bermondsey and Old Southwark :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil Coyle | 31,723 | 54.1 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Humaira Ali | 15,597 | 26.6 | –4.5 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Baker | 9,678 | 16.5 | +3.5 |
| | Brexit Party | Alex Matthews | 1,617 | 2.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,126 | 27.5 | +5.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,615 | 62.9 | –4.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.7 | |
General election 2017: Bermondsey and Old Southwark :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil Coyle | 31,161 | 53.2 | +10.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Hughes | 18,189 | 31.1 | –3.3 |
| | Conservative | Siobhan Baillie | 7,581 | 13.0 | +1.2 |
| | UKIP | Elizabeth Jones | 838 | 1.4 | –4.9 |
| | Green | John Tyson | 639 | 1.1 | –2.8 |
| | Independent | James Clarke | 113 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,972 | 22.2 | +13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,521 | 67.0 | +5.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.7 | |
General election 2015: Bermondsey and Old Southwark :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil Coyle | 22,146 | 43.1 | +13.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Hughes | 17,657 | 34.3 | –14.0 |
| | Conservative | Jean-Paul Floru | 6,051 | 11.8 | –5.3 |
| | UKIP | Andy Beadle | 3,254 | 6.3 | +6.0 |
| | Green | Liam Lavin | 2,023 | 3.9 | +2.3 |
| | Left Unity | Kingsley Abrams | 142 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Independent | Lucy Hall | 72 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | All People's Party | Donald Cole | 59 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Republican Socialist Party | Steve Freeman | 20 | 0.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,489 | 8.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,424 | 61.7 | +4.2 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +13.9 | |
General election 2010: Bermondsey and Old Southwark :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Hughes | 21,590 | 48.4 | +0.8 |
| | Labour Co-op | Val Shawcross | 13,060 | 29.2 | −2.4 |
| | Conservative | Loanna Morrison | 7,638 | 17.1 | +4.1 |
| | BNP | Stephen Tyler | 1,370 | 3.1 | N/A |
| | Green | Tom Chance | 718 | 1.6 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Alan Kirkby | 155 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Independent | Steve Freeman | 120 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,530 | 19.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,651 | 57.5 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |