# Bromley and Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)

Bromley and Chislehurst was a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2006 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Bob Neill, a Conservative.

## Constituency profile

The Bromley and Chislehurst constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income and has low unemployment; it is largely suburban with significant parkland and sports areas. Most of the housing is owner-occupied although there are significant proportions of social housing in parts of Mottingham and Bromley Common. The 2011 census shows that the borough is 84.3% White European/British, lower than the national average (86%) and higher than then London average (59%).
Until 2006 it was one of the Conservative Party's safest seats; the by-election of that year saw the party's electoral majority fall steeply from over 13,000 (in the 2005 election) to just over 600 votes. The party has since rebuilt its majority, which currently stands at just under 11,000.

## History

The Bromley parliamentary constituency was created in 1918. In 1974 Bromley became Ravensbourne.
Before the 1997 election western wards of Chislehurst merged with eastern wards in Ravensbourne to form Bromley and Chislehurst.

### Bromley/Ravensbourne/Chislehurst summary

The earlier Bromley seat, later Ravensbourne, was markedly prosperous in regional terms and did not elect Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) during its 1918 to 1974 existence. However, one of the Ravensbourne wards, Plaistow and Sundridge, had a communist councillor in the 1940s. Prime Minister (1957–1963) Harold Macmillan was the MP for Bromley from 1945 until his retirement in 1964, when he was succeeded by John Hunt. Hunt, on the left of the Conservative Party, held the seat (renamed Ravensbourne in 1974) until 1997.
The Chislehurst seat had a Labour Party MP from 1966 until 1970.
A by-election was held on 29 June 2006, upon the death of the previous MP Eric Forth the month before, which returned London Assembly member Bob Neill as the new Conservative MP with an electoral majority of just over 600 votes – compared to the previous Conservative majority of over 13,000 in the 2005 general election. Turnout was down by a significant margin. In 2010 Bob Neill was re-elected with a Conservative majority greater than that achieved in 2005.

## Boundaries

1997–2010: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bickley, Bromley Common and Keston, Chislehurst, Hayes, Martins Hill and Town, Mottingham, and Plaistow and Sundridge.
2010–2024: The London Borough of Bromley wards of Bickley, Bromley Town, Chislehurst, Cray Valley West, Mottingham and Chislehurst North, and Plaistow and Sundridge.
Bromley and Chislehurst constituency covered the northern part of the London Borough of Bromley including the east of Bromley, its town centre, and Chislehurst.

### Abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways:
* The majority of the electorate, comprising Bickley, Bromley, Plaistow and Sundridge, to form the basis of the new constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill
* Chislehurst and Mottingham to be included in the new constituency of Eltham and Chislehurst
* The Cray Valley West ward (St Paul's Cray) to be reunited with Cray Valley East (St Mary's Cray) in the Orpington constituency

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1997 | Eric Forth | Conservative |
| | 2006 by-election | Bob Neill | Conservative |

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

General election 2019: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Bob Neill | 23,958 | 52.6 | −1.4 |
| | Labour | Angela Wilkins | 13,067 | 28.7 | −4.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julie Ireland | 6,621 | 14.5 | +7.3 |
| | Green | Mary Ion | 1,546 | 3.4 | +0.9 |
| | CPA | Zion Amodu | 255 | 0.6 | New |
| | Renew | Jyoti Dialani | 119 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,891 | 23.9 | +3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,566 | 68.3 | −3.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,711 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.7 | |
General election 2017: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Bob Neill | 25,175 | 54.0 | +1.0 |
| | Labour | Sara Hyde | 15,585 | 33.4 | +11.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sam Webber | 3,369 | 7.2 | +0.8 |
| | UKIP | Emmett Jenner | 1,383 | 3.0 | −11.3 |
| | Green | Roisin Robertson | 1,150 | 2.5 | −1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,590 | 20.6 | −10.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,662 | 71.7 | +3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 65,117 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −5.1 | |
General election 2015: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Bob Neill | 23,343 | 53.0 | −0.5 |
| | Labour | John Courtneidge | 9,779 | 22.2 | +5.6 |
| | UKIP | Emmett Jenner | 6,285 | 14.3 | +11.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sam Webber | 2,836 | 6.4 | −15.6 |
| | Green | Roisin Robertson | 1,823 | 4.1 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,564 | 30.8 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,066 | 68.4 | +1.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 65,477 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.0 | |
General election 2010: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Bob Neill | 23,569 | 53.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sam Webber | 9,669 | 22.0 |
| | Labour | Chris Kirby | 7,295 | 16.6 |
| | UKIP | Emmett Jenner | 1,451 | 3.3 |
| | BNP | Rowena Savage | 1,070 | 2.4 |
| | Green | Roisin Robertson | 607 | 1.5 |
| | English Democrat | Jon Cheeseman | 376 | 0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,900 | 31.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,037 | 67.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 2000s

2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Bob Neill | 11,621 | 40.1 | −11.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ben Abbotts | 10,988 | 37.9 | +17.6 |
| | UKIP | Nigel Farage | 2,307 | 8.0 | +4.8 |
| | Labour | Rachel Reeves | 1,925 | 6.6 | −15.6 |
| | Green | Ann Garrett | 811 | 2.8 | −0.4 |
| | National Front | Paul Winnett | 476 | 1.6 | New |
| | Independent | John Hemming-Clark | 442 | 1.5 | New |
| | English Democrat | Steven Uncles | 212 | 0.7 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | John Cartwright | 132 | 0.5 | New |
| | Independent | Nick Hadziannis | 65 | 0.2 | New |
| | Money Reform | Anne Belsey | 33 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 633 | 2.2 | −26.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,012 | 40.2 | −24.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 71,798 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −13.8 | |
General election 2005: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Eric Forth | 23,583 | 51.1 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | Rachel Reeves | 10,241 | 22.2 | −6.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Brooks | 9,368 | 20.3 | +1.4 |
| | UKIP | David Hooper | 1,475 | 3.2 | +0.3 |
| | Green | Ann Garrett | 1,470 | 3.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,342 | 28.9 | +8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,137 | 64.8 | +0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 71,137 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.0 | |
General election 2001: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Eric Forth | 21,412 | 49.5 | +3.2 |
| | Labour | Sue Polydorou | 12,375 | 28.6 | +3.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Geoff Payne | 8,180 | 18.9 | −4.9 |
| | UKIP | Rob Bryant | 1,264 | 2.9 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,037 | 20.9 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,231 | 64.3 | −9.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 67,183 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.1 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Bromley and Chislehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Eric Forth | 24,428 | 46.3 | |
| | Labour | Rob Yeldham | 13,310 | 25.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Booth | 12,530 | 23.8 | |
| | UKIP | Rob Bryant | 1,176 | 2.2 | |
| | Green | Frances Speed | 640 | 1.2 | |
| | National Front | Michael Stoneman | 369 | 0.7 | |
| | Liberal | Gabriel Aitman | 285 | 0.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,118 | 21.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,738 | 74.1 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |