# Bexley (UK Parliament constituency)

Bexley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Bexley district of what is now south-east London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

## History

The constituency was created for the 1945 general election, from parts of the Chislehurst and Dartford seats, and abolished for the 1974 general election and replaced by two new constituencies of Bexleyheath and Sidcup.
The constituency's boundaries were co-terminous with those of the Municipal Borough of Bexley.
The MP when the constituency was abolished, the then Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, fought and won the new Sidcup constituency in 1974. He went on to represent the new seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup from 1983 until he retired from parliament in 2001 after being an MP for 50 years.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| | 1945 | Jennie Adamson | Labour | Previously MP for Dartford from 1937; resigned 1946 |
| | 1946 by-election | Ashley Bramall | Labour |
| | 1950 | Rt Hon Edward Heath | Conservative | Leader of the Conservative Party 1965–1975; Prime Minister 1970–1974; subsequently MP for Sidcup |
| Feb 1974 | Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see Bexleyheath & Sidcup | constituency abolished: see Bexleyheath & Sidcup |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jennie Adamson | 24,686 | 56.93 | |
| | Conservative | John Lockwood | 12,923 | 29.80 | |
| | Liberal | Ward Smith | 5,750 | 13.26 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,763 | 27.13 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,359 | 76.65 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
1946 Bexley by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ashley Bramall | 19,759 | 52.46 | −4.47 |
| | Conservative | John Lockwood | 17,908 | 47.54 | +17.74 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,851 | 4.92 | −22.21 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,667 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -11.1 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 25,854 | 46.0 | +16.2 |
| | Labour | Ashley Bramall | 25,721 | 45.7 | −11.2 |
| | Liberal | Mary Edith Hart | 4,186 | 7.4 | −5.9 |
| | Communist | Charlie Job | 481 | 0.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 133 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,242 | 88.7 | +12.1 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +13.6 | |
General election 1951: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 29,069 | 51.45 | +4.57 |
| | Labour | Ashley Bramall | 27,430 | 48.55 | +2.82 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,639 | 2.99 | +2.75 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,499 | 87.80 | −0.87 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.86 | |
General election 1955: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 28,610 | 54.27 | +2.73 |
| | Labour | Rubeigh James Minney | 24,111 | 45.73 | −2.82 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,499 | 8.54 | +5.55 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,721 | 82.55 | −5.25 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.76 | |
General election 1959: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 32,025 | 57.79 | +3.52 |
| | Labour | Ashley Bramall | 23,392 | 42.21 | −3.52 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,633 | 15.58 | +7.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,517 | 85.38 | −2.83 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.52 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 25,716 | 47.4 | −10.4 |
| | Labour | Leslie Leonard Reeves | 21,127 | 38.9 | −3.3 |
| | Liberal | Peter L. MacArthur | 6,161 | 11.4 | New |
| | Anti-Common Market League | John Paul | 1,263 | 2.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,589 | 8.5 | −7.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,227 | 84.5 | −0.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -3.6 | |
General election 1966: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 26,377 | 48.1 | +0.7 |
| | Labour | Russell L. Butler | 24,044 | 43.9 | +5.0 |
| | Liberal | Richard Faulkner Lloyd | 4,405 | 8.0 | −3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,333 | 4.2 | −4.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,826 | 85.8 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.1 | |

### Election in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bexley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Heath | 27,075 | 53.0 | +4.9 |
| | Labour | John Cartwright | 19,017 | 37.2 | −6.7 |
| | Liberal | Edward Harrison | 3,222 | 6.3 | −1.7 |
| | Independent | Edward James Robert Lambert Heath | 938 | 1.8 | New |
| | Ind. Conservative | Michael Paul Coney | 833 | 1.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,058 | 15.8 | +11.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,085 | 76.2 | −9.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.8 | |