Post by greenhert on Apr 4, 2020 21:40:03 GMT
Lewisham Deptford was first created in 1974 from the old Deptford constituency, which then expanded to include parts of northern Lewisham (Deptford was a separate borough from Lewisham until 1965).
Lewisham Deptford used to have a major dockyard and railway yard within its boundaries, both now closed. Its main landmarks are New Den, home of Millwall FC, and Goldsmiths College, known for its radical reputation. Lewisham Deptford is the most ethnically diverse and the poorest of the three Lewisham constituencies and still struggles with high crime rates. Consequently only 34% of homes are owner-occupied, it has an average age of 40 which is low even by Greater London standards, and its proportion of graduates is as high as 41.6% on 2011 census figures, half again the proportion of graduates in the UK.
Lewisham Deptford/Deptford is one of the longest Labour-held constituencies, held by Labour since 1906 apart from a brief Conservative interlude from 1931-35. It has been solidly Labour in recent history and is one of the safest Labour seats in the country. This also has one of the strongest Green votes in London owing to its radical traditions: one of the first Green Party London AMs, Darren Johnson (who was a councillor in Brockley ward from 2002 to 2014), stood three times consecutively saving his deposit each time, and on two occasions (2005 and 2010) achieved the best Green result in London. Locally all wards in Lewisham Deptford, like the rest of Lewisham, are Labour-held but in 2006 the Green Party elected six councillors in Brockley and Ladywell wards within this constituency, the hard-left Socialist Alternative (later the main component of TUSC) elected two councillors in Telegraph Hill (Lewisham Central was not part of the constituency then). Notable MPs for Lewisham Deptford include from 1963-87, John Silkin of the top 100 law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, who facing deselection opted instead to retire (he died shortly before the 1983-87 Parliament dissolved) and his successor, Joan Ruddock, once chair of CND, from 1987-2015. The current MP for this constituency is Vicky Foxcroft, who chairs the cross-party Youth Violence Commission.
Lewisham Deptford used to have a major dockyard and railway yard within its boundaries, both now closed. Its main landmarks are New Den, home of Millwall FC, and Goldsmiths College, known for its radical reputation. Lewisham Deptford is the most ethnically diverse and the poorest of the three Lewisham constituencies and still struggles with high crime rates. Consequently only 34% of homes are owner-occupied, it has an average age of 40 which is low even by Greater London standards, and its proportion of graduates is as high as 41.6% on 2011 census figures, half again the proportion of graduates in the UK.
Lewisham Deptford/Deptford is one of the longest Labour-held constituencies, held by Labour since 1906 apart from a brief Conservative interlude from 1931-35. It has been solidly Labour in recent history and is one of the safest Labour seats in the country. This also has one of the strongest Green votes in London owing to its radical traditions: one of the first Green Party London AMs, Darren Johnson (who was a councillor in Brockley ward from 2002 to 2014), stood three times consecutively saving his deposit each time, and on two occasions (2005 and 2010) achieved the best Green result in London. Locally all wards in Lewisham Deptford, like the rest of Lewisham, are Labour-held but in 2006 the Green Party elected six councillors in Brockley and Ladywell wards within this constituency, the hard-left Socialist Alternative (later the main component of TUSC) elected two councillors in Telegraph Hill (Lewisham Central was not part of the constituency then). Notable MPs for Lewisham Deptford include from 1963-87, John Silkin of the top 100 law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, who facing deselection opted instead to retire (he died shortly before the 1983-87 Parliament dissolved) and his successor, Joan Ruddock, once chair of CND, from 1987-2015. The current MP for this constituency is Vicky Foxcroft, who chairs the cross-party Youth Violence Commission.
