Post by batman on Nov 24, 2021 17:31:31 GMT
Vauxhall has given its name to a constituency (between 1974 and 1983, it had a Lambeth borough prefix) since 1950, before which a similar seat existed called Lambeth North. With the abolition of Lambeth Central in 1983, it has extended its boundaries further out from central London, but not massively. Neither Vauxhall nor Lambeth are, as it happens, particularly major components of this constituency; Vauxhall is a well-known transport interchange, and the name of one of the bridges crossing into the city of Westminster from here, but not that many people would say they live there any distance from that station. Lambeth itself, as opposed to South Lambeth, even though there is an Underground station called Lambeth North barely exists as an area today, having a near-deserted and almost entirely working-class residential High Street, which perhaps 120 years ago or so would have been, in contrast, a hive of activity - although of course Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is a very-known and historic landmark close to the River Thames. The main areas which comprise this constituency are Waterloo, closest of all to central London and to all intents and purposes part of it, South Lambeth, Stockwell, Kennington, Clapham and Brixton. The last two named are shared with other Lambeth borough constituencies, although their town centres are mostly to be found in this one. A minority of the Kennington community, including its Underground station, is not in this constituency or indeed this borough, but over the boundary into Southwark. The constituency reaches close to Camberwell, part of which can be found in the Myatt's Fields ward. There are other well-known landmarks to be found here - the Oval cricket ground where the very first Test match to be held in England took place in 1880, the Royal Festival Hall and the South Bank cultural development as a whole, the London Eye, St Thomas' Hospital, the MI6 building near Vauxhall station (if I am allowed to mention it, even?) which has been shown in James Bond films, the multi-platformed railway terminus at Waterloo, and some other more minor local ones. This is very much an inner-city seat, in which expensive riverside flats guarded by ever-attentive concierges (undoubtedly inhabited by some of the many MPs who have their London homes here, not surprisingly with the Houses of Parliament overlooking the constituency) and some still elegant owner-occupied squares and terraces, especially in Kennington and Clapham, contrast with large council estates of various vintages, many built by the London County Council well over a hundred years ago. Labour has held this seat and its Lambeth North predecessor unbrokenly since 1935, and in parliamentary elections it hasn't even been close. This is part of a small collection of long-term safe Labour seats in inner London where Labour has not faced a worthwhile challenge for decades, not even in its disaster years of the 1980s - although the seat did contrive to elect a Liberal GLC member not long before that body was abolished by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in 1986. It is a distinctly socially polarised seat, although it has more residents living in deprived council estates than in luxurious owner-occupied homes.
Vauxhall, as one might expect of a constituency which includes a large chunk of northern and central Brixton, is a very multi-cultural constituency. Still the principal ethnic minority population is the Black community, which as well as a large number of people of Caribbean heritage also includes many people of African heritage these days. Other ethnic minorities are by no means absent, including a large Portuguese community centred on South Lambeth, although this never has been an area noted for its British Asian community. The white working class has by no means entirely disappeared, especially in council estates further away from Brixton, but is a much smaller component of the seat than was once the case. Those who live in owner-occupied homes work in a variety of occupations. There are many who work at the Palace of Westminster, for the NHS and in other public sector jobs, for example in education, but here also can be found, as well as MPs, people working in sectors of the private-sector economy more readily associated with the Conservatives such as finance and the law. Many voters in owner-occupied homes are what is sometimes described as intellectual - Brexit-opposing, socially liberal, interested in the arts, etc. - and with the South Bank being such a well-known part of the constituency, it is not altogether surprising that many voters who visit it with varying regularity can be found here. These voters are much less inclined towards the Conservatives than they were a few decades ago. It is not surprising that the Tories struggle to contend in the constituency as a whole, and only in one ward, Clapham Town, do they have that much of a presence - the ward is closer in its demographics to the neighbouring, and until 2017 Conservative, constituency of Battersea than anywhere else in this constituency. Even there, where there are some streets with very expensive and good-sized 19th-century homes, the Tories have lost some ground and are now some distance behind Labour, who have always been a factor here because of the fairly large council estate (and also housing co-op) element of the ward. In most wards, what opposition there is to Labour has in recent years been dominated by the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems had quite a long period in control of Bishops ward, now essentially renamed Waterloo & South Bank (the ward closest in to central London), and have also had councillors in Oval ward, which includes some of the afore-mentioned elegant squares which still exist in Kennington; more aberrantly, they did for a time have a councillor in Vassall ward, which essentially covered the area now in Myatt's Fields ward. The areas covered by other wards, such as Vauxhall, Kennington, Stockwell West & Larkhall, Stockwell East and Brixton North (all new ward names in the most recent changes), have seen Labour in a position of complete safety for decades - even though a young Tory called John Major was elected for Ferndale ward, in North Brixton, in Labour's year of utter electoral devastation, 1968. The Liberal Democrats themselves had a disastrous year in 2014 when their representation was wiped out altogether in a number of London boroughs, and these included Lambeth; however, they did return to the council chamber in 2022. In the last 3 local elections, Labour has managed to win every single seat in this constituency; the opposition Greens and Liberal Democrats are to be found entirely in the Streatham constituency. The Greens have a decent vote and have at various times been the nearest challengers to Labour in some wards, but they have yet to break through in this constituency in terms of winning seats. This is a relatively rare example of a seat in London where Labour has had things pretty much their own way since World War II, especially south of the Thames, though the same could be said of Lewisham Deptford and Camberwell & Peckham, at least most of that seat.
There was a great deal of controversy attached to the selection of Kate Hoey as the Labour candidate in the 1989 by-election which was caused by the decision of left-winger Stuart Holland to pursue other interests. The local party preferred a Black left-winger, Martha Osamor (who many years later was awarded a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn in his period leading the Labour Party), but Neil Kinnock and the then National Executive decided otherwise and effectively imposed Hoey, a rare Protestant Ulsterwoman in British Labour politics who was at the time seen as a safer pair of hands on the party's soft Kinnockite left. As time went on, her support of hunting with dogs and Brexit in particular made her an increasingly controversial figure in the party, and by the time of the 2019 election it was clear that right-wing and left-wing elements in her CLP had had enough of her. No doubt sensing this, and having reached the age of 73, Hoey opted to retire, and then endorsed the Democratic Unionist Party openly shortly afterwards. Her replacement, elected with great ease, was Flo(rence) Eshalomi, formely Nosegbe, well-known as a Greater London Assembly member, and generally regarded as a relatively right-wing figure within the party by most observers on most though not all issues. It would probably be necessary for this constituency to be abolished, or for her to fall foul of her CLP, for her parliamentary career to end for at least the foreseeable future.
Vauxhall, as one might expect of a constituency which includes a large chunk of northern and central Brixton, is a very multi-cultural constituency. Still the principal ethnic minority population is the Black community, which as well as a large number of people of Caribbean heritage also includes many people of African heritage these days. Other ethnic minorities are by no means absent, including a large Portuguese community centred on South Lambeth, although this never has been an area noted for its British Asian community. The white working class has by no means entirely disappeared, especially in council estates further away from Brixton, but is a much smaller component of the seat than was once the case. Those who live in owner-occupied homes work in a variety of occupations. There are many who work at the Palace of Westminster, for the NHS and in other public sector jobs, for example in education, but here also can be found, as well as MPs, people working in sectors of the private-sector economy more readily associated with the Conservatives such as finance and the law. Many voters in owner-occupied homes are what is sometimes described as intellectual - Brexit-opposing, socially liberal, interested in the arts, etc. - and with the South Bank being such a well-known part of the constituency, it is not altogether surprising that many voters who visit it with varying regularity can be found here. These voters are much less inclined towards the Conservatives than they were a few decades ago. It is not surprising that the Tories struggle to contend in the constituency as a whole, and only in one ward, Clapham Town, do they have that much of a presence - the ward is closer in its demographics to the neighbouring, and until 2017 Conservative, constituency of Battersea than anywhere else in this constituency. Even there, where there are some streets with very expensive and good-sized 19th-century homes, the Tories have lost some ground and are now some distance behind Labour, who have always been a factor here because of the fairly large council estate (and also housing co-op) element of the ward. In most wards, what opposition there is to Labour has in recent years been dominated by the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems had quite a long period in control of Bishops ward, now essentially renamed Waterloo & South Bank (the ward closest in to central London), and have also had councillors in Oval ward, which includes some of the afore-mentioned elegant squares which still exist in Kennington; more aberrantly, they did for a time have a councillor in Vassall ward, which essentially covered the area now in Myatt's Fields ward. The areas covered by other wards, such as Vauxhall, Kennington, Stockwell West & Larkhall, Stockwell East and Brixton North (all new ward names in the most recent changes), have seen Labour in a position of complete safety for decades - even though a young Tory called John Major was elected for Ferndale ward, in North Brixton, in Labour's year of utter electoral devastation, 1968. The Liberal Democrats themselves had a disastrous year in 2014 when their representation was wiped out altogether in a number of London boroughs, and these included Lambeth; however, they did return to the council chamber in 2022. In the last 3 local elections, Labour has managed to win every single seat in this constituency; the opposition Greens and Liberal Democrats are to be found entirely in the Streatham constituency. The Greens have a decent vote and have at various times been the nearest challengers to Labour in some wards, but they have yet to break through in this constituency in terms of winning seats. This is a relatively rare example of a seat in London where Labour has had things pretty much their own way since World War II, especially south of the Thames, though the same could be said of Lewisham Deptford and Camberwell & Peckham, at least most of that seat.
There was a great deal of controversy attached to the selection of Kate Hoey as the Labour candidate in the 1989 by-election which was caused by the decision of left-winger Stuart Holland to pursue other interests. The local party preferred a Black left-winger, Martha Osamor (who many years later was awarded a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn in his period leading the Labour Party), but Neil Kinnock and the then National Executive decided otherwise and effectively imposed Hoey, a rare Protestant Ulsterwoman in British Labour politics who was at the time seen as a safer pair of hands on the party's soft Kinnockite left. As time went on, her support of hunting with dogs and Brexit in particular made her an increasingly controversial figure in the party, and by the time of the 2019 election it was clear that right-wing and left-wing elements in her CLP had had enough of her. No doubt sensing this, and having reached the age of 73, Hoey opted to retire, and then endorsed the Democratic Unionist Party openly shortly afterwards. Her replacement, elected with great ease, was Flo(rence) Eshalomi, formely Nosegbe, well-known as a Greater London Assembly member, and generally regarded as a relatively right-wing figure within the party by most observers on most though not all issues. It would probably be necessary for this constituency to be abolished, or for her to fall foul of her CLP, for her parliamentary career to end for at least the foreseeable future.
