Bermondsey was a borough constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Elections were held using the first-past-the-post voting system.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the 1918 general election, when almost all its territory was represented by the new Bermondsey West and a very small amount going into the existing Rotherhithe constituency.

A new Bermondsey constituency was created for the 1950 general election including Rotherhithe, was and abolished for the 1983 election, when it was largely replaced by the new Southwark and Bermondsey constituency.

History The 1983 by-election was one of the most bitterly contested by-elections in the United Kingdom as it involved Bob Mellish, the retired Labour MP, running a highly personal and homophobic campaign against the Labour candidate, Peter Tatchell. The result was the election of Simon Hughes as a Liberal in a former Labour stronghold.

Boundaries

DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1885–1918Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey (after 1900)1950–1974Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey (before 1965)London Borough of Southwark (after 1965)Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey1974–1983London Borough of SouthwarkAbbey, Bricklayers, Browning, Cathedral, Chaucer, Dockyard, Riverside, and Rotherhithe.

Members of Parliament MPs 1885–1918 ElectionMemberPartyNotes1885 Thorold Rogers Liberal Member for Southwark (1880–1885)1886 Alfred Lafone Conservative1892 Reuben Barrow Liberal1895 Alfred Lafone Conservative1900 Henry Cust1906 George Cooper LiberalDied in office1909 by-election John Dumphreys Conservative1910 Harold Glanville LiberalContested Bermondsey West following redistribution1918 Constituency abolished: see Rotherhithe and Bermondsey West

MPs 1950–1983 ElectionMemberPartyNotes1950 Bob Mellish Labour Labour Chief Whip 1969–1976. Resigned November 19821983 by-election Simon Hughes LiberalContested Southwark and Bermondsey following redistribution1983 constituency abolished: see Southwark and Bermondsey

Election results Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

1970 notional result Party Vote % Labour 24,700 73.3 Conservative 9,000 26.7Turnout33,70050.4Electorate66,835

Elections in the 1980s

Note: Esmond Bevan made a mistake and inserted his occupation rather than politics in the nomination paper. He was an Independent Labour candidate.

References

Sources Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources: UK General Elections since 1832