Bexleyheath was a parliamentary constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 in south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

.

It was created for the February 1974 general election

United Kingdom general election, February 1974

The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...

, and abolished for the 1997 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

.

History

This safe Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 seat was represented for its entire existence by Sir Cyril Townsend

Cyril Townsend

Sir Cyril David Townsend is a British politician.Following service around the world in the British Army, Townsend was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath at the February 1974 election, and held the seat until retiring at the 1997 election...

.

Boundaries

This constituency in the London Borough of Bexley

London Borough of Bexley

The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...

 was centred around the district of Bexleyheath

Bexleyheath

Bexleyheath is a main suburban district of Southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley with a small percentage of the district itself being in the London Borough of Greenwich. Bexleyheath is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London. It is east south-east of Charing Cross...

. It was split in 1997 when the Boundary Commission for England recommended an extra seat for the paired boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich

London Borough of Greenwich

The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...

. It was largely replaced by the new constituency of Bexleyheath and Crayford

Bexleyheath and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London*David Evennett Wikipedia page**Howard Dawber Wikipedia page**-References:...

, with about a third of the constituency being added to the existing Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...	Sir Cyril Townsend Cyril Townsend Sir Cyril David Townsend is a British politician.Following service around the world in the British Army, Townsend was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath at the February 1974 election, and held the seat until retiring at the 1997 election...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...	constituency abolished: see Bexleyheath & Crayford Bexleyheath and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London*David Evennett Wikipedia page**Howard Dawber Wikipedia page**-References:...   and Old Bexley and Sidcup

Elections in the 1990s