Croydon Central

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974-2024

title: "Croydon Central" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["parliamentary-constituencies-in-london-(historic)", "politics-of-the-london-borough-of-croydon", "constituencies-of-the-parliament-of-the-united-kingdom-established-in-1974", "constituencies-of-the-parliament-of-the-united-kingdom-disestablished-in-2024"] description: "Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974-2024" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croydon_Central" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974-2024 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK constituency main"]

Field	Value
name	Croydon Central
parliament	uk
map1	CroydonCentral2007
map_size	200px
map_entity	Greater London
map_year	2019
year	1974
abolished	2024
type	Borough
elects_howmany	One
previous	Croydon South
next	Croydon East, Croydon West
electorate	76,980 (December 2010){{cite web
url	http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm
title	Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England
date	4 March 2011
work	2011 Electorate Figures
publisher	Boundary Commission for England
access-date	13 March 2011
url-status	usurped
archive-url	https://web.archive.org/web/20101106204053/http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm
archive-date	6 November 2010
df	dmy
region	England
county	Greater London
european	London
::

|name = Croydon Central |parliament = uk |map1 = CroydonCentral2007 |map_size = 200px |map2 = |map_entity = Greater London |map_year = 2019 |year = 1974 |abolished = 2024 |type = Borough |elects_howmany = One |previous = Croydon South |next = Croydon East, Croydon West |electorate = 76,980 (December 2010){{cite web |url=http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm |title=Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England |date=4 March 2011 |work=2011 Electorate Figures |publisher=Boundary Commission for England |access-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106204053/http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm |archive-date=6 November 2010 |df=dmy |mp = |party = |region = England |county = Greater London |european = London Croydon Central was a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Labour MP Sarah Jones. The seat bucked the trend in national results in 2019, with Labour holding the seat with a slightly increased majority.

Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the majority of the constituency was incorporated into the re-established seat of Croydon East. Croydon town centre was included in the re-established seat of Croydon West.

Constituency profile

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/CroydonNorthEnd.jpg" caption="Central [[Croydon]]'s main shopping area"] ::

Croydon Central covered a wedge of the London Borough of Croydon to the east of central Croydon and was more marginal than the other two parliamentary divisions in the borough; Croydon South (which was safely Conservative) and Croydon North (which was safely Labour).

The northern parts were characterised by terraced houses and urban areas, with small council estates. Labour gained much support from, in particular, Addiscombe, Fieldway, Woodside and Ashburton. The southern area, largely Conservative, consisted of suburban semi-detached houses, populated by commuters, surrounded by golf courses and parkland. The wards of Shirley, Heathfield and Fairfield gave large Conservative votes.

In the south-east corner was a large former council estate, New Addington; home to more than 10,000 people. The estate was largely White and has included the whole or vast bulk of one or two wards of the United Kingdom in its history.

The New Addington wards saw one of the highest turnouts of British National Party supporters during the 2002 and 2006 council elections, which the BNP described as their "heyday decade," however it never elected a local councillor from the party – its slate of councillors has been consistently from the Labour Party. Except on one occasion in 2010, where a Conservative councillor was elected for the first time since 1968. Historically, Labour's strength in the area had been on the council estates, particularly New Addington, but in 2014, Labour support was reduced by UKIP, gauging 24% of the overall vote.

The two major-stop railway stations on the national network, most office buildings, businesses and shopping centres of Croydon were within the constituency. A wide range of flats formed a major part of the housing sector unlike neighbouring seats, from upmarket expensively-built apartments with dedicated gym and restaurant facilities to ex-local authority brutalist architecture tower blocks, most of which had been replaced by the 2010s.

Political history

The constituency that preceded Croydon Central, Croydon South (1918–1950) and (1955–1974) had the modern borough area's two periods of brief Labour Party parliamentary representation — David Rees-Williams held the seat from the 1945 Labour landslide until unfavourable boundary changes in 1950. David Winnick was MP 1966–1970. Otherwise, the area at parliamentary level has elected, since 1918, Conservative MPs.

In 1997, Croydon's seats were reduced from four to three and the displaced Conservative members had to face one another for the right to stand in the new Croydon Central seat (Croydon North by then a Labour-held seat). The MP for Croydon North East, David Congdon was chosen over Sir Paul Beresford, the MP for the former Croydon Central seat. However, three years after Labour had taken control of Croydon Council, Labour's Geraint Davies saw off Congdon with a majority of 4,000 votes. He retained the seat with a similar majority in 2001, but lost by just 75 votes to Conservative Andrew Pelling in 2005, with the Liberal Democrats and Green Party gaining a local record of 7,000 votes between them.

The 2015 general election result, gave the seat the third-most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority. In 2017, Labour's Sarah Jones gained the seat with a majority of 5,652 votes, the largest in the seat for any party since 1992. Croydon Central was one of five constituencies, the others being Enfield Southgate, Leeds North West, Peterborough and Reading East; which elected Labour MPs in 2017 having not done so since 2001.

Boundaries

::data[format=table]

Dates	Local authority	Maps	Wards
1974–1983	London Borough of Croydon	[[File:Croydon Central 1974 Constituency.svg	frameless]]
1983–1997	[[File:Croydon Central 1983 Constituency.svg	frameless]]	Fairfield, Fieldway, Heathfield, New Addington, Spring Park, and Waddon.
1997–2010	[[File:Croydon Central 1997 Constituency.svg	frameless]]	Addiscombe, Ashburton, Fairfield, Fieldway, Heathfield, Monks Orchard, New Addington, Rylands, Spring Park, and Woodside.
2010–2024	[[File:CroydonCentral2007Constituency.svg	frameless]]	Addiscombe, Ashburton, Fairfield, Fieldway, Heathfield, New Addington, Shirley, and Woodside.
::

Croydon Central covered the central and eastern parts of the London Borough of Croydon, one of the Borough's three seats. It is bordered by Croydon North and Croydon South, as well as Beckenham to the east.

The seat was redrawn in the 1997 redistribution, taking in territory from most of the pre-1997 Croydon Central constituency (losing Waddon ward to the redrawn Croydon South) and part of the abolished Croydon North East constituency. It covered an area that was Croydon South constituency until 1974 when part of Surrey East was incorporated into a new Croydon South constituency, following the creation of the London Borough of Croydon in 1965.

Members of Parliament

::data[format=table]

Election	Party	Notes
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	February 1974	John Moore
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	1992	Sir Paul Beresford
Labour Party (UK)}}"	1997	Geraint Davies
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	2005	Andrew Pelling
Independent}}"	2007	Independent
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	2010	Gavin Barwell
Labour Party (UK)}}"	2017	Sarah Jones
::

Election results

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Croydon_Central_2001_to_date.svg" caption="Results of UK House of Commons seat Croydon Central, created in 1974, since 2001."] ::

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

::data[format=table]

2005 notional result	Party	Vote	%
	Labour	18,711	41.1
	Conservative	18,490	40.6
	Liberal Democrats	5,744	12.6
	Others	2,585	5.7

Turnout	45,530	60.6
Electorate	75,166
::

Elections in the 1990s

|title=General election 1997: Croydon Central}} |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Geraint Davies |votes = 25,432 |percentage = 45.6 |change = +14.1 |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = David Congdon |votes = 21,535 |percentage = 38.6 |change = –16.9 |party = Liberal Democrats (UK) |candidate = George W. Schlich |votes = 6,061 |percentage = 10.9 |change = –2.1 |party = Referendum Party |candidate = Charles Cook |votes = 1,886 |percentage = 3.4 |change = New |party = Green Party of England and Wales |candidate = Mario−Simon Barnsley |votes = 595 |percentage = 1.1 |change = New |party = UK Independence Party |candidate = John Woollcott |votes = 290 |percentage = 0.5 |change = New |votes = 3,897 |percentage = 7.0 |change = N/A |votes = 55,799 |percentage = 69.6 |change = –5.2 | reg. electors = 80,152 |winner = Labour Party (UK) |loser = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = +15.5 ::data[format=table]

1992 notional result	Party	Vote	%
	Conservative	33,940	55.5
	Labour	19,279	31.5
	Liberal Democrats	7,934	13.0

Turnout	61,153	74.8
Electorate	81,757
::

|title=General election 1992: Croydon Central}} |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = Paul Beresford |votes = 22,168 |percentage = 55.4 |change = −1.2 |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Geraint Davies |votes = 12,518 |percentage = 31.3 |change = +6.9 |party = Liberal Democrats (UK) |candidate = Deborah Richardson |votes = 5,342 |percentage = 13.3 |change = −5.7 |votes = 9,650 |percentage = 24.1 |change = −8.2 |votes = 40,028 |percentage = 71.7 |change = +1.2 | reg. electors = 55,798 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = −4.1

Elections in the 1980s

|title=General election 1987: Croydon Central}} |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = John Moore |votes = 22,133 |percentage = 56.6 |change = +2.8 |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Bridget Prentice |votes = 9,516 |percentage = 24.4 |change = +1.0 |party = Social Democratic Party (UK) |candidate = Tyrell Burgess |votes = 7,435 |percentage = 19.0 |change = –3.8 |votes = 12,617 |percentage = 32.2 |change = +1.8 |votes = 39,084 |percentage = 70.5 |change = +1.9 | reg. electors = 55,410 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = +0.9 |title=General election 1983: Croydon Central |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = John Moore |votes = 20,866 |percentage = 53.8 |change = –1.4 |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Andrew MacKinlay |votes = 9,045 |percentage = 23.3 |change = –11.2 |party = Social Democratic Party (UK) |candidate = Tyrell Burgess |votes = 8,864 |percentage = 22.9 |change = +13.3 |votes = 11,821 |percentage = 30.5 |change = +14.7 |votes = 38,775 |percentage = 68.6 |change = –7.1 | reg. electors = 56,531 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = +4.9

Elections in the 1970s

::data[format=table]

1979 notional result	Party	Vote	%
	Conservative	23,592	55.2
	Labour	14,781	34.6
	Liberal	4,093	9.6
	Others	301	0.7

Turnout	42,767
Electorate
::

|title=General election 1979: Croydon Central |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = John Moore |votes = 26,457 |percentage = 52.5 |change = +10.4 |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = David White |votes = 18,499 |percentage = 36.7 |change = –5.1 |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = John Johnson |votes = 5,112 |percentage = 10.1 |change = –6.0 |party = Independent Conservative |candidate = Michael Soper |votes = 238 |percentage = 0.5 |change = New |party = Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) |candidate = Peter Gibson |votes = 116 |percentage = 0.2 |change = New |votes = 7,958 |percentage = 15.8 |change = +15.4 |votes = 50,422 |percentage = 75.7 |change = +3.09 | reg. electors = 66,629 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = +7.7 |title=General election October 1974: Croydon Central |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = John Moore |votes = 20,390 |percentage = 42.1 |change = +1.6 |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = David Winnick |votes = 20,226 |percentage = 41.7 |change = +3.7 |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = Ian Maxwell |votes = 7,834 |percentage = 16.2 |change = –5.3 |votes = 164 |percentage = 0.3 |change = –2.2 |votes = 48,450 |percentage = 72.6 |change = –7.1 | reg. electors = 66,746 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = –1.1 |title=General election February 1974: Croydon Central}} |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = John Moore |votes = 21,353 |percentage = 40.5 |change = –6.8 |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Richard Rosser |votes = 20,039 |percentage = 38.0 |change = –7.1 |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = Ian Maxwell |votes = 11,346 |percentage = 21.5 |change = +14.5 |votes = 1,314 |percentage = 2.5 |change = +0.4 |votes = 52,738 |percentage = 79.7 |change = +8.4 | reg. electors = 66,140 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = +0.2 ::data[format=table]

1970 notional result	Party	Vote	%
	Conservative	22,300	47.2
	Labour	21,300	45.1
	Liberal	3,300	7.0
	Others	300	0.6

Turnout	47,200	71.4
Electorate	66,138
::

Notes

References

"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – London {{!}} Boundary Commission for England".
"Conservative Members of Parliament 2015".
{{Rayment-hc. c. 6. (March 2012)
https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Statement%20of%20Persons%20Nominated%20and%20Notice%20of%20Poll%20Croydon%20Central.pdf {{Dead link. (February 2022)
(28 January 2020). "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis". [[House of Commons Library]].
"Archived copy".
(29 January 2019). "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis". [[House of Commons Library]].
"Gavin Barwell announces he'll stand again for Croydon Central". croydonadvertiser.co.uk.
"Election Data 2015". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Archived copy".
"Croydon Green Party – Croydon Green Party Announces Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". greenparty.org.uk.
"Election Data 2010". [[Electoral Calculus]].
[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/b26.stm General Election 2010 – Croydon Central] BBC News
[http://www.croydon.gov.uk/democracy/dande/elections/electionresults/parliament2010 Croydon Council]{{webarchive. link. (4 December 2013)
"Election Data 2005". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 2001". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1997". [[Electoral Calculus]].
(17 November 2010). "Croydon Central (Archive)". Politics Resources.
"Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
(9 April 1992). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.
"Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"BBC/ITN NOTIONAL ELECTION 1979". BBC/ITN.
''Return of the expenses of each candidate at the general election of May, 1979, in the United Kingdom, as transmitted to the returning officers pursuant to the Representation of the People Act 1949, and of the number of votes polled by each candidate, the description of each candidate, the number of polling districts and stations, the number of electors, the number of postal voters and the number of rejected ballot papers.'', House of Commons Papers HC 374, 1980, p.11
"1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::