Croydon Central
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 18679 (41.1%)
Conservative: 18362 (40.4%)
Liberal Democrat: 5862 (12.9%)
Other: 2519 (5.5%)
Majority: 317 (0.7%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 19974 (40.8%)
Labour: 19899 (40.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 6384 (13%)
Green: 1036 (2.1%)
UKIP: 1066 (2.2%)
Other: 598 (1.2%)
Majority: 75 (0.2%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 17659 (38.5%)
Labour: 21643 (47.2%)
Liberal Democrat: 5156 (11.2%)
UKIP: 545 (1.2%)
BNP: 449 (1%)
Other: 408 (0.9%)
Majority: 3984 (8.7%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 21535 (38.6%)
Labour: 25432 (45.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 6061 (10.9%)
Referendum: 1886 (3.4%)
Other: 885 (1.6%)
Majority: 3897 (7%)
Boundary changes: Minor changes to bring the constituency in line with ward boundaries. Part of Selsdon & Ballards, Croham and Waddon to Croydon South and parts of Broad Green and South Norwood to Croydon North.
Profile: This is central Croydon in political term if not in geographical terms (while it contains the commercial and shopping centre of Croydon, it is really the eastern part of the borough). Politically though it is half way between the safe Conservative Croydon South and what must now be considered the safely Labour Croydon North.
Croydon Central itself has sharp contrasts within it. Most of the seat is semi-detached, middle-of-the-road suburbia, places like Shirley and Heathfield, although to the north of the constituency is more ethnically mixed. At the southern end of the constituency is the large council estate of New Addington, a somewhat isolated development on the very edge of London that that has traditionally provided Labour with the core of their support in this seat, although in the most recent council elections they saw some support drifitng to the BNP.
Croydon Central was won by the Conservatives in 2005 with only a wafer thin minority. The relatively minor boundary changes are enough to make it notionally a Labour seat at the next election, albeit still an ultra-marginal. The former Labour MP for the seat, Geraint Davies, who was defeated in 2005 has been selected to stand in Swansea West.
Current MP: Andrew Pelling (Conservative) born 1959. Educated at Trinity School, Croydon and Oxford University. Former investment banker. Croydon councillor from 1982-2006, including 3 years as leader of the Conservative group. Member of the London Assembly for Sutton and Croydon since 2000 and will stand down in 2008. First elected as MP for Croydon Central in 2005. Was suspended from the Conservative party for two months following his arrest in Sept 2007 for assaulting his wife, he was subsequently released without charge and re-admitted to the Parliamentary Conservative party. In January 2008 it was announced he was suffering from clinical depression. He will step down at the next election (more information at They work for you)
Candidates: Gerry Ryan (Labour) Telephone engineer. Croydon councillor. Contested Croydon South 2001.
John Cartwright (Official Monster Raving Loony) born 1968. Educated at Trinity School and Royal Holloway College. Perennial candidate in Croydon local elections and by-elections. Contested Ealing Southall by-election 2007, Bromley & Chislehurst by-election 2006, Croydon Central 2005, 2001. OMRLP shadow minister for chocolate.
Bernice Golberg (Green) Teaches at King’s College London. Contested Croydon Central 2005
Gavin Barwell (Conservative) Educated at Cambridge University. Former Conservative party director of operations, now heading the party’s target seats campaign. Croydon councillor. Selected for Sutton and Cheam prior to the 2005 election, but withdrew due to family illness.
Stephen Dering (Liberal Democrat) Formerly worked for Shelter, now runs his own employment company. Former Lambeth councillor.
Cliff Le May (BNP) Postal worker. Contested Londonwide list in 2004 GLA elections. Contested Uxbridge 2005. Contested Londonwide list in 2008 London elections.
Ian Edwards (UKIP) Contested Croydon Central 2005
2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 107320
Male: 48.2%
Female: 51.8%
Under 18: 25.4%
Over 60: 16.8%
Born outside UK: 17.7%
White: 77.5%
Black: 10.2%
Asian: 7.1%
Mixed: 3.7%
Other: 1.5%
Christian: 65.8%
Hindu: 3.1%
Muslim: 3.9%
Full time students: 3.4%
Graduates 16-74: 21.9%
No Qualifications 16-74: 25.3%
Owner-Occupied: 64.3%
Social Housing: 21.5% (Council: 13.5%, Housing Ass.: 7.9%)
Privately Rented: 11.9%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 8.4%
Croydon Advertiser this week reports that Winston McKenzie (who recently founded the Unity Party) is intending to stand in Croydon Central. His partner, Marianne Bowness, will stand in Croydon North. This means that they have swapped constituencies compared with 2005, when they were the other way round.
With the partial exception of Lewisham Croydon is the only south London borough which has its constituencies named after compass points and not districts.
Compass point naming is more common in north London with it bein applied to varying degrees to the boroughs of Harrow, Westminster, Brent, Hackney and Islington.
Anyone care to suggest possible alternate names?
Croydon, Thornton Heath or alternatively Croydon, Selhurst for Croydon North.
Croydon, Fairfield for Croydon Central
Croydon, Coulsdon & Purley for Croydon South
I dont think I would change the names for the North London boroughs except ofcourse for Brent (Wembley and Willesden for the new seats) and possibly Wetminster North to take some account of Paddington but Marylebone is proeblematic because much if it is in the Cities seat – Paddington & St Johns Word is a bit of a mouthful.
In certain circumstances a compass name would be moreappropriate; hwoever, Thornton Heath is one of a number of communities in the Croydon North constituency, and the name would be better than Croydon Thornton Heath.. Croydon East would be a more accurate name for Croydon Central, and certainly Purley and Coulsdon would be a better name for Croydon South as they’re the two main places in the constituency and only came into Croydon back in 1965.
The constituency names in Croydon are entirely proper. The suitable alternative names should be Borough + compass point for the London boroughs which don’t already use them. It would help people to get used to the borough identities instead of the archaic pre-1964 localities.
“I dont think I would change the names for the North London boroughs except ofcourse for Brent (Wembley and Willesden for the new seats) and possibly Wetminster North to take some account of Paddington but Marylebone is proeblematic because much if it is in the Cities seat – Paddington & St Johns Word is a bit of a mouthful.”
The problem with calling Westminster North Paddington was that the Paddington Hyde Park Ward which was moved to Westminster South in 1983 covered much of central Paddington and included the train station. Effectively, the City & South took out the hearts of both Paddington and Marylebone, leaving residential areas.
Which ward is Paddington station in these days?
The link below shows that Paddington’s Hyde Park Ward – which was Paddington South till 1974, Paddington from 1974 – 1983 and the only Paddington Ward not to be included in Westminster North 1983 – 1997 and 2010 onwards….does include much of Central Paddington and the station.
http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/fmn/index3.cfm?minx=522116&miny=176173&maxx=532202&maxy=185343&Identify=TRUE&LayerID=55&theScale=77000&IdentifyFMNPostcode=SW1V2LE&showposition=exact&map.x=238&map.y=200