Lewisham Deptford
2010 Results:
Conservative: 5551 (13.47%)
Labour: 22132 (53.69%)
Liberal Democrat: 9633 (23.37%)
Green: 2772 (6.72%)
Others: 1132 (2.75%)
Majority: 12499 (30.32%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 19044 (55.5%)
Liberal Democrat: 5899 (17.2%)
Conservative: 4392 (12.8%)
Other: 4951 (14.4%)
Majority: 13146 (38.3%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 3773 (12.4%)
Labour: 16902 (55.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 5091 (16.8%)
Green: 3367 (11.1%)
UKIP: 518 (1.7%)
Other: 742 (2.4%)
Majority: 11811 (38.9%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 3622 (12.4%)
Labour: 18915 (65%)
Liberal Democrat: 3409 (11.7%)
Green: 1901 (6.5%)
Other: 1260 (4.3%)
Majority: 15293 (52.5%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 4949 (14.7%)
Labour: 23827 (70.8%)
Liberal Democrat: 3004 (8.9%)
Referendum: 868 (2.6%)
Other: 996 (3%)
Majority: 18878 (56.1%)
Boundary changes: Gains most of Lewisham Central from Lewisham East and part of Crofton Park from Lewisham West. Loses part of Rushey Green to Lewisham East.
Profile: Lewisham Deptford runs from the river Thames, through areas of inner city poverty to the beginnings of suburbia in the south. To the north Deptford and New Cross have a trendy arts and music scene and are popular with students and artists, but beyond that they are areas of desolate council housing and deprivation with a large black population. There are severe problems with housing and poverty – the Pepys estate here was recently the focus of the BBC documentary The Tower, chronicling the beginnings of regeneration in the area.
Further south areas like Brockley are beginning to follow the familar pattern of gentrification. Old victorian properties that had been divided up into flats and houses of multiple occupancy in the last century are now being bought up by young urban professionals attracted by cheap prices and the new transport links offered by the Docklands extention. For the time being though this is safe Labour territory, though there is substantial support for the Green party who managed their second strongest performance in the country here at the last election. Along with Brighton Pavillon and Norwich South it is one of the party`s three targetted seats for the next election.
Current MP: Joan Ruddock(Labour) born 1943, Pontypool. Educated at Pontypool Grammar and Imperial College. Former chair of CND. First elected as MP for Lewisham Deptford in 1987. Undersecretary of state at Defra since 2007. She is the partner of Frank Doran, the MP for Aberdeen North (more information at They work for you)
Gemma Townsend (Conservative) Joan Ruddock(Labour) born 1943, Pontypool. Educated at Pontypool Grammar and Imperial College. Former chair of CND. First elected as MP for Lewisham Deptford in 1987. Undersecretary of state at Defra since 2007. She is the partner of Frank Doran, the MP for Aberdeen North (more information at They work for you)
Tamora Langley (Liberal Democrat) Public affairs director
Darren Johnson (Green) born 1966 Educated at Goldsmiths College. Principle speaker for the Green party 2002. Contested London mayoral election 2000, 2004. List London Assembly member since 2000. Lewisham councillor since 2002 and leader of the Green group on Lewisham council. 
Malcolm Martin (CPA) Ian Page (Socialist Alternative)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 97252
Male: 48.6%
Female: 51.4%
Under 18: 23.4%
Over 60: 11.6%
Born outside UK: 30.1%
White: 57.2%
Black: 30.2%
Asian: 3.8%
Mixed: 4.5%
Other: 4.3%
Christian: 57.7%
Hindu: 1.5%
Muslim: 5.6%
Full time students: 9.6%
Graduates 16-74: 32.9%
No Qualifications 16-74: 22.9%
Owner-Occupied: 41.3%
Social Housing: 41.5% (Council: 30.3%, Housing Ass.: 11.2%)
Privately Rented: 15%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 10.7%
Did the Lewisham North constituency include Deptford?
No Deptford was always a separate seat, and has been safe Labour since WWII.
I do remember John Silkin, Labour MP for Deptford, and a former Minister, who sadly died early just before the 1987 election.
I was aware of him in my first 8 years of being politically aware.
He seemed to be a rather nice, somewhat urbane character, probably on the right of the Labour Party.
He was putting up a brave and quite humerous effort on the 1983 program – felt somewhat sorry for him – actually being interviewed alongside Jim Prior who said that although Waveney/Lowestoft had been a marginal seat , the Labour vote just wasn’t turning out on the estates.
John Silkin (as opposed to his more right-wing brother Sam, Attorney-General in the Callagan government) was in the Tribune Group and was noted for his Euro-scepticism (though the term hadn’t been coined yet). He was the “soft left” candidate for the Party deputy leadership in 1981 against Denis Healey, Tony Benn & Peter Shore, and received the support of Neil Kinnock and other Tribune groupies (Joe Ashton was another) who weren’t prepared to back Benn. He also got the vote of the TGWU delegation who transferred to Benn on his elimination, nearly but not quite causing Healey’s defeat. So it perhaps isn’t entirely true to say he was on the Right, though he never seemed to have much in common with the Benn/Skinner/Jo Richardson harder leftwingers. He got on apparently exceptionally well with Willie Whitelaw when they were the opposing Chief Whips in the 60s.
“Did the Lewisham North constituency include Deptford?”
What Barnaby said, and of course Deptford was a separate borough from Lewisham before 1965 (ie when Lewisham North was created). Lewisham North did however include a significant part of this constituency as Ladywell and Lewisham central were in that seat – roughly 40% of the electorate. When the new Lewisham borough seats were created for 1974, Deptford expanded into territory from the old Lewisham borough taking Ladywell from North and Crofton Park from West. The expansion continued in 1983 with the addition of Blyth Hill and in 2010 with Lewisham Central. When Lewisham East was created it consisted of most of Lewisham North together with about half of Lewisham South (the other hald of South joining with most of West). Now as Catford and Rushey Green have been added, Lewisham East is more the succesor to Lewisham South than to Lewisham North as four of its seven wards are from that seat and they constitute about 80% of the old Lewisham South. Lewisham South was carved entirely out of Lewisham East in 1950, so in many ways it is a return to that old setup
Joan Ruddock is made a Dame in the New Year’s Honours List
I thought it was Labour policy not to accept political honours?
More specifically I thought it was Joan Ruddock’s policy not so long ago for this country to surrender to the Soviet Union so doubly hypocritical for her to accept such an award and also confusing as to why such a fellow traveller should be awarded it
A highly specious argument. Being in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament doesn’t equate to surrender to the Soviet Union or anywhere else, nor was or is Ruddock a sympathizer with that country’s policies. It’s an emotive phrase which you are at liberty to use if you want but which doesn’t bear comparison ro reality. Personally though I don’t think Labour MPs should accept gongs like this (you will remember Anne Begg accepted a damehood previously and Alan Meale a knighthood).
It should be left to their own conscience. Being a member of the Labour party is not always incompatible with support of the monarchy and the bells and baubles that go with it. Many of the strongest monarchists and unionists in this country are Labour voters.