General Election 2024 London seats: Who will be my MP in....Croydon South?
Millions of voters across London will go the polls on July 4 to elect the new Government.
The Standard looks at key battleground and other seats in the capital, and has published an interactive map. Here we turn the spotlight on:
CROYDON SOUTH
Candidates for main parties (in alphabetical order):
Bob Bromley - Reform UK
Elaine Garrod - Green Party
Richard Michael Howard - Liberal Democrats
Chris Philp - Conservatives
Ben Taylor - Labour Party
Summary: “Selsdon Man” has its origins in Croydon South, coined by Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1970 in a derogatory way to brand the free market economics of his Tory rival Edward Heath, after a shadow Cabinet policy meeting at Selsdon Park Hotel in the constituency. But it is losing this nugget of political history as Selsdon is now going into Croydon East as part of boundary changes.
Croydon South was won by Chris Philp, now police minister, in 2015 with a majority of 17,140, which was down to 12,339 by 2019.
The sprawling constituency in affluent suburbia is the one Croydon seat out of three that was won by the Tories five years ago.
Labour looks like needing a swing of more than 13 per cent, according to some estimates, to win here but the rise of Reform UK may hit the Tories.
Area: The constituency includes the wards of Coulsdon Town, Kenley, Old Coulsdon, Park Hill & Whitgift, Purley & Woodcote, Purley Oaks & Riddlesdown, Sanderstead and South Croydon
I’m not sure if I’m in this constituency: Here’s how you can check
Boundary changes impact (Thrasher and Rawlings analysis): Boundary changes slightly favour the Conservatives. At the 2019, election they won with 52.2 per cent of the vote, compared to 31.4 per cent for Labour, and 12.6 per cent for the Lib Dems. Under the new boundaries, it would have been 54.5 per cent Tory, 28.1 per cent Labour and 13.5 per cent Lib Dem.
YouGov MRP poll prediction: Labour gain from Tories
Evening Standard view: Labour says the “road to Number 10 runs through Croydon South” but it looks more likely that Sir Keir Starmer will end up in Downing Street than his party will win in Croydon South.
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