General Election 2024 London seats: Who will be my MP in Bexleyheath and Crayford
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:
BEXLEYHEATH AND CRAYFORD
Candidates for main parties (in alphabetical order):
Tom Bright – Reform UK
Mark James Brooks – Conservative
George Edgar – Green
Daniel Francis – Labour
David McBridge – Liberal Democrat
Summary:
At the last general election long-serving Conservative Sir David Evennett retook this seat, which he has represented since 2005, with a whopping 59.8% of the vote. His majority was over 13,000.
Sir David has now stood down from Parliament after serving on and off as an MP since 1983. He had a brief stint in government under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Despite a strong result in 2019, the new Conservative candidate Mark Brooks, a former councillor, is set for a straight race with Labour’s Daniel Francis, a serving local councillor.
Labour last won the seat in the 2001 general election as part of Tony Blair’s second landslide victory. A Conservative defeat here would indicate a poor nationwide election result for the party.
Area: Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Crook Log, Northumberland Heath, Slade Green & Northend and Westheath, all located in the London Borough of Bexley.
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 have given the Conservatives a very slight advantage in this seat, of one percentage point, to the equal detriment of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. At the 2019 General Election, the result was 59.8 per cent Conservative, 29.5 per cent Labour and 6.5 per cent Liberal Democrat. The changes would have made it 60.8 per cent Tory, 29 per cent Labour and 6 per cent Labour.
YouGov MRP poll prediction: Labour gain from Tories
Evening Standard view: The Conservatives will need to hold on to this seat, and seats like it across the country, in order to avoid a wipeout. Meanwhile the seat is number 187 on Labour’s target list. Labour need a historic national swing of 12.7 per cent to win even a small parliamentary majority. In order to take Bexleyheath and Crayford they would need an even bigger swing of 15.9 per cent. If the party wins here, it is likely to be on course for a large majority in the next Parliament.
Click below to see more key seats across London:
