London South East (European Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation
in 1999, the United Kingdom
used first-past-the-post
for the European elections
in England
, Scotland
and Wales
. The European Parliament constituencies
used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament
each.
The constituency of London South East was one of them.
When it was created in England in 1979, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Beckenham
, Bexleyheath
, Chislehurst
, Erith and Crayford
, Orpington
, Ravensbourne
, Sidcup
, Woolwich East
, Woolwich West
, although this may not have been true for the whole of its existence.
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in 1999, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
used first-past-the-post
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
for the European elections
Elections in the European Union
Elections to the Parliament of the European Union take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 736 MEPs are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other body is directly elected although the Council of the European Union and European Council is...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The European Parliament constituencies
European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union , divided into constituencies....
used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
each.
The constituency of London South East was one of them.
When it was created in England in 1979, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Beckenham
Beckenham (UK Parliament constituency)
Beckenham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Constituency profile:...
, Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath (UK Parliament constituency)
Bexleyheath was a parliamentary constituency in south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Chislehurst
Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)
Chislehurst was a parliamentary constituency in what is now the London Borough of Bromley. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Erith and Crayford
Erith and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)
Erith and Crayford was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Bexley, south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Orpington
Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)
Orpington is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
, Ravensbourne
Ravensbourne (UK Parliament constituency)
Ravensbourne was a borough constituency in south London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first-past-the-post system...
, Sidcup
Sidcup (UK Parliament constituency)
Sidcup was a parliamentary constituency centred on Sidcup, an outer suburb of London in the London Borough of Bexley. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Woolwich East
Woolwich East (UK Parliament constituency)
Woolwich East was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983...
, Woolwich West
Woolwich West (UK Parliament constituency)
Woolwich West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983. It was based around Eltham, now in the London Borough of Greenwich in south-east London....
, although this may not have been true for the whole of its existence.
Members of the European Parliament
| Elected | Members | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Brandon Rhys-Williams Brandon Rhys-Williams Sir Brandon Meredith Rhys-Williams, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative politician.Rhys-Williams was elected a Member of Parliament in the Kensington South by-election, 1968, representing that seat until 1974, then for Kensington from 1974 until his death in 1988 aged 60... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1984 | Peter Price Peter Price (politician) Peter Nicholas Price is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1979-1994.He was educated at RGS Worcester, Aberdare Boys' Grammar School, the University of Southampton and at King's College London. He served as Conservative MEP for Lancashire West from... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1989 | |||
| 1994 | Shaun Spiers Shaun Spiers Shaun Mark Spiers is the Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England and a former Member of the European Parliament.... |
Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... |
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