Editing Beckenham (UK Parliament constituency) (section)

==Constituency profile==
The constituency is mostly leafy and suburban — one widely known gazetteer summarised this in 2012: {{blockquote|"The properties on these streets typically include a range of styles, from modern to [[Mock Tudor]]. However many local residents are wealthy city commuters. Keston Common and Keston Ponds are both popular attractions for locals...The common theme is large, detached houses with substantial land and typically with asking prices of over £1 million.  At the lower end of the market, a one bedroom period conversion flat on Turpington Lane near Bromley Common, or a one bedroom flat in a modern block on Homesdale Road, near the Bickley border, would demand an asking price of approximately £160,000."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mouseprice.com/area-guide/br2|title=Area and Property Guide for br2|website=Mouseprice|access-date=2012-12-21|archive-date=2013-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215205815/http://www.mouseprice.com/area-guide/br2|url-status=live}}</ref>}} There are significant areas of open land to the south around Hayes and Keston. The upmarket town centre of Beckenham is split between this constituency and [[Lewisham West and Penge (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewisham West and Penge]] to the west.

All wards have voted between 60 and 70% [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] since the seat's inception. In times when [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] has led in the national polls the seat has remained Conservative. The smallest majority in a general election was 9.3%, in 1997; in all other elections except 2001 there have been majorities of more than 15%. The seat happened to become safer in its cut down to six wards (from ten) in 2010. This removed the three most Labour inclined wards of the borough, centered on Penge, and one other, taken from the more suburban parts that lean strongly or weakly Conservative.

Since 1983 there has been a close contest for second place between Labour and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]. Labour's share has remained much greater than in [[Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)|Orpington]] whereas the Liberal Democrat share has remained much greater than in [[Croydon Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon Central]].{{#tag:ref| Both Orpington and Croydon Central are [[Conservative Party (UK)|conservative]] neighbouring seats.|group= n}}