Editing Orpington (section)

==Government==
[[File:BromleyOrpington.GIF|thumb|left|The ward of Orpington (red) shown within the borough of Bromley (orange)]]
Orpington has been part of the London Borough of Bromley since 1 April 1965. Prior to this Orpington's local government was the [[Orpington Urban District]] within the county of [[Kent]]. Orpington forms part of the [[Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)]] and the current MP is [[Gareth Bacon]], who has held the seat since 2019 for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.garethbacon.com/post/watch-orpington-s-new-mp-gareth-bacon-deliver-his-maiden-speech-in-parliament|title=WATCH Orpington's new MP Gareth Bacon deliver his maiden speech in Parliament|last=Bacon|first=Gareth|date=5 February 2020|website=Gareth Bacon|language=en|access-date=14 April 2020|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922131744/https://www.garethbacon.com/post/watch-orpington-s-new-mp-gareth-bacon-deliver-his-maiden-speech-in-parliament|url-status=live}}</ref> Orpington constituency, which covers a large swathe of southern Bromley borough, is regarded as a Conservative [[safe seat]], with the party winning the seat in every general election held since [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]]. Gareth Bacon is also the [[London Assembly]] member for the [[Bexley and Bromley (London Assembly constituency)|Bexley and Bromley]] constituency in which Orpington is located.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.londonelects.org.uk/download/file/fid/477|title=Bexley & Bromley 2016 election results|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503084740/https://londonelects.org.uk/download/file/fid/477|archive-date=3 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Orpington is a town located in Greater London, specifically within the London Borough of Bromley. It has farms, roads, and homes divided by the border with Kent. This characteristic means that some areas of Orpington fall within the administrative boundaries of Bromley, while others extend into Kent.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/2023-review-volume-one-report/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-one-report-london/page/8/ |title=The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – London |website=independent.gov.uk |access-date=2024-11-20}}</ref>

===By-election of 1962===
After the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] member for the [[Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)|Orpington constituency]], Donald Sumner, had resigned to become a county court judge, a by-election was held on 15 March 1962. Orpington was considered a safe Conservative seat, but [[Eric Lubbock]], the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] candidate, won with a 22% swing away from the Conservatives. The result caused a sensation and was headline news across the nation.<ref>{{cite news|last=BBC News "On This Day"|first=Entry for 15 March|title=1962 Liberals Seize Orpington|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/15/newsid_2543000/2543507.stm|publisher=BBC: 2008|access-date=17 February 2013|archive-date=23 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023151125/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/15/newsid_2543000/2543507.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Yates |first1=Nigel |title=Kent in the Twentieth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6sQjOlwvyNcC |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |access-date=14 April 2019 |pages=166–168 |date=2001 |isbn=9780851155876 |archive-date=20 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220020441/https://books.google.com/books?id=6sQjOlwvyNcC |url-status=live }}</ref>
It is from this win that the revival of the Liberal Party is usually dated.