Labour's Neil Coyle returned as Bermondsey & Old Southwark MP
Neil Coyle reiterated his apology for his behaviour in the last Parliament as he began his fourth term as Bermondsey & Old Southwark MP.
Key points
- Neil Coyle returned for fourth term, with a reduced vote share
- Greens in third place after Lib Dems
- Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives all saw vote share drop
- Reform UK overtakes Conservatives for four place
Results
🟧 Rachel Bentley, Lib Dem – 9,070
⬜ Piers Corbyn, independent – 403
🟥 Neil Coyle, Labour – 16,857
⬜ Barry Duckett, independent – 247
🟩 Susan Hunter, Green – 4,477
🟦 Jonathan Iliff, Conservative –2,879
⬜ Niko Omilana, (no description) – 273
⬜ Tony Sharp, Reform UK – 3,397
Declaration of results by the Mayor of Southwark
Speech by Neil Coyle MP
Words from Neil Coyle MP
I very publicly stumbled in the last Parliament, and I wanted to say something more personal tonight about that.
I remain very sorry for stumbling to everyone here, to everyone in the constituency, and to anyone who's upset, everyone who's upset, to local people in particular.
I am human.
Our community is home to the Shard and its 74 storeys. I also have flaws, as were exposed.
I'm an ordinary bloke doing an extraordinary job, and for the first time in my life, I was forced to recognise that I had an issue with alcohol.
But in Southwark, when things get tough, we don't give up. And I picked myself up, and I quit drinking over two years ago. And I'm very proud of that record.
And it's my commitment to this community, to this party, to this team, that I will continue remaining abstinent from alcohol from here on in.
And in Southwark, we don't give up on people either, or attack human weakness.
So I'm very grateful to all of you for your support, and so many people who reached out to help me rebuild.
Turnout
Turnout in Bermondsey & Old Southwark was 54.39 per cent (down from 63.2 per cent at the last general election in 2019)
Recent history
Defending the seat is Labour's Neil Coyle, who has represented Bermondsey in the Commons since 2015. His most recent parliamentary term has been marred by his suspension from the Labour Party after he was accused of making racist remarks to a journalist in a House of Commons bar. Coyle's Lib Dem challenger Rachel Bentley hoped to dent Coyle's majority in a seat that Labour took back from her party in 2015 after the long tenure of Sir Simon Hughes.
Geography
A simple map of the new boundaries of the Bermondsey & Old Southwark constituency:
