Community groups in Camberwell say they will continue to oppose a proposal to split the parliamentary constituency into three and eliminate the name ‘Camberwell’ altogether. 

Last month, the Boundary Commission for England  proposed that the  Camberwell and Peckham constituency be chopped up. “Our name would disappear from the Commons,” community activist and chair of the SE5 Forum for Camberwell Sophy Tayler lamented in her piece for City Monitor. She noted that Camberwell and Peckham would be divided at The Green, creating the new constituencies of Vauxhall and Peckham, while Champion Hill would move to a new Dulwich and West Norwood constituency. 

For the past 40 years, Camberwell and Peckham has been represented in parliament by Harriet Harman. Harman has announced she would step down at the next election. Her seat will then divide into three.  

Though Camberwell will disappear from the list of parliamentary constituencies,  it will continue at the level of council wards and local elections.  

Protests and complaints against the proposal,  mainly led by the SE5 Forum for Camberwell, started almost immediately after the Boundary Commission’s recommendation. 

SE5 Forum describes itself as a voluntary group working together ‘to improve Camberwell for the benefit of all members of our diverse community and be the eyes, ears and voice of the community.’  

It is currently urging as many locals as possible to write letters of complaint and comment to the Boundary Commission. It even provides a template  for easy copy and pasting.

The current campaign against the Boundary Commission’s proposal is not the first complaint it has received on the issue. The SE5 Forum previously organised a petition, along with two other Camberwell groups, protesting against division of the constituency. The petition received more than 800 signatures.

Local resident Adam Bradley, 26, was one of them. Bradley told South London Lines: “I actually found out through SE5 Forum’s Twitter post, and thought it was the least I could do. We all have to do our part here. I’ve been living in Camberwell for a few years now. I feel like part of the community, especially with the Saturday markets and things like that.”

This does not seem a brash line of action, at least in the eyes of many  locals. Geographically, Camberwell is sandwiched between Vauxhall and Peckham, which some believe ”drown” Camberwell. This seems to have driven a community effort  to keep Camberwell alive.  

Liberty Moffat, 19, who moved to Camberwell this year for university, told South London Lines:

“the community here is so important if you’re a newbie.  Dividing Camberwell might cause the community to divide too, I think it would be a shame as Camberwell can be so friendly”. 

The Boundary Commission’s proposals are still just that and there is no certainty they will go ahead. Public consultation has ended and the Commission is in the process of analysing  the feedback it received. Parliament will receive the Commission’s  proposal by July 1, 2023 and make it public in the summer.