This is an inner city, riverfront constituency in south London. Nearly a third of the population here is from an ethnic minority - with the vast majority of them black Afro-Caribbeans. This is one of the highest proportions of black residents anywhere in Britain.
Deptford is the 14th most deprived constituency in Britain. There are severe housing problems and widespread poverty. The Silwood Estate which has some of the most pressing problems, has recently been awarded £24m of Single Regeneration Budget money. The current rate of unemployment here is high, and stands at 7.9% making it the 16th highest in the UK. Just under 40% of housing is council owned - a slightly higher proportion than is owner occupied.
The northernmost seat in the borough of Lewisham, this is the only one of the three in the borough that has been safe for Labour in recent elections. Current Labour MP Joan Ruddock is serving her third term and in 1997 she was returned with an increased majority of almost 19,000 and over 70% of the total vote.