Up until the last election, the seat was held by long serving Tory MP, Peter Bottomley, who left in 1997 to stand in Worthing West. Lucky for him that he did, because Labourís Clive Efford, a former black cab driver, won with a very healthy majority of over 10,000 in 1997.
Situated in the south east of London, Eltham has always been a marginal, and recent boundary changes have done little to change this. Conservative support has tended to be strongest in the south (on the Bromley borders), where there are more owner-occupied houses and the area is more middle-class. Labour has fared well in the northern areas of the constituency towards Greenwich, and in areas such as Shooters Hill and Well Hall.
The constituency has been home to some famous names, many of which seem to root the seat in the annals of Labour Party folklore. Herbert Morrison and Denis Healey lived here. It was also home to Edith Nesbitt, author of the Railway Children, and her husband, Hubert Bland, who was a founding member of the Fabian society.