London · England · 79,894Boundary · 2023

Dulwich & West Norwood

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Dispatch
Apr 2026

A safe Lab seat, won with 60% of the vote in 2024. Covers Lambeth and Southwark. Population 104,808, notably young (median age 35 vs 41 nationally), highly educated (56% degree-holders).

Chairing the Education Committee has put Helen Hayes at the centre of one of parliament's most emotionally charged recent inquiries. In early 2026, she led the committee's push for a formal government apology over historical forced adoptions, publicly describing survivor testimony as "one of the most moving" days in her parliamentary career. Her most visible personal deviation from her party came in June 2025, when she voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Third Reading and backed restrictive amendments -- placing her among the most consistently anti-assisted-dying MPs in the Labour group, scoring 92% on assisted-dying restrictions against a party average of 40%. Locally, she has faced criticism from constituents and the Brixton Buzz over her position on Palestine, with campaigners pointing to her absence from ceasefire votes and arms embargo motions as inconsistent with her public statements.

Beyond those flashpoints, Hayes is a reliable government loyalist -- 97% party-line alignment -- with an 84% participation rate, broadly in line with the Commons average. She speaks most frequently on education, social care, and local government, consistent with her committee role and a decade representing an inner-London constituency. She scores notably higher than Labour peers on consumer protection and pension protection, and lower on disability rights and digital governance.

393
Commons votes
This parliament
£36k
Median income
HMRC · 2024
79.9k
Electorate
2024 GE

Lab held for 5 consecutive elections.

Current Member of Parliament

Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes

Labour Party

Helen Hayes is the Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, and has been an MP continually since 7 May 2015.

Notable Votes

Vote on whether to add a provision to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ensuring that if an independent doctor dies or becomes too ill to complete their assessment before signing off on an assisted dying request, a further referral can be made to another doctor — mirroring an existing provision in the Bill for the attending doctor.

MP voted YesAgainst party majority

Vote on an amendment to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that would prevent someone from qualifying as 'terminally ill' under the Bill solely because they have voluntarily stopped eating and drinking. This matters because without the amendment, a person could potentially use voluntary starvation to meet the terminal illness threshold and access an assisted death.

MP voted NoAgainst party majority

MPs voted on the Third Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — the final Commons vote on whether to pass the assisted dying legislation in its amended form. Passing Third Reading sends the Bill to the House of Lords.

MP voted NoAgainst party majority

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Voting at a Glance

A safe Lab seat, won with 60% of the vote in 2024. Covers Lambeth and Southwark. Population 104,808, notably young (median age 35 vs 41 nationally), highly educated (56% degree-holders).

2024 General Election

§ 06This week in Westminster.Live · today’s sittingOrder Paper · refreshed daily

Hayes’s scheduled Commons activity this week — whipped divisions, oral questions, debates — drawn from the House of Commons Order Paper.

§ 07The record, at a glance.405 divisions voted

Two readings of the same data. Issue volume shows where Hayes has cast the most ballots — a proxy for engagement, not direction. Notable votes are the moments where the whip was free or where they broke ranks.

Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted · cumulative this Parliament
Taxation
89
Economy
86
Employment
46
Crime & Policing
41
Education
30
Constitution and Democracy
25
Notable votes
Free votes and rebellions — moments the MP’s own judgment matters more than the whip
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 1220 Jun 2025 · free vote
Aye
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 7720 Jun 2025 · free vote
No
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Third Reading20 Jun 2025 · free vote
No
§ 08The local picture.10 wards

Constituencies are not uniform. Below — the local council make-up, key facts worth knowing, and the neighbouring seats on either side.

WardCouncillorVotesParty
Brixton NorthJames Bryan1,813Labour P
Brixton NorthJohn-Paul Ennis1,709Labour P
Brixton NorthNanda Manley-Browne1,855Labour P
Brixton Rush CommonAdrian Garden1,779Labour P
Brixton Rush CommonBen Kind1,902Labour P
Brixton Rush CommonMarcia Cameron2,070Labour P
Brixton WindrushDonatus Anyanwu1,114Labour P
Brixton WindrushScarlett O'Hara1,143Labour P
Champion HillEsme Hicks1,610Labour P
Champion HillSarah King1,629Labour P
Dulwich VillageMargy Newens2,111Labour P
Dulwich VillageRichard Leeming1,922Labour P
Population (2021 Census)
104,808
Electorate 79,894 · 2024 register
Median income
£35,900
HMRC SPI 2024
Households renting privately
24.7%
England average 20.0%
Schools
37
19 primary · 6 secondary
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