Eltham and Chislehurst.

Clive Efford made headlines in July 2025 when he broke with Labour to vote against the government's welfare reforms -- one of only a handful of Labour MPs to oppose the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill at Second Reading. He voted both for a blocking amendment and against the bill itself, placing him among those most visibly at odds with the government's proposed disability benefit changes. Before that, he spent much of late 2024 pressing the government on the infected blood compensation scheme, raising the issue at PMQs and securing a direct commitment from the Prime Minister for further meetings with victims.

Outside those moments, Efford is a broadly loyal party-line voter -- 99.5% alignment with Labour -- with a participation rate of 77%, roughly in line with the Commons average. His voting profile leans strongly toward workers' rights and progressive taxation, but he sits noticeably below his party's average on welfare reform (50% versus the party's 79%), confirming the July 2025 rebellion was not an isolated impulse. His 224 contributions across 151 debates concentrate on the economy and jobs, social care, health, and defence. He chairs the Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill and sits on the Panel of Chairs, giving him a formal role in scrutinising defence legislation.

Local coverage over the past 90 days has centred on housing, with a green belt development controversy drawing attention in the constituency -- though that coverage is attached to a Conservative opponent rather than Efford directly. He did attract criticism in mid-2025 for staying quiet on the proposed closure of Coldharbour Police Base, with local Conservatives calling his silence "simply not good enough." Data on his committee work is available through Parliament; local news coverage is thinner and more mixed than his national profile might suggest.