Leicester South (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Leicestershire South (UK Parliament constituency).

Leicester South
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Leicester South in Leicestershire
Location of Leicestershire within England
County	Leicestershire
Electorate	78,433 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Leicester
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Jonathan Ashworth (Labour and Co-operative)
Seats	One
Created from	Leicester South East and Leicester South West
1918–1950
Seats	One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Created from	Leicester
Replaced by	Leicester South East, Leicester South West and Leicester North East

Leicester South is a constituency ^{[n 1]} , recreated in 1974, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2011 by Jonathan Ashworth of the Labour Co-op Party (which denotes he is a member of the Labour Party and Co-operative Party, one of 38 such current Labour MPs, and requires members to contribute practically to a cooperative business). ^{[n 2]} A previous version of the seat existed between 1918 and 1950. Except for a 2004 by-election when it was won by the Liberal Democrats, Leicester South has been held by the Labour Party since 1987.

Boundaries

Map of present boundaries

1918–1950: The county borough of Leicester wards of Aylstone, Castle, Charnwood, De Montfort, Knighton, Martin's, and Wycliffe. ^[2]

The initial report of the Boundary Commission for England dated October 1947 and published in December 1947 recommended that Leicester retain three seats, including a revised Leicester South constituency consisting of the wards of Aylestone, De Montfort, Knighton, North Braunstone and Spinney Hill, giving an electorate of 67,574 as of the review date of 15 October 1946. ^[3] When the Representation of the People Bill enacting the commission's recommendations was debated in the House of Commons, the Government brought forward amendments at Committee stage on 24 March 1948 to allow 17 more constituencies in England. Home Secretary James Chuter Ede announced that the Boundary Commission would be invited to consider an additional constituency to each of nine cities, including Leicester. ^[4] The Government issued a White Paper proposing the new boundaries which created new borough constituencies of Leicester South East and Leicester South West in place of Leicester South. The Boundary Commission recommended no alteration to the proposals, ^[5] and the revised constituencies were therefore enacted.

In 1969, the Second Periodical Report of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England reduced Leicester from four seats to three, and recreated Leicester South as a borough constituency.

1974–1983: The county borough of Leicester wards of Aylestone, De Montfort, Knighton, Spinney Hill, The Castle, and Wycliffe wards of Leicester. ^{[6] [7]}

1983–2010: The City of Leicester wards of Aylestone, Castle, Crown Hills, East Knighton, Eyres Monsell, Saffron, Spinney Hill, Stoneygate, West Knighton and Wycliffe. ^{[8] [9]}

Minor boundary changes were made as a result of the Third Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in 1983. The new constituency took in about 3,000 voters who were previously in other Leicester seats. ^[10] No changes were made in the Fourth Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in 1995. ^[11]

2010–present: The City of Leicester wards of Aylestone, Castle, Eyres Monsell, Freemen, Knighton, Spinney Hills, and Stoneygate. ^[12]

In the Fifth Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in 2007, the constituency had only minor changes with 73 voters being added from Leicester West. ^[13]

Presently the seat is centred on the southern part of Leicester, and covers leafy suburbs such as Stoneygate and Knighton, inner-city areas with a strong Asian community, and deprived outer estates such as Saffron and Eyres Monsell. Another demographic feature is the presence of a large number of students studying at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University, which are both situated in the constituency.

Constituency profile

Leicester South is a varied constituency. It contains some of the most pleasant and affluent ^{[ citation needed ]} areas of Leicester such as Stoneygate, Knighton and Aylestone, as well as more deprived areas such as Saffron and Eyres Monsell. The centre of Leicester, also within the constituency, is more ethnically diverse than the southern part of the area^{[ citation needed ]}. The seat also contains HM Prison Leicester and both of Leicester's universities. ^[14]

History

The seat was held by Derek Spencer for the Conservative Party between the general elections of 1983 and 1987. Its electorate demonstrated increased Labour support thereafter in local and national elections. A 2004 by-election caused by the death of Labour MP Jim Marshall was fought under the shadow of the Iraq War, and was won by Parmjit Singh Gill who became at the time the only Liberal Democrat MP from an ethnic minority. He held the seat for a year before being defeated by Labour candidate Sir Peter Soulsby at the 2005 general election. Soulsby subsequently resigned in order to seek election as Mayor of Leicester in 2011, giving Leicester South its second by-election in the space of seven years; this time the seat was safely held by Labour. ^[14]

The expansion of the city's suburbs and commuter belt has altered the incomes and other demographic measures of the constituency. The seat saw close contests between Conservative and Labour candidates in the 1980s, with Jim Marshall losing the seat by 7 votes to the Conservatives in the 1983 general election, but regaining it in 1987.

Marshall died in 2004, and the resulting by-election was fiercely contested. As in a by-election in Birmingham Hodge Hill held on the same day, the Liberal Democrat candidates hoped—despite having additional competition for the anti-Iraq War vote from Respect—to build on their previous by-election gain at Brent East. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat Parmjit Singh Gill, with a majority of 1,654.

Sir Peter Soulsby won the seat at the 2005 election, and was re-elected in 2010. Sir Peter resigned to seek election for the new position of Mayor of Leicester in 2011, triggering a by-election on 5 May 2011, that coincided with the referendum on the voting system. ^[15] Jonathan Ashworth was elected as his successor, holding the seat for the Labour Party; he was re-elected in 2015 and 2017.

Despite being the only seat in Leicester that has been served by all three major parties in the past 35 years, Leicester South is also currently the safest of the three Labour seats in the city, with a majority in 2017 of 26,261 votes (52.0%), which, as in neighbouring Leicester East, is also the highest-ever majority for Labour in the seat.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

Election		Member [16]	Party
	1918	Thomas Blane	Conservative
	1922	William George Waterhouse Reynolds	Conservative
	1923	Ronald Wilberforce Allen	Liberal
	1924	Charles Waterhouse	Conservative
	1945	Herbert Bowden	Labour
	1950	constituency abolished

MPs since 1974

Election		Member [16]	Party
	Feb 1974	Tom Boardman	Conservative
	Oct 1974	Jim Marshall	Labour
	1983	Derek Spencer	Conservative
	1987	Jim Marshall	Labour
	2004 by-election	Parmjit Singh Gill	Liberal Democrat
	2005	Sir Peter Soulsby	Labour
	2011 by-election	Jonathan Ashworth	Labour and Co-operative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Leicester South ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jonathan Ashworth	33,606	67.0	-6.6
	Conservative	Natalie Neale	10,931	21.8	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Coghlan	2,754	5.5	+3.0
	Green	Mags Lewis	1,669	3.3	+1.0
	Brexit Party	James Potter	1,187	2.4	New
Majority			22,675	45.2	-6.8
Turnout			50,147	64.6	-2.4
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	-3.35

General election 2017: Leicester South ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jonathan Ashworth	37,157	73.6	+13.8
	Conservative	Meera Sonecha	10,896	21.6	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Harrish Bishnauthsing	1,287	2.5	-2.1
	Green	Mags Lewis	1,177	2.3	-3.2
Majority			26,261	52.0	+13.1
Turnout			50,517	67.0	+4.5
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+6.56

General election 2015: Leicester South ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jonathan Ashworth	27,493	59.8	+14.2
	Conservative	Leon Hadji-Nikolaou	9,628	20.9	-0.5
	UKIP	Peter Stone	3,832	8.3	+6.8
	Green	Gabriella Garcia	2,533	5.5	+3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Anita Prabhakar	2,127	4.6	-22.3
	TUSC	Andrew Walton	349	0.8	New
Majority			17,845	38.9	+20.2
Turnout			45,962	62.5	+1.4
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+7.4

By-election 2011: Leicester South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jonathan Ashworth	19,771	57.8	+12.2
	Liberal Democrats	Zuffar Haq	7,693	22.5	-4.4
	Conservative	Jane Hunt	5,169	15.1	-6.3
	UKIP	Abhijit Pandya	994	2.9	+1.4
	Monster Raving Loony	Howling Laud Hope	553	1.6	New
Majority			12,078	35.3	+16.6
Turnout			34,180
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 2010: Leicester South ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Soulsby	21,479	45.6	+6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Parmjit Singh Gill	12,671	26.9	-3.7
	Conservative	Ross Grant	10,066	21.4	+3.6
	BNP	Adrian Waudby	1,418	3.0	New
	Green	Dave Dixey	770	1.6	-1.6
	UKIP	Christopher Lucas	720	1.5	New
Majority			8,808	18.7	+9.9
Turnout			47,124	61.1	+3.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.0

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Leicester South ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Soulsby	16,688	39.3	-15.2
	Liberal Democrats	Parmjit Singh Gill	12,971	30.6	+13.4
	Conservative	Martin McElwee	7,549	17.8	-5.3
	Respect	Yvonne Ridley	2,720	6.4	N/A
	Green	Matthew Follett	1,379	3.3	+0.4
	Veritas	Ken Roseblade	573	1.4	New
	Socialist Labour	Dave Roberts	315	0.7	-0.9
	Independent	Paul Lord	216	0.5	N/A
Majority			3,717	8.8	-22.6
Turnout			42,411	58.7	+0.7
	Labour hold		Swing

By-election 2004: Leicester South ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Parmjit Singh Gill	10,274	34.9	+17.7
	Labour	Peter Soulsby	8,620	29.3	-25.2
	Conservative	Chris Heaton-Harris	5,796	19.7	-3.4
	Respect	Yvonne Ridley	3,724	12.7	New
	Socialist Labour	Dave Roberts	263	0.9	-0.7
	Monster Raving Loony	R. U. Seerius	225	0.8	New
	Independent	Pat Kennedy	204	0.7	New
	Independent	Paul Lord	186	0.6	New
	Independent	Mark Benson	55	0.2	New
	Independent	Jitendra Bardwaj	36	0.1	New
	Ind. Conservative	Alan Barrett	25	0.1	New
Majority			1,654	5.6	N/A
Turnout			29,438	41.6	-16.4
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+21.5

General election 2001: Leicester South ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	22,958	54.5	-3.5
	Conservative	Richard Hoile	9,715	23.1	-0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Parmjit Singh Gill	7,243	17.2	+3.4
	Green	Margaret Layton	1,217	2.9	New
	Socialist Labour	Arnie Gardner	676	1.6	New
	UKIP	Kirti Ladwa	330	0.8	New
Majority			13,243	31.4	-2.9
Turnout			42,139	58.0	-8.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.4

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Leicester South ^{[24] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	27,914	58.0	+5.7
	Conservative	Chris Heaton-Harris	11,421	23.7	-10.9
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Coles	6,654	13.8	+2.1
	Referendum	John Hancock	1,184	2.5	New
	Socialist Labour	Jim Dooher	634	1.3	New
	National Democrats	Kevin Sills	307	0.6	New
Majority			16,493	34.3	+16.6
Turnout			48,194	66.3	-8.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.3

General election 1992: Leicester South ^{[26] [25] [27]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	27,934	52.3	+8.1
	Conservative	Michael K. Dutt	18,494	34.6	−6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Crumbie	6,271	11.7	−2.1
	Green	John McWhirter	554	1.0	+0.3
	Natural Law	Patricia A. Saunders	154	0.3	New
Majority			9,440	17.7	+14.3
Turnout			53,407	75.1	−1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Leicester South ^{[28] [29]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	24,901	44.2	+3.9
	Conservative	Derek Spencer	23,024	40.8	+0.5
	Liberal	Robert Pritchard	7,773	13.8	−3.9
	Green	Brian Fewster	390	0.7	−0.2
	Independent Labour	Mian Mayat	192	0.3	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Robert Manners	96	0.2	New
Majority			1,877	3.4	N/A
Turnout			56,376	77.0	+4.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.7

General election 1983: Leicester South ^{[30] [31]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Spencer	21,424	40.3	-2.3
	Labour	Jim Marshall	21,417	40.3	-6.1
	Liberal	Rob Renold	9,410	17.7	+8.5
	Ecology	C. Davis	495	0.9	New
	BNP	C. Pickard	280	0.6	New
	Socialist Workers (Indian Workers' Association)	Dave Roberts	161	0.3	New
Majority			7	0.0	N/A
Turnout			53,187	72.3	-2.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+1.9

The Conservatives' 7 vote majority made Leicester South their most marginal constituency after the 1983 election and was the closest result in any constituency in the United Kingdom in the election. ^[32]

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Leicester South ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	24,548	46.4	+3.2
	Conservative	Ray Godsall	22,550	42.6	+1.7
	Liberal	John Pick	4,856	9.2	-2.2
	National Front	A. R. Cartwright	940	1.8	-2.3
Majority			1,998	3.8	+1.5
Turnout			52,894	74.8	+5.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Leicester South ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	21,588	43.2	+4.6
	Conservative	Tom Boardman	20,455	40.9	-0.9
	Liberal	H. Young	5,709	11.4	-5.3
	National Front	A. R. Cartwright	2,072	4.1	+1.1
	Marxist-Leninist (England)	G. H. Rousseau	136	0.3	New
Majority			1,133	2.3	N/A
Turnout			49,960	68.9	-7.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election February 1974: Leicester South ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Boardman	22,943	41.8
	Labour	Jim Marshall	21,177	38.6
	Liberal	Gordon Willey	9,148	16.7
	National Front	John Kynaston	1,639	3.0
Majority			1,766	3.2
Turnout			54,907	76.4
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Leicester South ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Herbert Bowden	19,541	45.0	+10.0
	Conservative	Charles Waterhouse	18,373	42.3	+7.3
	Liberal	Thomas Allan Pratt	5,509	12.7	New
Majority			1,168	2.7	N/A
Turnout			43,423	76.8	+6.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Leicester South ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Waterhouse	24,868	65.0	-11.8
	Labour	Leslie Maddock	13,395	35.0	+11.8
Majority			11,473	30.0	-23.6
Turnout			38,263	70.2	-8.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Leicester South ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Waterhouse	32,767	76.8	+34.5
	Labour	John Dugdale	9,892	23.2	-14.2
Majority			22,875	53.6	+48.7
Turnout			42,659	78.7	-1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

Purchase

General election 1929: Leicester South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Charles Waterhouse	18,343	42.3	−7.7
	Labour	Herbert Brough Usher	16,198	37.4	+7.7
	Liberal	Henry Purchase	8,811	20.3	0.0
Majority			2,145	4.9	−15.4
Turnout			43,352	80.4	−1.1
Registered electors			53,890
	Unionist hold		Swing	−7.7

General election 1924: Leicester South ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Charles Waterhouse	15,005	50.0	+7.9
	Labour	Herbert Brough Usher	8,912	29.7	New
	Liberal	Ronald Wilberforce Allen	6,079	20.3	−37.6
Majority			6,093	20.3	N/A
Turnout			29,996	81.5	+10.5
Registered electors			36,805
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+22.8

General election 1923: Leicester South ^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Wilberforce Allen	14,692	57.9	+8.1
	Unionist	William George Waterhouse Reynolds	10,674	42.1	−8.1
Majority			4,018	15.8	New
Turnout			25,366	71.0	−0.7
Registered electors			35,710
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+8.1

General election 1922: Leicester South ^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William George Waterhouse Reynolds	12,534	50.2	−27.0
	Liberal	Ronald Wilberforce Allen	12,425	49.8	New
Majority			109	0.4	−54.0
Turnout			24,959	71.7	+5.0
Registered electors			34,789
	Unionist hold		Swing	−27.0

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Leicester South ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Thomas Blane	18,498	77.2
	Labour	Frederick Fox Riley	5,463	22.8
Majority			13,035	54.4
Turnout			23,961	66.7
Registered electors			35,909
	Unionist win (new seat)
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Leicestershire and Rutland

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the People Act, 1918: with explanatory notes. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
3. "Initial Report", Boundary Commission for England, Cmd. 7260, p. 30-1.
4. "All-Night Debate on New Constituencies", The Times, 25 March 1948, p. 4.
5. "Report of Boundary Commissioners for England on Representations relating to certain proposed new Constituencies", Cmd. 7400, p. 5.
6. F. W. S. Craig, "Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972", Political Reference Publications, Chichester, 1972, p. 138.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Leicester South and Harborough) Order 1971. SI 1971/2111". Statutory Instruments 1971. Part III Section 2. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1972. pp. 6226–6227.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1983/417, retrieved 5 March 2023
9. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1995/1626, retrieved 5 March 2023
10. "The BBC/ITN Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies", Parliamentary Research Services, Chichester, 1983, p. 89.
11. "Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies", BBC/ITN/PA News/Sky (Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre), 1995, p. 109.
12. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2007/1681, retrieved 5 March 2023
13. "Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies (Fifth Periodical Review)", BBC/ITN/PA News/Sky (Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre), 2007, p. 108.
14. "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
15. "Vote 2011: Details of elections taking place across UK". BBC News. 13 April 2011.
16. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
17. "Leicester South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
18. "Parliamentary election". www.leicester.gov.uk.
19. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
20. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2001-2005 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Leicester South", Guardian Online
26. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
28. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
29. "Politico's Guide to the History of British Political Parties". Politico's. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
30. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
31. "UK General Election results: June 1983 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
32. The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books Ltd. 1983. p. 282. ISBN   0-7230-0255-X.
33. "UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net.
34. "UK General Election results: October 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net.
35. "UK General Election results: February 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net.
36. "UK General Election results: July 1945 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
37. The Constitutional Year Book (1937), p.210
38. The Constitutional Year Book (1933), p.198
39. The Constitutional Year Book (1930), p.234

Coordinates: 52°36′N1°08′W / 52.60°N 1.14°W / 52.60; -1.14