Luton South (UK Parliament constituency)

Luton South
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Luton South in Bedfordshire
Location of Bedfordshire within England
Local government in England	Bedfordshire
Electorate	66,055 (2018) [1]
Major settlements	Luton
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Rachel Hopkins (Labour Party)
Seats	One
Created from	Luton East, Luton West and Bedfordshire South [2]

Luton South is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in Bedfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency will be known as Luton South and South Bedfordshire from the 2024 general election. ^[3]

Constituency profile

The constituency covers the southern and eastern areas of Luton, inclusive of the town centre and Luton Airport. It also comprises the rural country house estate of Luton Hoo, in addition to the late medieval Someries Castle, and the villages/hamlets, extending south to the border of Hertfordshire and the town of Harpenden. The areas of Luton it spans include Stopsley, Wigmore, Butterfield Green, Hart Hill, Wardown Park, Bury Park, Dallow, Farley Hill, New Town, and Stockwood Park.

Outside of the actual Borough of Luton, it also encompasses the small village of East Hyde on the Hertfordshire border, as well as Slip End and Caddington, which are near the M1 motorway.

Demographically, the constituency is mixed, with large southern Asian communities in the Bury Park and Farley Hill areas. The largest community is White British, though Africans and Afro-Caribbeans, as well as newer immigrant arrivals from Eastern Europe, form substantial parts of the population.

The town centre features The Mall Luton (the town's main shopping centre), the University of Bedfordshire Luton campus, and various amenities such as The Galaxy entertainment complex, and Luton railway station on the Midland Main Line. Luton Town FC, currently of the Premier League, is within the constituency, as would be their intended new home stadium at Power Court (to the immediate east of The Mall Luton). The railway station serving London Luton Airport, Luton Airport Parkway, is also within the constituency. A new rail link was constructed between this station and the airport, which opened on 10 March 2023.

Vauxhall still makes vehicles in this area, although the operations have reduced greatly since a large part of the facility closed in the early 2000s.

History

This seat was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Luton East.

The constituency and its predecessors the Luton East and Luton constituencies were long considered a bellwether (they had elected an MP from the winning party in each election since the 1951 general election). Margaret Moran, who was the Labour MP from 1997, stood down at the 2010 general election after falsifying claims for her expenses. ^[4]

Bellwether status ended in the 2010 general election, when the constituency elected a Labour MP while the Conservatives were the largest party in the House of Commons. As a result, its new MP Gavin Shuker became one of just two Labour MPs elected in 2010 in the East of England, alongside Kelvin Hopkins, the MP for the Luton North seat. Shuker and Hopkins served as MPs for the two divisions of Luton at the two subsequent elections with increasing majorities, although the majority in South has not been larger than that of North since 2001.

In the 2019 general election, Shuker stood as an independent but was defeated by the Labour Party candidate, Rachel Hopkins - the daughter of Kelvin, who did not stand in Luton North after losing the Labour whip in 2017.

Boundaries and boundary changes

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1983–1997

• The Borough of Luton wards of Biscot, Crawley, Dallow, Farley, High Town, Putteridge, Saints, South, and Stopsley; and
• The District of South Bedfordshire wards of Caddington and Slip End. ^[5]

This was a new constituency incorporating the abolished constituency of Luton East. It also included the southernmost parts of the abolished constituency of Luton West and a small part from the south-east of the abolished constituency of South Bedfordshire.

1997–2010

• The Borough of Luton wards of Biscot, Crawley, Dallow, Farley, High Town, Putteridge, South, and Stopsley; and
• The District of South Bedfordshire wards of Caddington and Slip End. ^[6]

The Saints ward was transferred to Luton North.

2010–2024

• The Borough of Luton wards of Biscot, Crawley, Dallow, Farley, High Town, Round Green, South, Stopsley, and Wigmore; and
• The District of South Bedfordshire ward of Caddington, Hyde and Slip End. ^[7]

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

NB: Following the conversion to unitary councils in Bedfordshire in 2009, the wards of the district of South Bedfordshire formed the majority of the Caddington ward of the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority, the former wards having been abolished with effect from May 2011.

Current (Luton South and South Bedfordshire)

Map of boundaries from 2024

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the renamed constituency was defined as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of Caddington; Eaton Bray.

• The Borough of Luton wards of: Biscot; Crawley; Dallow; Farley; High Town; Round Green; South; Wigmore. ^[8]

The Luton Borough ward of Stopsley was transferred to Luton North, partly offset by the addition of Eaton Bray and the remainder of the Caddington ward from the abolished constituency of South West Bedfordshire (renamed Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard).

Following local government boundary reviews in Central Bedfordshire ^{[9] [10]} and Luton ^{[11] [12]} which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency will now comprise the following from the 2024 general election:

• The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of Caddington; Eaton Bray.

• The Borough of Luton wards of: Biscot; Beech Hill (majority); Central; Dallow; Farley; High Town; Round Green; South; Stopsley (part); Vauxhall; Wigmore; and very small parts of Barnfield, Challney and Saints wards. ^[13]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [14]	Party
	1983	Graham Bright	Conservative
	1997	Margaret Moran	Labour
	2010	Gavin Shuker	Labour Co-op
	2019		Change UK
			Independent
			The Independents
	2019	Rachel Hopkins	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Luton South and South Bedfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Edward Carpenter [15]
	Reform UK	Norman Maclean [16]
	Conservative	Mark Versallion [17]

Elections in the 2010s

Incumbent MP Gavin Shuker (formerly Labour) unsuccessfully sought reelection as an Independent candidate. On 2 November 2019, the Liberal Democrats decided not to stand a candidate and endorsed Shuker. ^[18]

General election 2019: Luton South ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rachel Hopkins	21,787	51.8	10.6
	Conservative	Parvez Akhtar	13,031	31.0	1.3
	Independent	Gavin Shuker	3,893	9.2	N/A
	Brexit Party	Garry Warren	1,601	3.8	New
	Green	Ben Foley	995	2.4	1.4
	Independent	Mohammed Ashraf	489	1.2	New
	Best4Luton	John French	268	0.6	New
Majority			8,756	20.8	9.3
Turnout			42,064	60.7	8.1
	Labour hold		Swing	4.7

General election 2017: Luton South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Gavin Shuker	28,804	62.4	+18.2
	Conservative	Dean Russell	14,879	32.3	+1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Strange	1,056	2.3	-5.2
	UKIP	Ujjawal Ub	795	1.7	-10.4
	Green	Marc Scheimann	439	1.0	-2.0
	Independent	Abid Ali	160	0.3	New
Majority			13,925	30.1	+16.6
Turnout			46,233	68.8	+6.0
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+8.3

General election 2015: Luton South ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Gavin Shuker	18,660	44.2	+9.3
	Conservative	Katie Redmond	12,949	30.7	+1.3
	UKIP	Muhammad Rehman	5,129	12.1	+9.8
	Liberal Democrats	Ashuk Ahmed	3,183	7.5	−15.2
	Green	Simon Hall	1,237	2.9	+2.0
	Independent	Attiq Malik	900	2.1	New
	Liberty GB	Paul Weston	158	0.4	New
Majority			5,711	13.5	+8.0
Turnout			42,216	62.8	−2.0
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 2010: Luton South ^{[21] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Gavin Shuker	14,725	34.9	−7.9
	Conservative	Nigel Huddleston	12,396	29.4	+1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Qurban Hussain	9,567	22.7	+0.1
	Independent	Esther Rantzen	1,872	4.4	New
	BNP	Tony Blakey	1,299	3.1	New
	UKIP	Charles Lawman	975	2.3	−0.1
	Independent	Stephen Rhodes	463	1.1	New
	Green	Marc Scheimann	366	0.9	−1.2
	Independent	Joe Hall	264	0.6	New
	Independent	Faruk Choudhury	130	0.3	New
	Independent	Stephen Lathwell	84	0.2	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Frank Sweeney	75	0.2	−0.1
Majority			2,329	5.5	-9.0
Turnout			42,216	64.8	+11.0
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	−4.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Luton South ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Moran	16,610	42.7	−12.5
	Conservative	Richard Stay	10,960	28.2	−1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Qurban Hussain	8,778	22.6	+11.7
	UKIP	Charles Lawman	957	2.5	+1.0
	Green	Marc Scheimann	790	2.0	0.0
	Respect	Mohammed Ilyas	725	1.9	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Arthur Lynn	98	0.3	0.0
Majority			5,650	14.5	-11.3
Turnout			38,918	54.1	−1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.6

General election 2001: Luton South ^{[24] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Moran	21,719	55.2	+0.4
	Conservative	Gordon Henderson	11,586	29.4	−2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Rabi Martins	4,292	10.9	+1.3
	Green	Marc Scheimann	798	2.0	+1.3
	UKIP	Charles Lawman	578	1.5	+0.7
	Socialist Alliance	Joseph Hearne	271	0.7	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Robert Bolton	107	0.3	New
Majority			10,133	25.8	+2.4
Turnout			39,351	55.1	−15.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Luton South ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Moran	26,428	54.8	+11.6
	Conservative	Graham Bright	15,109	31.4	−12.9
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Fitchett	4,610	9.6	−1.6
	Referendum	Clive Jacobs	1,205	2.5	New
	UKIP	Charlie Lawman	390	0.8	New
	Green	Marc Scheimann	356	0.7	−0.3
	Natural Law	Claire Perrin	86	0.2	−0.1
Majority			11,319	23.4	N/A
Turnout			48,184	70.4	-8.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1992: Luton South ^{[27] [28]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Bright	25,900	44.8	−1.4
	Labour	Bill McKenzie	25,101	43.5	+6.8
	Liberal Democrats	David W. Rogers	6,020	10.4	−6.7
	Green	Lyn Bliss	550	1.0	New
	Natural Law	David Cooke	191	0.3	New
Majority			799	1.3	−8.2
Turnout			57,762	79.1	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.1

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Luton South ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Bright	24,762	46.2	+4.3
	Labour	Bill McKenzie	19,647	36.7	+3.4
	Liberal	Peter Chapman	9,146	17.1	−7.8
Majority			5,115	9.5	+0.9
Turnout			53,555	75.2	−0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Luton South ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Bright	22,531	41.9
	Labour	Ivor Clemitson	17,910	33.3
	Liberal	David Franks	13,395	24.9
Majority			4,621	8.6
Turnout			53,836	75.8
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Bedfordshire
• Politics in Luton

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. "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
2. "'Luton South', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
3. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – Eastern | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
4. Williams, Rob (14 December 2012). "Former Labour MP Margaret Moran escapes jail and criminal conviction despite fiddling £53,000 of expenses from taxpayer". The Independent. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
9. LGBCE. "Central Bedfordshire | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
10. "The Central Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".
11. LGBCE. "Luton | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
12. "The Luton (Electoral Changes) Order 2022".
13. "New Seat Details - Luton South and South Bedfordshire". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
14. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)
15. "Our Candidates" . Retrieved 2 June 2024.
16. "Find My PPC (Eastern England)" (PDF). Reform UK . Retrieved 15 December 2023.
17. Mark Versallion [@MarkVersallion] (30 May 2024). "Honoured to have been selected as Conservative parliamentary candidate for Luton South & South Bedfordshire…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
18. Peers, Steve (2 November 2019). "LibDems also standing down in Luton South, where Gavin Shuker is running as an independent. They were 3rd, with 2.3% of the vote, in 2017.…".
19. "Statement of persons nominated and notice of poll" (PDF). Luton Borough Council. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
20. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
22. Statement of Persons Nominated Archived 4 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine Luton Borough Council
23. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. Vote 2001: Luton South, BBC News
26. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
29. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
30. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.