Southampton Test (UK Parliament constituency)

Southampton Test
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Southampton Test in Hampshire
Location of Hampshire within England
County	Hampshire
Electorate	71,263 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Southampton
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Alan Whitehead (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Southampton

Southampton Test is a constituency ^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Alan Whitehead, a member of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the previous two-member Southampton constituency was abolished. The boundaries of the seat have changed at most of the Boundary Commissions' periodic reviews.

Horace King, after being the member in the first half of the 1950s, would later become the first Speaker of the House of Commons from the Labour Party.

Southampton Test proved to be a bellwether (mirroring the national result) from 1966 until 2010, with the exception of the minority government of Harold Wilson from February to October 1974 (see third Wilson ministry).

Whitehead for Labour performed better here than John Denham in Southampton Itchen, the other Southampton seat, which the party also held in the 2010 general election. The area from 2010 to 2015 was one of four Labour seats in South East England and since 2017 is among two of eighteen in Hampshire won by Labour candidates. ^[2] Whitehead was elected in 2017 with a majority of over 10,000 votes, and in 2019 over 6,000, making Southampton Test a relatively comfortable Labour seat. Whitehead has announced that he will not be standing at the next general election. ^[3]

Constituency profile

The seat covers the western part of the City of Southampton and is named after the River Test, one of the city's two rivers. It covers some of the leafy northern suburbs (though the northernmost Bassett Ward ceased to form part of the constituency in 1997) and the western port areas as well as the social housing estates of the western fringes. It is traditionally the marginally more affluent of the two constituencies in the city, before 2010 having a higher number of Tory representatives than its neighbour Southampton Itchen — named after the other major river. The area includes the University of Southampton, though its halls of residence fall almost entirely within Romsey and Southampton North or Southampton Itchen. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 close to but slightly below than the national average of 3.8%, at 3.4% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian , above the average for the South East seats of 2.5% but below, for example, five seats in East Kent. ^[4]

The seat is home to Southampton FC's football ground at St Mary's.

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

1950–1955: The County Borough of Southampton wards of All Saints, Banister, Freemantle, Millbrook, St Nicholas, Shirley, and Town; and the (civil) Parish of Millbrook (which was then in the Romsey and Stockbridge Rural District). ^[5]

1955–1983: The County Borough of Southampton wards of Banister, Bargate, Bassett, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

1983–1997: The City of Southampton wards of Bassett, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

1997–2010: The City of Southampton wards of Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, St Luke's, and Shirley. ^[6]

2010–present: The City of Southampton wards of Bevois, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

The constituency is bounded to the east by Southampton Itchen, to the north by Romsey and Southampton North and to the west by New Forest East.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be unchanged. ^[7]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [8]	Party
	1950	Horace King	Labour
	1955	John Howard	Conservative
	1964	John Fletcher-Cooke	Conservative
	1966	Bob Mitchell	Labour
	1970	James Hill	Conservative
	October 1974	Bryan Gould	Labour
	1979	James Hill	Conservative
	1997	Alan Whitehead	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Southampton Test

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	John Edwards [9]
	Labour	Satvir Kaur [10]
Majority
Turnout
Registered electors
			Swing

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Southampton Test ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	22,256	49.5	-9.2
	Conservative	Steven Galton	16,043	35.7	+1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Richards	3,449	7.7	+3.7
	Brexit Party	Philip Crook	1,591	3.5	New
	Green	Katherine Barbour	1,433	3.2	New
	Independent	Kev Barry	222	0.5	New
Majority			6,213	13.8	-10.8
Turnout			44,994	64.2	-2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.4

General election 2017: Southampton Test

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	27,509	58.7	+17.4
	Conservative	Paul Holmes	16,006	34.1	+1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas Gravatt	1,892	4.0	-0.9
	Southampton Independents	Andrew Pope	816	1.7	New
	Independent	Keith Morrell	680	1.4	New
Majority			11,508	24.6	+15.8
Turnout			46,908	66.8	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.9

General election 2015: Southampton Test ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	18,017	41.3	+2.8
	Conservative	Jeremy Moulton	14,207	32.5	-0.5
	UKIP	Pearline Hingston	5,566	12.8	+8.9
	Green	Angela Mawle	2,568	5.9	+3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Ford	2,121	4.9	-17.4
	Independent	Chris Davis	770	1.8	New
	TUSC	Nick Chaffey	403	0.9	New
Majority			3,810	8.8	+3.3
Turnout			43,652	62.1	+0.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

General election 2010: Southampton Test ^{[14] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	17,001	38.5	-5.7
	Conservative	Jeremy Moulton	14,588	33.0	+8.0
	Liberal Democrats	Dave Callaghan	9,865	22.3	-1.8
	UKIP	Pearline Hingston	1,726	3.9	+0.9
	Green	Chris Bluemel	881	2.0	-1.6
Majority			2,413	5.5	-11.3
Turnout			44,187	61.4	+5.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Southampton Test ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	17,845	42.7	−9.8
	Conservative	Stephen MacLoughlin	10,827	25.9	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Sollitt	10,368	24.8	+6.7
	Green	John Spottiswoode	1,482	3.5	New
	UKIP	Peter Day	1,261	3.0	+1.1
Majority			7,018	16.8	-10.2
Turnout			41,783	53.7	−2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.1

General election 2001: Southampton Test ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	21,824	52.5	-1.6
	Conservative	Richard Gueterbock	10,617	25.5	-2.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Shaw	7,522	18.1	+4.4
	UKIP	Garry Rankin-Moore	792	1.9	+1.5
	Socialist Alliance	Mark Abel	442	1.1	New
	Socialist Labour	Paramjit Bahia	378	0.9	New
Majority			11,207	27.0	+1.0
Turnout			41,575	56.3	-15.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Southampton Test ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	28,396	54.1	+11.7
	Conservative	James Hill	14,712	28.1	−15.3
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Dowden	7,171	13.7	+0.6
	Referendum	Peter Day	1,397	2.7	New
	Legalise Cannabis	Howard Marks	388	0.7	New
	UKIP	Anthony McCabe	219	0.4	New
	Independent	Paul Taylor	81	0.2	New
	Natural Law	John Sinel	77	0.1	New
Majority			13,684	26.0	N/A
Turnout			52,441	71.9	-5.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1992: Southampton Test ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Hill	24,504	43.4	−2.2
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	23,919	42.4	+9.1
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Maddock	7,391	13.1	−8.1
	Green	Jonathan M. Michaelis	535	0.9	New
	Natural Law	David Plummer	101	0.2	New
Majority			585	1.0	−11.3
Turnout			56,450	77.4	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.6

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Southampton Test ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Hill	25,722	45.6	+0.4
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	18,768	33.3	+5.2
	Liberal	Vivienne Rayner	11,950	21.2	-5.5
Majority			6,954	12.3	-4.8
Turnout			56,440	76.4	+3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.4

General election 1983: Southampton Test ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Hill	24,657	45.2
	Labour	Alan Whitehead	15,311	28.1
	SDP	Adrian Vinson	14,592	26.7
Majority			9,346	17.1
Turnout			54,560	73.1	-3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Southampton Test

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Hill	27,198	46.36
	Labour	Bryan Gould	25,075	42.74
	Liberal	D. Hughes	6,393	10.90
Majority			2,123	3.62	N/A
Turnout			58,666	76.30
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election October 1974: Southampton Test

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bryan Gould	22,780	42.17
	Conservative	James Hill	22,250	41.19
	Liberal	J.R. Wallis	8,994	16.65
Majority			530	0.98	N/A
Turnout			54,024	73.11
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election February 1974: Southampton Test

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Hill	23,742	40.88
	Labour	Bryan Gould	22,339	38.46
	Liberal	J.R. Wallis	12,000	20.66
Majority			1,403	2.42
Turnout			58,081	79.21
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Southampton Test ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Hill	24,660	47.54
	Labour	Bob Mitchell	22,858	44.07
	Liberal	Jack Wallis	4,349	8.38
Majority			1,802	3.47	N/A
Turnout			51,867	73.33
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Southampton Test ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Mitchell	24,628	48.37
	Conservative	John Fletcher-Cooke	22,188	43.58
	Liberal	Graham Cleverley	4,102	8.06	New
Majority			2,440	4.79	N/A
Turnout			51,918	78.13
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1964: Southampton Test ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Fletcher-Cooke	25,700	50.34
	Labour	Bob Mitchell	25,352	49.66
Majority			348	0.68
Turnout			51,052	76.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Southampton Test ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Howard	30,176	56.31
	Labour	Shirley Williams	23,410	43.69
Majority			6,766	12.62
Turnout			53,586	79.88
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Southampton Test ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Howard	26,707	51.21
	Labour	Anthony Crosland	22,865	43.84
	Liberal	Stanley Little	2,583	4.95	New
Majority			3,842	7.37
Turnout			52,155	78.72
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1951: Southampton Test ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Horace King	26,430	50.44
	National Liberal	John Paul	25,965	49.56
Majority			465	0.88
Turnout			52,395	83.52
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Southampton Test ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Horace King	25,052	47.08
	National Liberal	P. Brembridge	23,663	45.15
	Liberal	Stephen Fry	3,697	7.05
Majority			1,389	1.93
Turnout			52,412	84.39
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire

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. "South East Results after 84 of 84". BBC News.
3. "Southampton Test Labour MP Alan Whitehead to step down". BBC News. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
4. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
5. Representation of the People Act 1948, Sch. 1.
6. The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, SI 1995 No 1626
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
9. "Reform UK reveal candidates in city for next general election". 26 September 2023.
10. "Council leader to fight Southampton Test seat at next general election". 10 July 2022.
11. "Southampton Test Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. "BBC NEWS – Election 2015 – Southampton Test". BBC News.
14. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Southampton Test". BBC News.
16. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
21. This was an unusual election, where an incumbent was challenged by two people who later became MPs.
22. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1970.
25. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1966.
26. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1964.
27. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1959.
28. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
29. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
30. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.

50°56′N1°25′W / 50.933°N 1.417°W / 50.933; -1.417