Norwich South (UK Parliament constituency)

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Norwich South
Borough constituency

Norwich South shown within Norfolk, and Norfolk shown within England
Created: 1950
MP: Charles Clarke
Party: Labour
Type: House of Commons
County: Norfolk
EP constituency: East of England

Norwich South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the 2-seat Norwich constituency was divided into Norwich North and Norwich South.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The constituency is one of two covering the city of Norwich. It covers the central area of the city. The wards of Bowthorpe, Eaton, Lakenham, Nelson, Mancroft, Thorpe Hamlet, University and Wensum are within its boundaries.

[edit] Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in the Norwich environ, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Norwich South constituency. The previous oddity of having a Crome polling disrict included and a Thorpe Hamlet polling district excluded has been rationalised by having all of Crome in Norwich North and all of Thorpe Hamlet in Norwich South. Cringleford will cease to be part of the constituency but New Costessey will be included. All the Norwich City Council wards referred to above will remain part of Norwich South.

[edit] History

A seat with a high profile Labour MP and minister (Charles Clarke) until he was shamed in a Home Office Immigration/Prisons scandal and resigned from the position of Home Secretary because of the rule of Collective Responsibility, although he remains the MP for the constituency.

Norwich South was by far Labour's safest seat in Norfolk throughout the Thatcher years and up until 2005. Although it was lost to the Conservatives in 1983, it was regained by Labour in 1987 and was the only Labour seat in Norfolk until 1997. In 2005 a shift in the vote to the Liberal Democrats saw the Labour majority cut by over 5000 leaving Norwich North as the safest Labour seat in the county. The Liberal Democrats have earmarked Norwich South as a key target for the next general election and selected Simon Wright as their candidate.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1950 Henry Strauss Conservative
1955 Geoffrey Rippon Conservative
1964 Christopher Norwood Labour
1970 Thomas Stuttaford Conservative
1974 John Garrett Labour
1983 John Powley Conservative
1987 John Garrett Labour
1997 Charles Clarke Labour

[edit] Election results

Next United Kingdom general election: Norwich South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Clarke
Liberal Democrats Simon Wright
General Election 2005: Norwich South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Clarke 15,904 37.7 −7.8
Liberal Democrats Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne 12,251 29.0 +6.4
Conservative Antony Little 9,567 22.7 −2.1
Green Adrian Ramsay 3,101 7.4 +4.0
UK Independence Vandra Ahlstrom 597 1.4 +0.3
English Democrats Christine Constable 466 1.1 N/A
Legalise Cannabis Don Barnard 219 0.5 −1.0
Workers' Revolutionary Roger Blackwell 85 0.2 N/A
Majority 3,653 8.7
Turnout 42,190 65.0 +5.2
Labour hold Swing −7.1
General Election 2001: Norwich South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Clarke 19,367 45.5 -6.2
Conservative Andrew French 10,551 24.8 +1.1
Liberal Democrats Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne 9,640 22.6 +4.0
Green Adrian Holmes 1,434 3.4 +1.9
Others N/A 1,600 3.7 -0.8
Majority 8,816 20.7
Turnout 42,592 59.8 -12.8
Labour hold Swing

[edit] See also


Constituencies in the East of England
Conservative

Billericay | Braintree | Brentwood and Ongar | Broxbourne | Bury St Edmunds | Castle Point | Central Suffolk and North Ipswich | Epping Forest | Harwich | Hemel Hempstead | Hertford and Stortford | Hertsmere | Hitchin and Harpenden | Huntingdon | Maldon and East Chelmsford | Mid Bedfordshire | Mid Norfolk | North Essex | North East Bedfordshire | North East Cambridgeshire | North East Hertfordshire | North West Cambridgeshire | North West Norfolk | Peterborough | Rayleigh | Rochford and Southend East | Saffron Walden | Southend West | South Cambridgeshire | South East Cambridgeshire | South Norfolk | South Suffolk | South West Bedfordshire | South West Hertfordshire | South West Norfolk | St Albans | Suffolk Coastal | Welwyn Hatfield | West Chelmsford | West Suffolk

Labour

Basildon | Bedford | Great Yarmouth | Harlow | Ipswich | Luton North | Luton South | Norwich North | Norwich South | Stevenage | Thurrock | Watford | Waveney

Liberal Democrat

Cambridge | Colchester | North Norfolk

East of England European constituency: Conservative (3) | UKIP (2) | Labour (1) | Liberal Democrats (1)