South Swindon (UK Parliament constituency)

South Swindon
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of South Swindon in Wiltshire.

Location of Wiltshire within England.
County Wiltshire
Electorate 73,449 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament Robert Buckland (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Swindon and Devizes
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency South West England

South Swindon is a county 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.

Contents

Boundaries

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the seats of Swindon and Devizes. This seat with a population of around 93,000 incorporates the southern half of the town as well as the rural areas and villages to the south and east of Swindon. It used slightly amended boundaries for the 2010 election, which saw it lose South Marston to North Swindon. The border now runs from Dorcan across to Bishopstone and then down to Russley Park before running west to Barbury Castle. From there it runs north to the Roughmoor area and loops back down to incorporate West Swindon, before following the railway line east through the town and back to Dorcan. In addition to Swindon it includes several other population centres such as Wroughton, Chiseldon, Wanborough and Liddington.

Constituency history

Swindon is a railway town historically and until the latter part of the 20th century the railway works were a major employer in the town. These days Swindon is the home of a number of major companies who provide employment for the residents. Some major employers located in South Swindon include Intel's European headquarters, Nationwide's headquarters and Zurich Financial Services' UK headquarters. Created in 1997, the South Swindon constituency was originally a fairly safe Labour seat. They originally had a lead of more than 5,000 which was extended in 2001 to more than 7,000 but then dropped dramatically to just 1,353 in 2005, making it a highly marginal seat. In 2010, the Conservatives gained South Swindon from Labour at the general election.

Members of Parliament

Election Member [2] Party
1997 Julia Drown Labour
2005 Anne Snelgrove Labour
2010 Robert Buckland Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: South Swindon[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Buckland 19,687 41.8% +4.9
Labour Anne Snelgrove 16,143 34.3% -6.2
Liberal Democrat Damon Hooton 8,305 17.6% +0.6
UKIP Robert Tingley 2,029 4.3% +2.1
Green Jenni Miles 619 1.3% -1.6
Christian Alistair Kirk 176 0.4% +0.4
Independent Karsten Evans 160 0.3% +0.3
Majority 3,544 7.5%
Turnout 47,119 64.9% +5.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing 5.51%

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: South Swindon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Anne Snelgrove 17,534 40.3 −11.0
Conservative Robert Buckland 16,181 37.2 +2.8
Liberal Democrat Sue Stebbing 7,322 16.8 +4.9
Green Bill Hughes 1,234 2.8 N/A
UKIP Stephen Halden 955 2.2 +0.6
Independent Alan Hayward 193 0.4 N/A
Independent John Williams 53 0.1 N/A
Majority 1,353 3.1
Turnout 43,472 60.2 −0.8
Labour hold Swing −6.9
General Election 2001: South Swindon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Julia Drown 22,260 51.3 +4.5
Conservative Simon Coombs 14,919 34.4 -1.4
Liberal Democrat Geoff Brewer 5,165 11.9 -2.5
UKIP Vicki Sharp 713 1.6 N/A
Rock 'n' Roll Loony Roly Gillard 327 0.8 N/A
Majority 7,341 16.9
Turnout 43,384 61.0 -11.8
Labour hold Swing

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
  3. ^ Taylor, Stephen P (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Returning Officer. Swindone Borough Council. http://www.swindon.gov.uk/candidates2010-southswindon.pdf. Retrieved 21 April 2010.