South Leicestershire (UK Parliament constituency)

South Leicestershire
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of South Leicestershire in Leicestershire.

Outline map

Location of Leicestershire within England.
County Leicestershire
Electorate 77,412 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements Lutterworth, Whetstone, Braunstone Town, Narborough and Blaby
Current constituency
Created 2010
Member of parliament Alberto Costa (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Blaby, Harborough
1832–1885
Number of members Two
Replaced by Bosworth, Harborough
Created from Leicestershire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency East Midlands

South Leicestershire is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Alberto Costa, a member of the Conservative Party.[n 2]

The current constituency has similar boundaries to the previous Blaby constituency. Historically the "Southern Division of Leicestershire", was a county constituency, less formally known as South Leicestershire. From 1832 to 1885 it elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election.

Boundaries

Boundaries from the 2010 general election

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Leicestershire, the Boundary Commission for England recommended replacing the Blaby constituency with a new South Leicestershire seat, with some boundary changes. This change occurred for the 2010 general election.

The electoral wards used to create the new constituency are;

Constituency profile

The current South Leicestershire is a slice of Leicestershire to the south west of Leicester, with most of the population in commuter towns and villages clustered close to Leicester itself, both in the suburb of Braunstone Town, including the large modern development of Thorpe Astley, and commuter villages like Whetstone, Blaby and Narborough. Further south it is more rural, with the largest settlement the old market town of Lutterworth. Nearby is the former site of RAF Bitteswell, since redeveloped as Magna Park, one of the largest distribution centres in Europe.[3]

The constituency name of South Leicestershire was new for 2010, but the seat was not massively changed from the old seat of Blaby. Both this as its predecessor are safe Tory seats held by the party since Blaby's creation in 1974. The best known MP to represent the area is the former Chancellor Nigel Lawson.

History

1832-1885

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election, when the two-seat Leicestershire constituency was replaced by the Northern and Southern divisions, each of which elected two MPs.

Both divisions of the county were abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when they were replaced by four new single-seat constituencies: Bosworth, Harborough, Loughborough and Melton.

Prominent members in this period included Thomas Paget (Jnr) (1807–1892) who followed the footsteps of his father in this role (his father having represented Leicestershire) and as partner in Leicester Bank, and Albert Pell, a member of a group of MPs, which included Henry Chaplin, Sir Massey Lopes and Clare Sewell Read, who supported farming interests. He was also a member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election1st Member[4]1st Party2nd Member[4]2nd Party
1832 Edward Dawson Liberal Sir Henry Halford, Bt Tory
1834 Conservative
1835 Thomas Frewen Turner Conservative
1836 by-election Charles William Packe Conservative
1857 Viscount Curzon Conservative
1867 by-election Thomas Paget Liberal Party
1868 Albert Pell Conservative Party
1870 by-election William Unwin Heygate Conservative
1880 Thomas Paget Liberal Party
1885 Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished

MPs since 2010

ElectionMember[4]Party
2010 Andrew Robathan Conservative
2015 Alberto Costa Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: South Leicestershire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Alberto Costa 28,700 53.2 +3.7
Labour Amanda Hack 11,876 22.0 +1.1
UKIP Barry Mahoney[3] 9,363 17.4 +13.7
Liberal Democrat Geoffrey Welsh 3,987 7.4 -13.6
Majority 16,824 31.2
Turnout 53,926
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 2010: South Leicestershire[6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Andrew Robathan* 27,000 49.5 +4.1
Liberal Democrat Aladdin Ayesh 11,476 21.0 +2.0
Labour Sally Gimson 11,392 20.9 -8.8
BNP Peter Preston 2,721 5.0 +1.5
UKIP Dr John Williams 1,988 3.6 +1.2
Majority 15,524 28.4
Turnout 54,577 71.2 +6.0
Conservative hold Swing
* Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

See also

Notes and references

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. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
  3. 1 2 http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/leicestershiresouth/
  4. 1 2 3 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
  5. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Election 2010: South Leicestershire, BBC News

Coordinates: 52°30′N 1°12′W / 52.50°N 1.20°W / 52.50; -1.20

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