Norwich South (UK Parliament constituency)

Norwich South
Norwich South
Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Norwich South in Norfolk
	Location of Norfolk within England
County	Norfolk
Electorate	73,569 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Clive Lewis (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Norwich

Norwich South is a constituency in Norfolk represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.^{[n 1]} It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, and was created for the 1950 general election.

The constituency is currently represented by Clive Lewis of the Labour Party.^[2]

Boundaries

1950-1974: The County Borough of Norwich wards of Ber Street, Conesford, Earlham, Eaton, Lakenham, Nelson, St Stephen, and Town Close.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Norwich wards of Bowthorpe, Earlham, Eaton, Lakenham, Mancroft, Nelson, St Stephen, and Town Close.

1983-1997: The City of Norwich wards of Bowthorpe, Eaton, Heigham, Henderson, Lakenham, Mancroft, Nelson, St Stephen, Thorpe Hamlet, Town Close, and University.

1997-2010: The City of Norwich wards of Bowthorpe, Eaton, Heigham, Henderson, Lakenham, Mancroft, Nelson, St Stephen, Thorpe Hamlet, Town Close, and University; the District of Broadland ward of Brundall; and the District of South Norfolk wards of Cringleford and Colney, and New Costessey.

2010–present: The City of Norwich wards of Bowthorpe, Eaton, Lakenham, Mancroft, Nelson, Thorpe Hamlet, Town Close, University, and Wensum, and the District of South Norfolk ward of New Costessey.

The constituency is one of two covering the city of Norwich, the other being Norwich North.

2010 Changes

Following their review of parliamentary constituencies in Norfolk that concluded in 2004, the Boundary Commission for England created a slightly modified Norwich South constituency. The changes took effect at the 2010 general election.

Changes were necessary in order to re-align the constituency boundaries with the new local government ward boundaries introduced in South Norfolk and Norwich in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Norfolk also received an additional, ninth constituency, by the Boundary Commission. The part of the Crome ward around Morse Road became part of Norwich North, while the area around Mousehold Street in Thorpe Hamlet moved into Norwich South. The villages of Cringleford and Colney were lost to South Norfolk constituency. Brundall ward, which was from 1997 to 2010 within the boundaries of this constituency, went to the new seat of Broadland.

History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the 2-seat Norwich constituency was divided into Norwich North and Norwich South. The Labour MP for this seat from 1997 to 2010 was Charles Clarke who served in cabinet for five years from 2001 to 2006, first as Minister without Portfolio, then as Secretary of State for Education and Skills and latterly as Home Secretary.

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 the Labour majority was cut by over 5000 leaving Norwich North as the safest Labour seat in the county.

The seat was considered a true three way marginal in the 2010 election between the incumbent Labour party the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. The seat was also targeted by the Green Party. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrats with the lowest percentage share of the vote in a constituency in the 2010 election. The loss was considered to be an embarrassment for the Labour Party as it was the seat of a former Home Secretary.

In the 2015 election, Norwich South was the Green Party's number one target seat, and due to the tiny majority of just 310 votes for the Liberal Democrat Simon Wright over Labour in the previous election, was a key Labour target. In the event, Wright came fourth with under half his 2010 vote, behind the Greens, Conservatives and Labour, whose left-wing candidate Clive Lewis won the seat with a 10.6% swing from the Liberal Democrats to Labour. The Green Party share of the vote actually fell by 1% compared to 2010, with the Conservative vote slightly increasing.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[3]	Party
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1950	Henry Strauss	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1955	Geoffrey Rippon	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1964	Christopher Norwood	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1970	Thomas Stuttaford	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Feb 1974	John Garrett	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1983	John Powley	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1987	John Garrett	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	1997	Charles Clarke	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democrats/meta/color" \|	2010	Simon Wright	Liberal Democrats
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	2015	Clive Lewis	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Norwich South^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clive Lewis	19,033	39.3	+10.6
	Conservative	Lisa Townsend	11,379	23.5	+0.6
	Green	Lesley Grahame	6,749	13.9	−1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Wright	6,607	13.6	−15.7
	UKIP	Steve Emmens^[5]	4,539	9.4	+7.0
	Class War	David Peel	96	0.2	N/A
	Independent	Cengiz Ceker	60	0.1	N/A
Majority			7,654	15.8
Turnout			48,463	64.7	+0.1
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+5.0

General Election 2010: Norwich South^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Wright	13,960	29.4	−0.6
	Labour	Charles Clarke	13,650	28.7	−8.7
	Conservative	Antony D. Little	10,902	22.9	+1.1
	Green	Adrian Ramsay	7,095	14.9	+7.5
	UKIP	Stephen Emmens	1,145	2.4	+0.9
	BNP	Len Heather	697	1.5	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	Gabriel Polley	102	0.2	0.0
Majority			310	0.7
Turnout			47,551	64.6	+5.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	4.0

*NB changes in vote share from 2005 are notional due to boundary changes.

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Norwich South^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Clarke	15,904	37.7	−7.8
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew P. Aalders-Dunthorne	12,251	29.0	+6.4
	Conservative	Antony D. Little	9,567	22.7	−2.1
	Green	Adrian Ramsay	3,101	7.4	+4.0
	UKIP	Miss Vandra S. Ahlstrom	597	1.4	+0.3
	English Democrat	Mrs. Christine Constable	466	1.1	N/A
	Legalise Cannabis	Don E. Barnard	219	0.5	−1.0
	Workers Revolutionary	Roger A. 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^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Clarke	19,367	45.5	−6.2
	Conservative	Andrew John French	10,551	24.8	+1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Paul Aalders-Dunthorne	9,640	22.6	+4.0
	Green	Adrian St. J. Holmes	1,434	3.4	+1.9
	Legalise Cannabis	Alun Buffrey	620	1.5	0.0
	Socialist Alliance	Edward David Manningham	507	1.2	N/A
	UKIP	Tarquin Alexander Graham Mills	473	1.1	N/A
Majority			8,816	20.7
Turnout			42,592	59.8	−12.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Norwich South^[9]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Clarke	26,267	51.7	+3.0
	Conservative	Bashir Khanbhai	12,028	23.7	−12.9
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew P. Aalders-Dunthorne	9,457	18.6	+5.7
	Referendum	David K. Holdsworth	1,464	2.9	N/A
	Legalise Cannabis	Howard Marks	765	1.5	N/A
	Green	Adrian St. J. Holmes	736	1.4	−0.2
	Natural Law	Bryan A. Parsons	84	0.2	0.0
Majority			14,239	28.0
Turnout			50,801	72.6	−8.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.0

General Election 1992: Norwich South^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Garrett	24,965	48.7	+10.8
	Conservative	David S. Baxter	18,784	36.6	−0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Thomas	6,609	12.9	−12.0
	Green	Adrian St. J. Holmes	803	1.6	N/A
	Natural Law	Bryan A. Parsons	104	0.2	N/A
Majority			6,181	12.1	+11.4
Turnout			51,265	80.6	+0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.7

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Norwich South^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Garrett	19,666	37.9	+2.6
	Conservative	John Powley	19,330	37.3	−1.5
	SDP	Charles Jeremy Mawdesley Hardie	12,896	24.9	+0.4
Majority			336	0.7
Turnout			51,892	80.6	+4.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.1

General Election 1983: Norwich South^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Powley	18,998	38.8	−2.8
	Labour	John Garrett	17,286	35.3	−9.6
	SDP	Charles Jeremy Mawdesley Hardie	11,968	24.5	N/A
	Ecology	Antony D. Carter	468	1.0	N/A
	National Front	Peter C. Williams	145	0.3	−0.4
	Independent	Jon C. Ward	91	0.2	N/A
Majority			1,712	3.5
Turnout			48,956	76.4	−3.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+3.4

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Garrett	16,240	44.9	−2.2
	Conservative	I. Coutts	15,042	41.6	+4.1
	Liberal	P. Mackintosh	4,618	12.8	−2.6
	National Front	Andrew Fountaine	264	0.7	N/A
Majority			1,198	3.3
Turnout			36,164	80.2	+1.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.2

General Election October 1974: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Garrett	16,590	47.1	+5.8
	Conservative	M. Tomison	13,185	37.5	−2.0
	Liberal	P.G. Smith	5,429	15.4	−3.9
Majority			3,405	9.7
Turnout			35,204	78.5	−5.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.9

General Election February 1974: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Garrett	15,393	41.3	−3.4
	Conservative	Thomas Stuttaford	14,741	39.5	−7.5
	Liberal	L. Parker	7,183	19.3	+11.0
Majority			652	1.8
Turnout			37,317	84.0	+5.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.1

General Election 1970: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Stuttaford	17,067	47.0	+1.8
	Labour	C.F. Ascher	16,241	44.7	−10.1
	Liberal	L. Parker	3,031	8.3	N/A
Majority			826	2.3
Turnout			36,339	78.2	−5.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.0

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Norwood	19,163	54.8	+3.9
	Conservative	A.R. Gurney	15,808	45.2	−3.9
Majority			3,355	9.6
Turnout			34,971	83.2	+3.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.9

General Election 1964: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Norwood	17,973	50.9	+4.0
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	17,362	49.1	−4.0
Majority			611	1.7
Turnout			35,335	82.7	+3.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.0

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	19,128	53.1	+0.6
	Labour	George Wallace	16,884	46.9	−0.6
Majority			2,244	6.2
Turnout			36,012	82.2	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.6

General Election 1955: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	18,659	52.5	+0.0
	Labour	M.P. Tylecote	16,901	47.5	+0.0
Majority			1,758	4.9
Turnout			35,560	78.3	−6.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.0

General Election 1951: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Strauss	19,082	52.5	−0.8
	Labour	M.P. Tylecote	17,234	47.5	+0.8
Majority			1,848	5.1
Turnout			36,316	84.3	−0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.8

General Election 1950: Norwich South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Strauss	18,693	53.3	N/A
	Labour	M.P. Tylecote	16,368	46.7	N/A
Majority			2,325	6.6	N/A
Turnout			35,061	85.0	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

Notes

^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

References

^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^ "Norwich South". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 3)
^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/norwichsouth/
^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 26 July 2013 suggested (help)
^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Norwich South". guardian.co.uk.
^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

52°37′N 1°16′E / 52.62°N 1.27°E / 52.62; 1.27

[2] A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

[1] "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

[3] "Norwich South". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.

[rayment-4] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 3)

[electoralcalculus-5] "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[6] ttp://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/norwichsouth/

[electoralcalculus2010-7] "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 26 July 2013 suggested (help)

[electoralcalculus2005-8] "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2001-9] "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1997-10] "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[11] "Norwich South". guardian.co.uk.

[electoralcalculus1992-12] "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[13] "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

[electoralcalculus1987-14] "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1983-15] "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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v t e Constituencies in the East of England (61)
Labour (27)	Bedford Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket Cambridge Colchester Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard Harlow Hemel Hempstead Hertford and Stortford Hitchin Ipswich Lowestoft Luton North Luton South and South Bedfordshire North East Hertfordshire North West Cambridgeshire Norwich North Norwich South Peterborough South Norfolk South West Norfolk Southend East and Rochford Southend West and Leigh Stevenage Suffolk Coastal Thurrock Watford Welwyn Hatfield
Conservative (23)	Basildon and Billericay Braintree Brentwood and Ongar Broadland and Fakenham Broxbourne Castle Point Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Epping Forest Harwich and North Essex Hertsmere Huntingdon Maldon Mid Bedfordshire Mid Norfolk North Bedfordshire North East Cambridgeshire North West Essex North West Norfolk Rayleigh and Wickford South Suffolk South West Hertfordshire West Suffolk Witham
Liberal Democrats (7)	Chelmsford Ely and East Cambridgeshire Harpenden and Berkhamsted North Norfolk St Albans St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire
Reform UK (3)	Clacton Great Yarmouth South Basildon and East Thurrock
Green Party (1)	Waveney Valley