South Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South Staffordshire is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Gavin Williamson, a Conservative. He has held many offices including Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2013 until 2016, Chief Whip of the House of Commons from 2016 until 2017, Defence Secretary before he was dismissed. In July 2019, he was appointed as Education Secretary. [n 2]

South Staffordshire
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire
Location of Staffordshire within England
CountyStaffordshire
Electorate74,189 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsBilbrook, Codsall, Landywood
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentGavin Williamson (Conservative)
Number of membersOne
Created fromSouth West Staffordshire
1832–1868
Number of membersTwo
Type of constituencyCounty constituency
Replaced byEast Staffordshire
West Staffordshire
Wednesbury
Created fromStaffordshire

Boundaries

1832–1868: The Hundreds of South Offlow, Seisdon and Cuttleston.[2]

1983–1997: The District of South Staffordshire.

1997–2010: The District of South Staffordshire wards of Bilbrook, Brewood and Coven, Cheslyn Hay, Codsall North, Codsall South, Essington, Featherstone, Great Wyrley Landywood, Great Wyrley Town, Kinver, Lower Penn, Pattingham and Patshull, Perton Central, Perton Dippons, Shareshill, Swindon, Trysull and Seisdon, Wombourne North, Wombourne South East, and Wombourne South West.

2010–present: The District of South Staffordshire wards of Bilbrook, Brewood and Coven, Cheslyn Hay North and Saredon, Cheslyn Hay South, Codsall North, Codsall South, Essington, Featherstone and Shareshill, Great Wyrley Landywood, Great Wyrley Town, Himley and Swindon, Huntington and Hatherton, Kinver, Pattingham and Patshull, Perton Dippons, Perton East, Perton Lakeside, Trysull and Seisdon, Wombourne North and Lower Penn, Wombourne South East, and Wombourne South West.

The constituency is made up of about two-thirds of the South Staffordshire local government district, its southern bulk. It flanks the western edge of the West Midlands, the closest parts being Wolverhampton and Dudley and it does not contain any large towns; the largest town (by electorate) is Wombourne.[3] Its settlements include Brewood, Cheslyn Hay, Codsall, Featherstone, Great Wyrley, Kinver, Perton and Wombourne. Most electoral wards have to date been locally Conservative safe seats with Labour's only area of frequent strength, Cheslyn Hay, a town with historically a greater dependence on coal mining than the others.

History

1832–1868

The ancient county constituency of Staffordshire was divided under the Great Reform Act into two two-member constituencies, while other parts of the old constituency were made into or added to borough constituencies. These halves were formally the Northern division of Staffordshire and the Southern division of Staffordshire with less formal variations more common. The Reform Act 1867 abolished the Southern Division with effect from the 1868 general election, replacing it with two new two-seat constituencies: East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire.

Prominent figures

Edward Littleton was involved heavily in Catholic Emancipation, the Truck Act of 1831, the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 and the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and was for two years Chief Secretary for Ireland, prominent in the governments led by Melbourne.

Henry Chetwynd-Talbot (later The Earl of Shrewsbury) became an Admiral and whip in the House of Lords in later in life. Most of this early period elected prominent landowning industrialists, including, for example in, Walsall, and Wolverhampton and Henry Hodgetts-Foley inherited the majority of Penkridge, now in the Stafford seat, much developed by his heirs.

1983–present

The present South Staffordshire constituency was established in 1983, although in reality this was merely a renaming of the Staffordshire South West constituency formed in 1974 from parts of the former constituencies of Brierley Hill and Cannock. It covered the whole of the South Staffordshire district until 1997, when the area around Penkridge was included in the Stafford constituency.

It has to date been a safe seat for the Conservative Party, with Sir Patrick Cormack having held it from its creation in 1974 until he retired in 2010, when he was succeeded by Gavin Williamson.

General election 2005

On 30 April 2005, the Liberal Democrat candidate Josephine Harrison died of an undisclosed illness at the age of 53. Election procedures at the time required that in the event of a candidate's death after the close of nominations, the returning officer had to direct the general election poll (due to be held on 5 May) to be abandoned, and to call a fresh general election poll. This was duly done under the same writ of election, 28 days after having seen proof of death. As the poll was not strictly a by-election, but rather a part of the general election, it was run under general election regulations; for instance, not qualifying for the significantly higher election expenses available at by-elections.

The original candidates were:

On 9 May, the Labour candidate, Penny Barber, announced that she was standing down as she could not afford to take any more time off work. The constituency Labour Party had to select a new candidate, choosing Paul Kalinauckas who had been their candidate in the 2001 election. The Liberal Democrats selected Jo Crotty as their replacement candidate. In addition, three additional candidates who had not been nominated for the original poll fought the delayed election: Kate Spohrer of the Green Party, Rev. David Braid of Clause 28 Children's Protection Christian Democrats, and most notably the journalist Garry Bushell representing the English Democrats Party, who had already stood in the Greenwich and Woolwich constituency on 5 May, where he had polled 3.4%.

The election was eventually held on 23 June 2005 and saw Sir Patrick Cormack hold the seat. With the seat being safely Conservative, and with the results of the general election in other constituencies already known, the election attracted a considerably lower turnout (37.3%) than in other constituencies (akin to a by-election). Cormack increased his majority to 34.5% (a 9.1% swing), while the United Kingdom Independence Party saw one of their best results of 2005, with 10.4% of the vote.

A year later. the Electoral Administration Act 2006 was passed in part because of the events in South Staffordshire. Under the new rules, in case of the death of a candidate, the party of the dead candidate is allowed to select a replacement candidate. New nominations from parties which did not contest the original pool are no longer permitted. This rule was first used in the 2010 general election when the UKIP candidate for Thirsk and Malton died before the election.

Constituency profile

A Guardian statistical compilation by constituency in November 2012 showed that 2.8% of the population only were registered jobseekers, significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%.[4]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1868
ElectionFirst member[5] First partySecond memberSecond party[6]
1832 Edward LittletonWhig[7] Sir John Wrottesley, BtWhig[7]
1835 by-election Sir Francis Holyoake-Goodricke, BtConservative[7][8]
1837 George AnsonWhig[9][10][11][7] Henry Chetwynd-TalbotConservative[7]
1849 by-election William LeggeConservative
1853 by-election Edward LittletonWhig[12][13][14]
1854 by-election Henry Paget, Earl of UxbridgeWhig[15][16]
1857 William Orme FosterWhig[17] Henry Hodgetts-FoleyWhig[17]
1859 Liberal Liberal
1868Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire

MPs since 1983
Election Member[5] Party Notes
1983 Sir Patrick Cormack Conservative Previously MP for South West Staffordshire
2010 Gavin Williamson Conservative Secretary of State for Defence (2017-2019)
Secretary of State for Education (2019-present)

Elections

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2019: South Staffordshire[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Gavin Williamson 36,520 73.0 3.2
Labour Adam Freeman 8,270 16.5 8.8
Liberal Democrats Chris Fewtrell 3,280 6.6 3.9
Green Claire McIlvenna 1,935 3.9 1.6
Majority 28,250 56.5 12.2
Turnout 50,005 67.9 1.7
Conservative hold Swing 6.0
General election 2017: South Staffordshire[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Gavin Williamson 35,656 69.8 10.4
Labour Adam Freeman 12,923 25.3 6.9
Liberal Democrats Hilary Myers 1,348 2.6 0.3
Green Claire McIlvenna 1,182 2.3 0.3
Majority 22,733 44.5 3.5
Turnout 51,109 69.6 1.4
Conservative hold Swing 1.7
General election 2015: South Staffordshire[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Gavin Williamson 29,478 59.4 6.2
Labour Kevin McElduff 9,107 18.4 1.9
UKIP Lyndon Jones[21] 8,267 16.7 11.2
Liberal Democrats Robert Woodthorpe Browne 1,448 2.9 13.8
Green Claire McIlvenna[22] 1,298 2.6 2.6
Majority 20,371 41.0 7.1
Turnout 49,598 68.2 0.5
Conservative hold Swing 4.05

The vote share change in 2010 comes from the notional, not actual, results because of boundary changes.

General election 2010: South Staffordshire[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Gavin Williamson 26,834 53.2 2.5
Labour Kevin McElduff 10,244 20.3 0.3
Liberal Democrats Sarah Fellows 8,427 16.7 3.3
UKIP Mike Nattrass 2,753 5.5 4.7
BNP David Bradnock 1,928 3.8 N/A
Independent Andrew Morris 254 0.5 N/A
Majority 16,590 32.9 2.2
Turnout 50,440 68.7 31.1
Conservative hold Swing 1.1

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: South Staffordshire[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Patrick Cormack 13,343 52.0 1.6
Labour Paul Kalinauckas 4,496 17.6 16.6
Liberal Democrats Jo Crotty 3,540 13.8 2.2
UKIP Malcolm Hurst 2,675 10.4 6.7
English Democrat Garry Bushell 643 2.5 N/A
Green Kate Spohrer 437 1.7 N/A
Freedom (UK) Adrian Davies 434 1.7 N/A
Clause 28 Children's Protection Christian Democrats David Braid 67 0.3 N/A
Majority 8,847 34.5 18.2
Turnout 25,609 37.3 23.0
Conservative hold Swing 9.1
  • Note the South Staffordshire 2005 Parliamentary election was postponed until 23 June due to the death of a candidate.
General election 2001: South Staffordshire[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Patrick Cormack 21,295 50.5 0.5
Labour Paul Kalinauckas 14,414 34.2 0.5
Liberal Democrats Josephine Harrison 4,891 11.6 0.3
UKIP Mike Lynch 1,580 3.7 N/A
Majority 6,881 16.3 1.0
Turnout 42,180 60.3 13.9
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: South Staffordshire[27][28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Patrick Cormack 25,568 50.0 9.7
Labour Judith LeMaistre 17,747 34.7 8.6
Liberal Democrats Jamie Calder 5,797 11.3 2.9
Referendum Peter Carnell 2,002 3.9 N/A
Majority 7,821 15.3 18.2
Turnout 51,114 74.2 7.3
Conservative hold Swing 9.0
General election 1992: South Staffordshire[29][30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Patrick Cormack 40,266 59.7 1.2
Labour BA Wylie 17,633 26.1 7.1
Liberal Democrats IL Sadler 9,584 14.2 5.9
Majority 22,633 33.6 7.2
Turnout 67,483 81.5 3.4
Conservative hold Swing 4.1

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1987: South Staffordshire[31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Patrick Cormack 37,708 60.9
Liberal Fran Oborski 12,440 20.1
Labour P Bateman 11,805 19.1
Majority 25,268 40.8
Turnout 78.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1983: South Staffordshire[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Patrick Cormack 32,764 59.2 -1.2
Liberal J Chambers 13,004 23.5 +13.2
Labour MJ Cartwright 9,568 17.3 -10.4
Majority 19,760 35.7 +3.0
Turnout 75.8 N/A
Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1860s
General election 1865: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Henry Hodgetts-Foley Unopposed
Liberal William Orme Foster Unopposed
Registered electors 10,841
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1850s
General election 1859: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Henry Hodgetts-Foley Unopposed
Liberal William Orme Foster Unopposed
Registered electors 11,375
Liberal hold
Liberal hold
General election 1857: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig Henry Hodgetts-Foley Unopposed
Whig William Orme Foster Unopposed
Registered electors 11,202
Whig hold
Whig gain from Conservative
By-election, 8 February 1854: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig Henry Paget 4,328 61.0 N/A
Conservative Charles Chetwynd-Talbot 2,769 39.0 N/A
Majority 1,559 22.0 N/A
Turnout 7,097 71.4 N/A
Registered electors 9,933
Whig gain from Conservative Swing N/A
By-election, 15 August 1853: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig Edward Littleton Unopposed
Whig hold
  • Caused by Anson's resignation.
General election 1852: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig George Anson Unopposed
Conservative William Legge Unopposed
Registered electors 10,116
Whig hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s
By-election, 19 February 1849: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Legge Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1847: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig George Anson Unopposed
Conservative Henry Chetwynd-Talbot Unopposed
Registered electors 8,545
Whig hold
Conservative hold
By-election, 17 July 1846: South Staffordshire[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig George Anson Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1841: South Staffordshire[33][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig George Anson Unopposed
Conservative Henry Chetwynd-Talbot Unopposed
Registered electors 8,798
Whig hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1837: South Staffordshire[33][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig George Anson 3,173 25.7
Conservative Henry Chetwynd-Talbot 3,126 25.3
Conservative Richard Dyott 3,046 24.7
Whig John Wrottesley 2,993 24.3
Turnout 6,269 79.6
Registered electors 7,871
Majority 47 0.4
Whig hold
Majority 80 0.6
Conservative gain from Whig
By-election, 23 May 1835: South Staffordshire[33][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Francis Holyoake Goodricke 1,776 53.3
Whig George Anson 1,553 46.7
Majority 223 6.7
Turnout 3,329 83.4
Registered electors 3,990
Conservative gain from Whig
  • Caused by Littleton's elevation to the peerage, becoming 1st Baron Hatherton
General election 1835: South Staffordshire[33][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Edward Littleton Unopposed
Whig John Wrottesley Unopposed
Registered electors 3,990
Whig hold
Whig hold
By-election, 7 June 1833: South Staffordshire[33][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Edward Littleton 439 98.7
Tory Henry Chetwynd-Talbot 6 1.3
Majority 433 97.3
Turnout 445 14.3
Registered electors 3,107
Whig hold
  • Caused by Littleton's appointment as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
General election 1832: South Staffordshire[33][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Edward Littleton Unopposed
Whig John Wrottesley Unopposed
Registered electors 3,107
Whig win (new seat)
Whig win (new seat)
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See also

Notes and references
Notes
  1. A county 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. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  3. 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
  4. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
  6. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 458–459. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  7. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 40–41. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Google Books.
  8. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 79. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Google Books.
  9. "The Elections". Morning Post. 4 July 1837. p. 5. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "General Election". Morning Post. 28 June 1841. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 122. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via Google Books.
  12. Miller, Henry (2015). Politics Personified: Portraiture, Caricature and Visual Culture in Britain, c. 1830-80. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-7190-9084-4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  13. "Walsall". Globe. 29 July 1847. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "The General Election". Morning Post. 29 July 1847. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "South Staffordshire Election". Bucks Herald. 11 February 1854. p. 3. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. "Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette". 16 February 1854. p. 3. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. "Worcester Herald". 4 April 1857. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. "Staffordshire South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  19. "Election Results South Staffordshire Council". South Staffordshire Council. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  20. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
  22. "General Election 2017 Candidate - Green Party". Green Party Members' Website.
  23. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  24. "BBC News - Election 2010 - Constituency - Staffordshire South". news.bbc.co.uk.
  25. South Staffordshire BBC News| Election 2005
  26. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  27. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  28. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  29. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  30. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  31. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  32. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  33. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
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