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Dudley South (UK Parliament constituency)

Dudley South
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
2010–2024 boundary of Dudley South in West Midlands
Outline map
Location of West Midlands within England
CountyWest Midlands
Electorate61,308 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsDudley
19972024
SeatsOne
Created fromDudley West
Replaced by

Dudley South was a United Kingdom House of Commons constituency[n 1] from 1997 until 2024.[n 2]

By the decision of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished and replaced primarily by the new Kingswinford and South Staffordshire and reconfigured Stourbridge constituencies, with small part[n 3] transferred to Dudley.[2]

Constituency profile

Dudley South is one of four constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and covers the central part of the borough to the south of the town centre. The constituency voted strongly for Brexit, and residents' wealth is around average for the UK.[3]

Boundaries

Map
Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Netherton and Woodside, St Andrews, and Wordsley.

2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Netherton, Woodside and St Andrews, and Wordsley.

History

Before the 1997 election, Dudley was divided into East and West constituencies, rather than North and South. Dudley South covers most of the area previously covered by Dudley West, which included Sedgley but excluded Netherton.

Dudley West was the scene of a by-election in 1994, held after the death of the Conservative John Blackburn who had represented the constituency since 1979. The by-election was won by Labour's Ian Pearson, who stood for Dudley South in 1997 and held the seat, winning by a comfortable margin each time, until he stood down in 2010.

The Conservative candidate, Chris Kelly, gained the seat in the subsequent general election. However, he decided to stand down in 2015.

Mike Wood retained the seat for the Conservatives in both the 2015 and 2017 general elections, in both cases achieving a swing towards his party and thus bucking the national trend.

Abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways:[2]

Parts New constituency Part of North Tyneside, %
Kingswinford, Wall Heath and Wordsley Kingswinford and South Staffordshire 45.2
Brierley Hill and Netherton Stourbridge 37.9
The Brockmoor and Pensnett ward Dudley 16.9

Members of Parliament

Election Member[4] Party
1997 Ian Pearson Labour
2010 Chris Kelly Conservative
2015 Mike Wood Conservative
2024 Constituency abolished

Election results 1997-2024

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Dudley South[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ian Pearson 27,124 56.6
Conservative Mark Simpson 14,097 29.4
Liberal Democrats Richard Burt 5,214 10.9
Referendum Connor Birch 1,467 3.1
Majority 13,027 27.2
Turnout 47,902 71.8
Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Dudley South[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ian Pearson 18,109 49.8 Decrease 6.8
Conservative Jason Sugarman 11,292 31.1 Increase 1.7
Liberal Democrats Lorely Burt 5,421 14.9 Increase 4.0
UKIP John Westwood 859 2.4 New
Socialist Alliance Angela Thompson 663 1.8 New
Majority 6,817 18.7 Decrease 8.5
Turnout 36,344 55.4 Decrease 16.4
Labour hold Swing Decrease 4.2
General election 2005: Dudley South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ian Pearson 17,800 45.3 Decrease 4.5
Conservative Marco Longhi 13,556 34.5 Increase 3.4
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bramall 4,808 12.2 Decrease 2.7
BNP John Salvage 1,841 4.7 New
UKIP Andrew Benion 1,271 3.2 Increase 0.8
Majority 4,244 10.8 Decrease 7.9
Turnout 39,276 60.2 Increase 4.8
Labour hold Swing Decrease 3.9

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Dudley South[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Chris Kelly 16,450 43.1 Increase 8.1
Labour Rachel Harris 12,594 33.0 Decrease 11.0
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bramall 5,989 15.7 Increase 3.0
UKIP Philip Rowe 3,132 8.2 Increase 5.0
Majority 3,856 10.1 Decrease 0.7
Turnout 38,165 63.0 Increase 2.8
Conservative gain from Labour Swing Increase 9.5
General election 2015: Dudley South[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mike Wood[10] 16,723 43.8 Increase 0.7
Labour Natasha Millward 12,453 32.6 Decrease 0.4
UKIP Paul Brothwood[11] 7,236 18.9 Increase 10.7
Green Vicky Duckworth 970 2.5 New
Liberal Democrats Martin Turner 828 2.2 Decrease 13.5
Majority 4,270 11.2 Increase 1.1
Turnout 38,210 63.3 Increase 0.3
Conservative hold Swing Increase 0.54
General election 2017: Dudley South[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mike Wood 21,588 56.4 Increase 12.6
Labour Natasha Millward 13,858 36.2 Increase 3.6
UKIP Mitchell Bolton 1,791 4.7 Decrease 14.2
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bramall 625 1.6 Decrease 0.6
Green Jenny Maxwell 382 1.0 Decrease 1.5
Majority 7,730 20.2 Increase 9.0
Turnout 38,244 62.4 Decrease 0.9
Conservative hold Swing Increase 4.55
General election 2019: Dudley South [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mike Wood 24,835 67.9 Increase 11.5
Labour Lucy Caldicott 9,270 25.3 Decrease 10.9
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bramall 1,608 4.4 Increase 2.8
Green Cate Mohr 863 2.4 Increase 1.4
Majority 15,565 42.6 Increase 22.4
Turnout 36,576 60.2 Decrease 2.2
Conservative hold Swing Increase 11.2

See also

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.
  3. ^ Brockmoor and Pensnett ward, Metropolitan Borough of Dudley

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. ^ a b "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  3. ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Dudley+South
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)
  5. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Tory Eurosceptic to fight for power in Dudley". www.expressandstar.com. 28 November 2014.
  11. ^ "Borough's UKIP leader hopes to turn Dudley South purple". Stourbridge News. 4 February 2015.
  12. ^ Bev Holder (10 May 2017). "UKIP confirms General Election candidates for Stourbridge and Dudley South". Stourbridge News. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Dudley South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. 13 December 2019.