| Bristol South | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1885 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Population: | 107,365 (2011 census)[1] |
| Electorate: | 74,696 (2023)[2] |
| Region: | England |
| European: | South West England |
Bristol South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Karin Smyth of the Labour Party.
Bristol South is a traditional white working class seat. Residents' wealth is around average for the UK.[3]
The constituency covers the south-west of Bristol, bounded by the Avon New Cut to the north, the A37 Wells Road to the east, and the city boundaries to the south and west.
1885–1918: The Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster East, Bedminster West, Bristol, and Redcliffe, and part of the civil parish of Bedminster.
1918–1950: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster East, Bedminster West, and Southville, and part of Somerset ward.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Somerset, Southville, and Windmill Hill.
1955–1983: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Hengrove, Somerset, and Southville.
1983–1997: The City of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Filwood, Hartcliffe, Knowle, Southville, Whitchurch Park, and Windmill Hill.
1997–2024: The City of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Filwood, Hartcliffe, Hengrove, Knowle, Southville, Whitchurch Park, and Windmill Hill.
2024–present: The City of Bristol wards of Bedminster; Bishopsworth; Filwood; Hartcliffe & Withywood; Hengrove & Whitchurch Park; Southville; and Windmill Hill.[4]
To bring the electorate within the permitted range, the Knowle ward was moved to Bristol East.[5] [6]
The seat has elected Labour MPs at every election since 1935, the only seat in the south of England outside Greater London with such a record. The closest result, giving a marginal majority, was the 1987 election where Dawn Primarolo won a majority of 2.7% of the vote — in that election the Social Democratic Party, a 'moderate' breakaway party from the Labour Party, won 19.6% of the vote.
The incumbent prior to Smyth was Baroness Dawn Primarolo who held the seat for 28 years. She was a Minister of the Crown in the Blair Ministry and throughout the Coalition Government 2010 was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.
| Election | Member[7] | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Sir Joseph Dodge Weston | Liberal | ||
| 1886 | Sir Edward Stock Hill | Conservative | ||
| 1900 | Walter Long | Conservative | ||
| 1906 | Sir Howell Davies | Liberal | ||
| 1922 | Sir Beddoe Rees | Liberal | ||
| 1929 | Alexander Walkden | Labour | ||
| 1931 | Conservative | |||
| 1935 | Alexander Walkden | Labour | ||
| 1945 | William Wilkins | Labour | ||
| 1970 | Michael Cocks | Labour | ||
| 1987 | Dawn Primarolo | Labour | ||
| 2015 | Karin Smyth | Labour | ||
| 2019 notional result[8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| 24,917 | 51.6 | ||
| 15,840 | 32.8 | ||
| 3,012 | 6.2 | ||
| 2,445 | 5.1 | ||
| 2,054 | 4.3 | ||
| Turnout | 48,268 | 64.6 | |
| Electorate | 74,696 | ||