Dudley South (UK Parliament constituency) explained

Dudley South
Parliament:uk
Map2:EnglandWestMidlandsCounty
Year:1997
Abolished:2024
Type:Borough
Elects Howmany:One
Electorate:61,308 (December 2010)[1]
Region:England

Dudley South was a United Kingdom House of Commons constituency from 1997 until 2024.

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 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

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:

Parts New constituency Part of North Tyneside, %
Kingswinford, Wall Heath and WordsleyKingswinford and South Staffordshire45.2
Brierley Hill and NethertonStourbridge37.9
The Brockmoor and Pensnett wardDudley16.9

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1997Ian Pearson
2010Chris Kelly
2015Mike Wood
2024Constituency abolished

Election results 1997-2024

Elections in the 2010s

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See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England . 4 March 2011 . 2011 Electorate Figures . Boundary Commission for England . 13 March 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101106204053/http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm . 6 November 2010 .
  2. Web site: The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands Boundary Commission for England . 2023-07-22 . boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk.
  3. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Dudley+South