| Northampton South | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1974 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Electorate: | 71,512 (2023)[1] |
| Region: | England |
| Towns: | Northampton (part) |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
Northampton South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Mike Reader, representing the Labour Party.
This constituency was created for the election of February 1974 when the old constituency of Northampton was split into Northampton South and Northampton North.
Since creation it is generally a marginal and in elections since 1979 but one, in 2005, has been a bellwether, electing an MP from the winning (or largest governing) party.
The one-time Deputy Speaker of the House, Michael Morris, a Conservative, held this seat from its creation in 1974 until 1997, when Tony Clarke defeated Morris in a surprise result (one of many in the Labour landslide of that year) to gain the seat for Labour with a majority of just 744. The Almanac of British Politics described Labour's gain of the seat as "one of the most unexpected results of the 1997 election", despite the fact that Labour had come close to winning the seat in both 1974 elections.[2] Clarke only just increased his majority in 2001, but Brian Binley defeated Clarke to regain the seat for the Conservatives in 2005 with a comfortable majority, and held it until 2015 when he retired and fellow Conservative David Mackintosh held the seat. Mackintosh retired at the 2017 snap election after just one Parliament, after facing the prospect of being deselected by his local constituency party, and Andrew Lewer took over with a decreased majority from 2015 of over 1,000.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Northampton wards of Castle, Delapre, Duston, St Crispin, South, and Weston.[3]
1983–1997: The Borough of Northampton wards of Billing, Castle, Delapre, Nene Valley, New Duston, Old Duston, St Crispin, South, and Weston, and the District of South Northamptonshire wards of Blisworth, Brafield, Bugbrooke, Cogenhoe, Gayton, Hackleton, Harpole, Heyford, Kislingbury, Milton, Roade, Salcey, and Yardley.
1997–2010: The Borough of Northampton wards of Billing, Castle, Delapre, Nene Valley, New Duston, Old Duston, St Crispin, South, and Weston, and the District of South Northamptonshire wards of Brafield, Cogenhoe, Hackleton, Harpole, Kislingbury, Milton, Roade, Salcey, and Yardley. From 1999, ward boundary changes created two extra wards from Nene Valley, West Hunsbury and East Hunsbury.
2010–2024: The Borough of Northampton wards of Billing, Castle, Delapre, Ecton Brook, New Duston, Old Duston, St Crispin, St James, Spencer, and Weston.
Following the 2010 redistribution which created South Northamptonshire, the constituency was once again entirely within the Borough of Northampton as opposed to 1983 to 2010 when it also took in outlying rural parts outside the town.
NB: with effect from 1 April 2021, the Borough of Northampton was abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of West Northamptonshire.[4]
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 April 2021):
The constituency has undergone major changes, with those parts of the former Borough of Northampton previously in the South Northamptonshire constituency being added, partly offset by the transfer of the town centre of Northampton to Northampton North.
The constituency has income, social housing and unemployment statistics[6] close to the national average and a varied and dynamic service and engineering-centred economy typical of the East Midlands with significant foodstuffs, clothing and consumables manufacturing and processing operations.[7] Health inequality is high, with the life expectancy gap between the least deprived and most deprived men in northampton reaching over 10.2 years.[8] Additionally, the constituency is "considerably worse than [the] England average" in violent crime, self harm, under 18 conception and GCSE achievement.[9]
Northampton prior to 1974
| Election | Member | Party | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Michael Morris | Conservative | Chairman of Ways and Means of the House of Commons, 1992-97 | ||
| 1997 | Tony Clarke | Labour | |||
| 2005 | Brian Binley | Conservative | |||
| 2015 | David Mackintosh | Conservative | |||
| 2017 | Andrew Lewer | Conservative | |||
| 2024 | Mike Reader | Labour | |||