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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Leicester South
Leicester South is a constituency, recreated in 1974, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2024 by Shockat Adam.

It had been held from 2011 by Jonathan Ashworth of the Labour Co-op Party (which denotes he is a member of the Labour Party and Co-operative Party, one of 38 such current Labour MPs, and requires members to contribute practically to a cooperative business). A previous version of the seat existed between 1918 and 1950. Except for a 2004 by-election when it was won by the Liberal Democrats, Leicester South was held by the Labour Party from 1987 to 2024, when it was taken with a narrow majority by Independent Shockat Adam.

Boundaries

1918–1950: The county borough of Leicester wards of Aylestone, Castle, Charnwood, De Montfort, Knighton, Martin's, and Wycliffe.

The initial report of the Boundary Commission for England dated October 1947 and published in December 1947 recommended that Leicester retain three seats, including a revised Leicester South constituency consisting of the wards of Aylestone, De Montfort, Knighton, North Braunstone and Spinney Hill, giving an electorate of 67,574 as of the review date of 15 October 1946. When the Representation of the People Bill enacting the commission's recommendations was debated in the House of Commons, the Government brought forward amendments at Committee stage on 24 March 1948 to allow 17 more constituencies in England. Home Secretary James Chuter Ede announced that the Boundary Commission would be invited to consider an additional constituency to each of nine cities, including Leicester. The Government issued a White Paper proposing the new boundaries which created new borough constituencies of Leicester South East and Leicester South West in place of Leicester South. The Boundary Commission recommended no alteration to the proposals, and the revised constituencies were therefore enacted.

In 1969, the Second Periodical Report of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England reduced Leicester from four seats to three, and recreated Leicester South as a borough constituency.

1974–1983: The county borough of Leicester wards of Aylestone, De Montfort, Knighton, Spinney Hill, The Castle, and Wycliffe wards of Leicester.

1983–2010: The City of Leicester wards of Aylestone, Castle, Crown Hills, East Knighton, Eyres Monsell, Saffron, Spinney Hill, Stoneygate, West Knighton and Wycliffe.

Minor boundary changes were made as a result of the Third Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in 1983. The new constituency took in about 3,000 voters who were previously in other Leicester seats. No changes were made in the Fourth Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in 1995.

2010–2024: The City of Leicester wards of Aylestone, Castle, Eyres Monsell, Freemen, Knighton, Spinney Hills, and Stoneygate.

In the Fifth Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in 2007, the constituency had only minor changes with 73 voters being added from Leicester West.

Further to a local government boundary review which became effective in May 2015, the Freemen ward was replaced by the Saffron ward and the additional Wycliffe ward was created, largely split off from the Spinney Hills ward.

Current

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the size of the constituency was reduced with the transfer of Aylestone ward to Leicester West. To partly compensate, polling district EVF in Evington ward was added from Leicester East.

Constituency profile

Leicester South is a varied constituency. It contains some of the most and affluent areas of Leicester such as Stoneygate and Knighton, as well as more deprived outer estates such as Saffron and Eyres Monsell. The centre of Leicester, also within the constituency, is more ethnically diverse with a strong Asian community . Another demographic feature is the presence of a large number of students studying at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University, which are both situated in the constituency. The seat also contains HM Prison Leicester.

History

The seat was held by Derek Spencer for the Conservative Party between the general elections of 1983 and 1987. Its electorate demonstrated increased Labour support thereafter in local and national elections. A 2004 by-election caused by the death of Labour MP Jim Marshall was fought under the shadow of the Iraq War, and was won by Parmjit Singh Gill who became at the time the only Liberal Democrat MP from an ethnic minority. He held the seat for a year before being defeated by Labour candidate Sir Peter Soulsby at the 2005 general election. Soulsby subsequently resigned in order to seek election as Mayor of Leicester in 2011, giving Leicester South its second by-election in the space of seven years; this time the seat was safely held by Labour.

The expansion of the city's suburbs and commuter belt has altered the incomes and other demographic measures of the constituency. The seat saw close contests between Conservative and Labour candidates in the 1980s, with Jim Marshall losing the seat by 7 votes to the Conservatives in the 1983 general election, but regaining it in 1987.

Marshall died in 2004, and the resulting by-election was fiercely contested. As in a by-election in Birmingham Hodge Hill held on the same day, the Liberal Democrat candidates hoped—despite having additional competition for the anti-Iraq War vote from Respect—to build on their previous by-election gain at Brent East. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat Parmjit Singh Gill, with a majority of 1,654.

Sir Peter Soulsby won the seat at the 2005 election, and was re-elected in 2010. Sir Peter resigned to seek election for the new position of Mayor of Leicester in 2011, triggering a by-election on 5 May 2011, that coincided with the referendum on the voting system. Jonathan Ashworth was elected as his successor, holding the seat for the Labour Party; he was re-elected in 2015 and 2017.

Despite being the only seat in Leicester served by three major parties in the past 35 years, Leicester South became regarded as the safest of the Labour seats in the city, with a majority in 2017 of 26,261 votes (52.0%), falling to 22,675 (45.2%) in 2019.

However, the historic volatility continued, with Ashworth suffering a surprise defeat in the July 2024 General Election. The seat was won by Shockat Adam standing as an Independent, with a narrow majority of 979 votes (2.3%).


Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

Leicester prior to 1918

Election Member Party
1918 Thomas Blane Conservative
1922 William George Waterhouse Reynolds Conservative
1923 Ronald Wilberforce Allen Liberal
1924 Charles Waterhouse Conservative
1945 Herbert Bowden Labour
1950 constituency abolished

MPs since 1974

Leicester South East and Leicester South West prior to 1974

Election Member Party
Feb 1974 Tom Boardman Conservative
Oct 1974 Jim Marshall Labour
1983 Derek Spencer Conservative
1987 Jim Marshall Labour
2004 by-election Parmjit Singh Gill Liberal Democrat
2005 Sir Peter Soulsby Labour
2011 by-election Jonathan Ashworth Labour and Co-operative
2024 Shockat Adam Independent

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Shockat Adam 14,739 35.3 New
Labour Jonathan Ashworth 13,760 32.9 –34.1
Conservative Gerri Hickton 4,820 11.5 –10.3
Green Sharmen Rahman 3,826 9.1 +5.8
Reform UK Craig Harwood 2,470 5.9 +3.6
Liberal Democrats Carol Weaver 1,425 3.4 –0.9
Independent Osman Admani 339 0.8 N/A
Communist Ann Green 279 0.7 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Ezechiel Adlore 189 0.5 N/A
Majority 979 2.3 –42.9
Turnout 41,847 59 –7.8
Independent gain from Labour Swing +35.3

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Jonathan Ashworth 33,606 67.0 -6.6
Conservative Natalie Neale 10,931 21.8 +0.2
Liberal Democrats Chris Coghlan 2,754 5.5 +3.0
Green Mags Lewis 1,669 3.3 +1.0
Brexit Party James Potter 1,187 2.4 New
Majority 22,675 45.2 -6.8
Turnout 50,147 64.6 -2.4
Labour Co-op hold Swing -3.35
General election 2017: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Jonathan Ashworth 37,157 73.6 +13.8
Conservative Meera Sonecha 10,896 21.6 +0.7
Liberal Democrats Harrish Bishnauthsing 1,287 2.5 -2.1
Green Mags Lewis 1,177 2.3 -3.2
Majority 26,261 52.0 +13.1
Turnout 50,517 67.0 +4.5
Labour Co-op hold Swing +6.56
General election 2015: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Jonathan Ashworth 27,493 59.8 +14.2
Conservative Leon Hadji-Nikolaou 9,628 20.9 -0.5
UKIP Peter Stone 3,832 8.3 +6.8
Green Gabriella Garcia 2,533 5.5 +3.9
Liberal Democrats Anita Prabhakar 2,127 4.6 -22.3
TUSC Andrew Walton 349 0.8 New
Majority 17,845 38.9 +20.2
Turnout 45,962 62.5 +1.4
Labour Co-op hold Swing +7.4
By-election 2011: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jonathan Ashworth 19,771 57.8 +12.2
Liberal Democrats Zuffar Haq 7,693 22.5 -4.4
Conservative Jane Hunt 5,169 15.1 -6.3
UKIP Abhijit Pandya 994 2.9 +1.4
Monster Raving Loony Howling Laud Hope 553 1.6 New
Majority 12,078 35.3 +16.6
Turnout 34,180
Labour Co-op hold Swing
General election 2010: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Soulsby 21,479 45.6 +6.2
Liberal Democrats Parmjit Singh Gill 12,671 26.9 -3.7
Conservative Ross Grant 10,066 21.4 +3.6
BNP Adrian Waudby 1,418 3.0 New
Green Dave Dixey 770 1.6 -1.6
UKIP Christopher Lucas 720 1.5 New
Majority 8,808 18.7 +9.9
Turnout 47,124 61.1 +3.4
Labour hold Swing +5.0

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Soulsby 16,688 39.3 -15.2
Liberal Democrats Parmjit Singh Gill 12,971 30.6 +13.4
Conservative Martin McElwee 7,549 17.8 -5.3
Respect Yvonne Ridley 2,720 6.4 N/A
Green Matthew Follett 1,379 3.3 +0.4
Veritas Ken Roseblade 573 1.4 New
Socialist Labour Dave Roberts 315 0.7 -0.9
Independent Paul Lord 216 0.5 N/A
Majority 3,717 8.8 -22.6
Turnout 42,411 58.7 +0.7
Labour hold Swing
By-election 2004: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Parmjit Singh Gill 10,274 34.9 +17.7
Labour Peter Soulsby 8,620 29.3 -25.2
Conservative Chris Heaton-Harris 5,796 19.7 -3.4
Respect Yvonne Ridley 3,724 12.7 New
Socialist Labour Dave Roberts 263 0.9 -0.7
Monster Raving Loony R. U. Seerius 225 0.8 New
Independent Pat Kennedy 204 0.7 New
Independent Paul Lord 186 0.6 New
Independent Mark Benson 55 0.2 New
Independent Jitendra Bardwaj 36 0.1 New
Independent Alan Barrett 25 0.1 New
Majority 1,654 5.6 N/A
Turnout 29,438 41.6 -16.4
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing +21.5
General election 2001: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Marshall 22,958 54.5 -3.5
Conservative Richard Hoile 9,715 23.1 -0.7
Liberal Democrats Parmjit Singh Gill 7,243 17.2 +3.4
Green Margaret Layton 1,217 2.9 New
Socialist Labour Arnie Gardner 676 1.6 New
UKIP Kirti Ladwa 330 0.8 New
Majority 13,243 31.4 -2.9
Turnout 42,139 58.0 -8.3
Labour hold Swing -1.4

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Marshall 27,914 58.0 +5.7
Conservative Chris Heaton-Harris 11,421 23.7 -10.9
Liberal Democrats Barry Coles 6,654 13.8 +2.1
Referendum John Hancock 1,184 2.5 New
Socialist Labour Jim Dooher 634 1.3 New
National Democrats Kevin Sills 307 0.6 New
Majority 16,493 34.3 +16.6
Turnout 48,194 66.3 -8.8
Labour hold Swing +8.3
General election 1992: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Marshall 27,934 52.3 +8.1
Conservative Michael K. Dutt 18,494 34.6 −6.2
Liberal Democrats Anne Crumbie 6,271 11.7 −2.1
Green John McWhirter 554 1.0 +0.3
Natural Law Patricia A. Saunders 154 0.3 New
Majority 9,440 17.7 +14.3
Turnout 53,407 75.1 −1.9
Labour hold Swing +7.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Marshall 24,901 44.2 +3.9
Conservative Derek Spencer 23,024 40.8 +0.5
Liberal Robert Pritchard 7,773 13.8 −3.9
Green Brian Fewster 390 0.7 −0.2
Independent Labour Mian Mayat 192 0.3 New
Workers Revolutionary Robert Manners 96 0.2 New
Majority 1,877 3.4 N/A
Turnout 56,376 77.0 +4.7
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +1.7
General election 1983: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Derek Spencer 21,424 40.3 -2.3
Labour Jim Marshall 21,417 40.3 -6.1
Liberal Rob Renold 9,410 17.7 +8.5
Ecology C. Davis 495 0.9 New
BNP C. Pickard 280 0.6 New
Socialist Workers (Indian Workers' Association) Dave Roberts 161 0.3 New
Majority 7 0.0 N/A
Turnout 53,187 72.3 -2.5
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +1.9

The Conservatives' 7 vote majority made Leicester South their most marginal constituency after the 1983 election and was the closest result in any constituency in the United Kingdom in the election.

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Marshall 24,548 46.4 +3.2
Conservative Ray Godsall 22,550 42.6 +1.7
Liberal John Pick 4,856 9.2 -2.2
National Front A. R. Cartwright 940 1.8 -2.3
Majority 1,998 3.8 +1.5
Turnout 52,894 74.8 +5.9
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Marshall 21,588 43.2 +4.6
Conservative Tom Boardman 20,455 40.9 -0.9
Liberal H. Young 5,709 11.4 -5.3
National Front A. R. Cartwright 2,072 4.1 +1.1
Marxist-Leninist (England) G. H. Rousseau 136 0.3 New
Majority 1,133 2.3 N/A
Turnout 49,960 68.9 -7.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
General election February 1974: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tom Boardman 22,943 41.8
Labour Jim Marshall 21,177 38.6
Liberal Gordon Willey 9,148 16.7
National Front John Kynaston 1,639 3.0
Majority 1,766 3.2
Turnout 54,907 76.4
Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert Bowden 19,541 45.0 +10.0
Conservative Charles Waterhouse 18,373 42.3 +7.3
Liberal Thomas Allan Pratt 5,509 12.7 New
Majority 1,168 2.7 N/A
Turnout 43,423 76.8 +6.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Waterhouse 24,868 65.0 -11.8
Labour Leslie Maddock 13,395 35.0 +11.8
Majority 11,473 30.0 -23.6
Turnout 38,263 70.2 -8.5
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1931: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Waterhouse 32,767 76.8 +34.5
Labour John Dugdale 9,892 23.2 -14.2
Majority 22,875 53.6 +48.7
Turnout 42,659 78.7 -1.7
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

Purchase
General election 1929: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles Waterhouse 18,343 42.3 −7.7
Labour Herbert Brough Usher 16,198 37.4 +7.7
Liberal Henry Purchase 8,811 20.3 0.0
Majority 2,145 4.9 −15.4
Turnout 43,352 80.4 −1.1
Registered electors 53,890
Unionist hold Swing −7.7
General election 1924: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles Waterhouse 15,005 50.0 +7.9
Labour Herbert Brough Usher 8,912 29.7 New
Liberal Ronald Wilberforce Allen 6,079 20.3 −37.6
Majority 6,093 20.3 N/A
Turnout 29,996 81.5 +10.5
Registered electors 36,805
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +22.8
General election 1923: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ronald Wilberforce Allen 14,692 57.9 +8.1
Unionist William George Waterhouse Reynolds 10,674 42.1 −8.1
Majority 4,018 15.8 New
Turnout 25,366 71.0 −0.7
Registered electors 35,710
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +8.1
General election 1922: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William George Waterhouse Reynolds 12,534 50.2 −27.0
Liberal Ronald Wilberforce Allen 12,425 49.8 New
Majority 109 0.4 −54.0
Turnout 24,959 71.7 +5.0
Registered electors 34,789
Unionist hold Swing −27.0

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Leicester South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Thomas Blane 18,498 77.2
Labour Frederick Fox Riley 5,463 22.8
Majority 13,035 54.4
Turnout 23,961 66.7
Registered electors 35,909
Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

See also