Looking At The Evolution Of Southampton Constituencies Over The Past Half-Century

One thing that interests me is how constituencies have changed over time.

A major change was the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 - not long after the June 1970 general election. The report had actually been published in April 1969, although when the House of Commons debated this in November 1969, the Labour Home Secretary, James Callaghan, moved a motion that the report not be accepted, and this motion was passed by 303 to 250. So the 1970 election was held on the same boundaries as the March 1966 one.

The Order itself has a Schedule in two parts. The first lists the constituencies from the 1970 election that will be changed, and the second lists the new changed ones. Hence the absence of the unchanged Southampton Itchen from the lists - although I can't see any changes in Southampton Test.

No part of Southampton appears to lie outside these two constituencies. Around it, places like Eling, Netley Marsh, Chilworth, Nursling, Rownhams and North Baddesley are in the Eastleigh constituency, while the town of Romsey is in the Winchester constituency, and Andover in the Basingstoke constituency.

The changes - used for the February 1974, October 1974 and May 1979 general elections - see Eling and Netley Marsh moved into the New Forest constituency, while Romsey is moved into the Eastleigh constituency, and Andover into the Winchester constituency.

The next set of changes is the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983, for constituencies used at the June 1983, June 1987 and April 1992 general elections.

This gives us a Romsey & Waterside - the constituency where I voted for the first time - which drew from the Eastleigh and New Forest constituencies, with Eastleigh effectively rotating clockwise around Southampton. Andover became the base of its own constituency - Hampshire North West.

When we look at the then 15 wards of Southampton City Council, we can see something new has happened:

Ward	Constituency
Bargate	Southampton Itchen
Bassett	Southampton Test
Bitterne	Southampton Itchen
Bitterne Park	Southampton Itchen
Coxford	Southampton Test
Freemantle	Southampton Test
Harefield	Southampton Itchen
Millbrook	Southampton Test
Peartree	Southampton Itchen
Portswood	Southampton Test
Redbridge	Southampton Test
St Lukes	Southampton Itchen
Shirley	Southampton Test
Sholing	Southampton Itchen
Woolston	Eastleigh

Southampton Test and Southampton Itchen both with 7 wards each, and the one left over - Woolston on the south-eastern corner of Southampton - ends up in Eastleigh.

The next change is the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, for constituencies used at the May 1997, June 2001 and May 2005 general elections. And Southampton has more changes:

Ward	Constituency
Bargate	Southampton Itchen
Bassett	Romsey
Bitterne	Southampton Itchen
Bitterne Park	Southampton Itchen
Coxford	Southampton Test
Freemantle	Southampton Test
Harefield	Southampton Itchen
Millbrook	Southampton Test
Peartree	Southampton Itchen
Portswood	Southampton Test
Redbridge	Southampton Test
St Lukes	Southampton Test
Shirley	Southampton Test
Sholing	Southampton Itchen
Woolston	Southampton Itchen

The 3 wards in bold are those which have moved constituency - again we have the pattern of Southampton Test and Southampton Itchen both having 7 wards each, and the one left over - this time in Romsey, where in a by-election in May 2000, the Liberal Democrats' Sandra Gidley became the first woman to be elected to parliament in Southampton.

As well as reviews of parliamentary constituencies, there are also reviews of local authority wards, and one in 2000 saw Southampton's 15 wards become 16. This meant that wards got split up, and these revisions are no respecters of parliamentary boundaries.

New Ward	Constituency
Bargate	Southampton Itchen
Bassett	Romsey/Southampton Test
Bevois	Southampton Itchen/Southampton Test
Bitterne	Southampton Itchen
Bitterne Park	Southampton Itchen
Coxford	Southampton Test
Freemantle	Southampton Itchen/Southampton Test
Harefield	Southampton Itchen
Millbrook	Southampton Test
Peartree	Southampton Itchen
Portswood	Southampton Test
Redbridge	Southampton Test
Shirley	Southampton Test
Sholing	Southampton Itchen
Swaythling	Romsey/Southampton Itchen/Southampton Test
Woolston	Southampton Itchen

We now had wards split across constituencies - Bassett (drawn from Bassett, Coxford and Shirley), Bevois (drawn from Bargate and St Lukes), Freemantle (drawn from Bargate, Freemantle, Millbrook and St Lukes) and Swaythling (drawn from Bassett, Bitterne Park and Portswood). Therefore, when the current constituencies were drawn up, all of Bassett and Swaythling ended up in Romsey - renamed as Romsey & Southampton North - while all of Bevois and Freemantle would be in Southampton Test. This gives us the current situation:

New Ward	Constituency
Bargate	Southampton Itchen
Bassett	Romsey & Southampton North
Bevois	Southampton Test
Bitterne	Southampton Itchen
Bitterne Park	Southampton Itchen
Coxford	Southampton Test
Freemantle	Southampton Test
Harefield	Southampton Itchen
Millbrook	Southampton Test
Peartree	Southampton Itchen
Portswood	Southampton Test
Redbridge	Southampton Test
Shirley	Southampton Test
Sholing	Southampton Itchen
Swaythling	Romsey & Southampton North
Woolston	Southampton Itchen