Derby South (UK Parliament constituency)

Derby South
Derby South
Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Derby South in Derbyshire for the 2010 general election
	Location of Derbyshire within England
County	Derbyshire
Electorate	72,048 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Derby, Pear Tree
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Margaret Beckett (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Derby

Derby South () is a constituency formed of part of the city of Derby represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by veteran MP Margaret Beckett of the Labour Party. She has served under the Labour governments of Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She became interim Leader of the Labour Party in 1994 when John Smith suddenly died. She has also served under Neil Kinnock and Smith himself.

Boundaries

1950–1955: The County Borough of Derby wards of Alvaston, Arboretum, Castle, Dale, Litchurch, Normanton, Osmaston, and Peartree.

1955–1974: The County Borough of Derby wards of Alvaston, Arboretum, Castle, Dale, Litchurch, Normanton, Osmaston, and Peartree, and the parish of Littleover in the Rural District of Shardlow.

1974–1977: The Borough of Derby wards of Alvaston, Arboretum, Babington, Chellaston, Litchurch, Littleover, Normanton, Osmaston, and Peartree.

1977–1983: The City of Derby wards of Alvaston, Arboretum, Babington, Chellaston, Litchurch, Littleover, Normanton, Osmaston, and Peartree.

1983–1997: The City of Derby wards of Alvaston, Babington, Blagreaves, Kingsway, Litchurch, Littleover, Normanton, Osmaston, and Sinfin.

1997–2010: The City of Derby wards of Alvaston, Babington, Blagreaves, Kingsway, Litchurch, Littleover, Mickleover, Normanton, Osmaston, and Sinfin.

2010–2023: The City of Derby wards of Alvaston, Arboretum, Blagreaves, Boulton, Chellaston, Normanton, and Sinfin.

2023–Present: The City of Derby wards of Alvaston North, Alvaston South, Arboretum, Blagreaves, Chellaston & Shelton Lock, Normanton, and Sinfin & Osmaston.

Derby city centre has been in this constituency since 1974; from 1950 it had been in Derby North.

The proposals made by the Boundary Commission in 2016 for new constituencies would have seen the wards Aston, Chaddesden, Spondon and Oakwood move into the seat while the wards Arboretum, Normanton and Blagreaves would have moved to the seat of Derby North. This would have notionally made the seat a Conservative seat.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be unchanged.

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
1950	Philip Noel-Baker	Labour
1970	Walter Johnson
1983	Margaret Beckett

Constituency profile

The constituency takes in Derby city centre including much of its varied income inner-city, a narrow majority of which used to be local council-built however which is offset by conservation areas including beside Derby Cathedral and Derby Catacombs. The remainder of the seat is generally more affluent suburbs, and much of the engineering industry traditionally associated with the city.

History

The constituency was created in 1950, when the former two-seat constituency of Derby was split into two single-member seats. Unlike the Derby North seat, this seat has to date been a Labour Party seat.

A notable former MP for the seat was its first incumbent, Philip Noel-Baker of the Labour Party. He served as a Cabinet minister in the post-war Attlee government, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959 for his campaigning for disarmament. He had previously represented the former two-seat constituency of Derby since a by-election in 1936.

The former Cabinet minister Margaret Beckett, who had represented Lincoln (under her maiden name of Margaret Jackson) from 1974 to 1979, has represented Derby South for the Labour Party since 1983. At that election Beckett won the seat with one of the smallest majorities seen of just 421 over the Conservative Party, since which she has achieved only larger majorities than this. The most recent result, in line with other Leave-voting seats, is a reduced majority for Labour, with both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates increasing their vote share, however Beckett still won a majority (51%) of all votes cast, higher than in the elections between 2005 and 2015, suggesting the seat is a relatively safe seat for the Labour Party.

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Derby South
Party		Candidate
	Labour	Baggy Shanker
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	21,690	51.1	-7.2
	Conservative	Ed Barker	15,671	36.9	+3.4
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Naitta	2,621	6.2	+3.5
	Brexit Party	Timothy Prosser	2,480	5.8	New
Majority			6,019	14.2	-10.6
Turnout			42,462	58.1	-6.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.3

General election 2017: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	26,430	58.3	+9.3
	Conservative	Evonne Williams	15,182	33.5	+6.1
	UKIP	Alan Graves	2,011	4.4	-11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Naitta	1,229	2.7	-1.5
	Green	Ian Sleeman	454	1.0	-2.0
Majority			11,248	24.8	+3.2
Turnout			45,306	64.8	+6.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.6

General election 2015: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	20,007	49.0	+5.7
	Conservative	Evonne Williams	11,179	27.4	-1.1
	UKIP	Victor Webb	6,341	15.5	+11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Naitta	1,717	4.2	-16.3
	Green	David Foster	1,208	3.0	New
	TUSC	Chris Fernandez	225	0.6	+0.6
	British Independents	David Gale	143	0.4	+0.4
Majority			8,828	21.6	+6.8
Turnout			40,820	58.1	+0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.4

General election 2010: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	17,851	43.3	-9.8
	Conservative	Jack Perscke	11,729	28.5	+8.7
	Liberal Democrats	David Batey	8,430	20.5	-3.7
	UKIP	Stephen Fowke	1,821	4.4	+3.0
	Independent	Alan Graves	1,357	3.3
Majority			6,122	14.8
Turnout			41,188	58.0	-6.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.25

The vote share changes on 2005 and the turnout figures were notional based on boundary changes.

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	19,683	45.4	−11.0
	Liberal Democrats	Lucy Care	14,026	32.3	+13.0
	Conservative	David Brackenbury	8,211	18.9	−5.4
	UKIP	David Black	845	1.9	New
	Veritas	Frank Leeming	608	1.4	New
Majority			5,657	13.0	−19.1
Turnout			43,373	61.6	+5.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-12.0

General election 2001: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	24,310	56.4	+0.1
	Conservative	Simon Spencer	10,455	24.3	−0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Anders Hanson	8,310	19.3	+4.9
Majority			13,855	32.1	+1.0
Turnout			43,075	55.9	−12.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	29,154	56.3	+4.6
	Conservative	Javed Arain	13,048	25.2	−12.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Beckett	7,438	14.4	+4.0
	Referendum	John K. Browne	1,862	3.6	New
	National Democrats	Rob Evans	317	0.6	New
Majority			16,106	31.1	+17.3
Turnout			51,819	67.8	−7.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1992: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	25,917	51.7	+8.0
	Conservative	Nicholas P. Brown	18,981	37.9	−2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Simon J. Hartropp	5,198	10.4	−5.4
Majority			6,936	13.8	+10.6
Turnout			50,096	75.5	+5.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	21,003	43.7	+4.4
	Conservative	Paul Leighton	19,487	40.5	+2.1
	SDP	Nora Mellor	7,608	15.8	−5.8
Majority			1,516	3.2	+2.3
Turnout			48,098	69.9	+2.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1983: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Beckett	18,169	39.3	−10.7
	Conservative	Gerald Hales	17,748	38.4	−0.3
	SDP	Ivor Smith	9,976	21.6	+11.9
	Ecology	E. Wall	297	0.7	New
Majority			421	0.9	−10.4
Turnout			46,190	67.4	−4.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Johnson	26,945	50.0	−1.0
	Conservative	Michael Stern	20,853	38.7	+5.8
	Liberal	J.D. Somerset Sullivan	5,196	9.7	−4.9
	National Front	L.A. Verity	587	1.1	New
	Workers Revolutionary	W.A. Biggs	146	0.3	New
	United English National	J. Short	122	0.2	−1.3
Majority			6,092	11.3	−6.8
Turnout			53,849	71.4	+1.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Johnson	26,342	51.0	+3.6
	Conservative	A.J. Bussell	17,010	32.9	−1.7
	Liberal	R. Palmer	7,520	14.6	−3.4
	United English National	A.S. Ashby	793	1.5	New
Majority			9,332	18.1	+5.3
Turnout			51,665	69.5	+6.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Johnson	26,613	47.4	−7.0
	Conservative	R.S.W. Clements	19,470	34.6	−11.0
	Liberal	J. Mills	10,121	18.0	New
Majority			7,143	12.8	+4.0
Turnout			56,204	76.2	+8.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Johnson	19,407	54.4	−3.2
	Conservative	Royden Greene	16,258	45.6	+13.8
Majority			3,149	8.8	−17.0
Turnout			35,665	67.3	−5.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	21,433	57.6	−0.1
	Conservative	Michael CG Fidler	11,857	31.8	−10.5
	Liberal	A Leslie Smart	3,966	10.7	New
Majority			9,576	25.8	+10.4
Turnout			37,256	72.6	−5.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	22,432	57.7	+9.2
	Conservative	T.M. Wray	16,420	42.3	+1.8
Majority			6,012	15.4	+7.4
Turnout			38,852	74.8	−4.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	20,776	48.5	−5.1
	Conservative	T.M. Wray	17,345	40.5	+2.0
	Liberal	A. Leslie Smart	4,746	11.1	+3.2
Majority			3,431	8.0	−7.1
Turnout			42,867	79.2	+0.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	23,081	53.6	−9.0
	Conservative	Marcus Kimball	16,572	38.5	+1.1
	Liberal	A. Leslie Smart	3,408	7.9	New
Majority			6,509	15.1	−10.1
Turnout			43,061	78.8	−5.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	27,333	62.6	+2.5
	Conservative	Richard Cecil Dudley Grimes	16,344	37.4	+6.2
Majority			10,989	25.2	−3.7
Turnout			43,677	84.5	−1.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Derby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	26,886	60.1
	Conservative	Richard Cecil Dudley Grimes	13,926	31.2
	Liberal	Lyndon Irving	3,900	8.7
Majority			12,960	28.9
Turnout			44,712	87.1
	Labour win (new seat)

Derby South
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Derby South in Derbyshire for the 2010 general election
Location of Derbyshire within England
County	Derbyshire
Electorate	72,048 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Derby, Pear Tree
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Margaret Beckett (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Derby