Southampton Test

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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

title: "Southampton Test" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["parliamentary-constituencies-in-hampshire", "constituencies-of-the-parliament-of-the-united-kingdom-established-in-1950", "politics-of-southampton"] description: "Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southampton_Test" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK constituency main"]

Field	Value
name	Southampton Test
parliament	uk
image
caption	Boundaries since 2010
image2	[[File:South East England - Southampton Test constituency.svg
caption2	Boundary of Southampton Test in South East England
year	1950
type	Borough
previous	Southampton
electorate	69,960 (2023)
mp	Satvir Kaur
party	Labour Party (UK)
region	England
county	Hampshire
towns	Southampton
elects_howmany	One
::

History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the previous two-member Southampton constituency was abolished. The boundaries of the seat have changed at most of the Boundary Commissions' periodic reviews.

Horace King, the MP between 1950 and 1955, before switching to the neighbouring seat of Southampton Itchen, would later become the first Speaker of the House of Commons from the Labour Party. The seat was contested unsuccessfully in 1955 and 1959 respectively by Anthony Crosland and Shirley Williams, who would both later be elected for other seats and become prominent ministers in the Labour governments of the 1960s and 1970s.

Southampton Test proved to be a bellwether (mirroring the national result) from 1966 until 2010, with the exception of the minority government of Harold Wilson from February to October 1974 .

In the 2010 general election, Alan Whitehead for Labour performed better here than John Denham in Southampton Itchen, the other Southampton seat, which the party also held more narrowly that year. The area from 2010 to 2015 was one of four Labour seats in South East England and from 2017 to 2019 among two of eighteen in Hampshire won by Labour candidates. Whitehead was re-elected in 2017 with a majority of over 10,000 votes, and in 2019 over 6,000, making Southampton Test a relatively comfortable Labour seat. Whitehead did not stand at the 2024 general election; he was succeeded by fellow Labour Party member, Satvir Kaur, with a majority of over 9,000.

Constituency profile

The seat covers the western part of the City of Southampton and is named after the River Test, one of the city's two rivers. It covers some of the leafy northern suburbs (though the northernmost Bassett Ward ceased to form part of the constituency in 1997) and the western port areas as well as the social housing estates of the western fringes. It is traditionally the marginally more affluent of the two constituencies in the city, before 2010 having a higher number of Tory representatives than its neighbour Southampton Itchen – named after the other major river. The area includes the University of Southampton, though its halls of residence fall almost entirely within Romsey and Southampton North or Southampton Itchen.

The seat is home to Southampton's football ground at St Mary's.

Boundaries

Historic

1950–1955: The County Borough of Southampton wards of All Saints, Banister, Freemantle, Millbrook, St Nicholas, Shirley, and Town; and the (civil) Parish of Millbrook (which was then in the Romsey and Stockbridge Rural District).

1955–1983: The County Borough of Southampton wards of Banister, Bargate, Bassett, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

1983–1997: The City of Southampton wards of Bassett, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

1997–2010: The City of Southampton wards of Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, St Luke's, and Shirley.

2010–2023 The City of Southampton wards of Bevois, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

Current

Following a review of local authority ward boundaries, which became effective in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following:

The City of Southampton wards of: Banister & Polygon (majority); Bevois; Coxford; Freemantle; Millbrook; Portswood; Redbridge; Shirley; Swaythling (small part). The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.

The constituency is bounded to the east by Southampton Itchen, to the north by Romsey and Southampton North and to the west by New Forest East.

Members of Parliament

Southampton prior to 1950

::data[format=table] | Election | t|1|date=March 2012}} | Party | |---|---|---| | Labour Party (UK)}}" | | 1950 | Horace King | | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | 1955 | John Howard | | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | 1964 | John Fletcher-Cooke | | Labour Party (UK)}}" | | 1966 | Bob Mitchell | | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | 1970 | James Hill | | Labour Party (UK)}}" | | October 1974 | Bryan Gould | | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | 1979 | James Hill | | Labour Party (UK)}}" | | 1997 | Alan Whitehead | | Labour Party (UK)}}" | | 2024 | Satvir Kaur | ::

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

|reg. electors = 65,520 |winner = Labour Party (UK) |swing = 6.1

Elections in the 2010s

|title= General election 2017: Southampton Test}}

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

|winner = Labour Party (UK) |loser = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = +13.5

|title=General election 1992: Southampton Test{{cite web| url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm|title=Politics Resources|date=9 April 1992|work=Election 1992|publisher=Politics Resources|access-date=6 December 2010}} |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = James Hill |votes = 24,504 |percentage = 43.4 |change = −2.2 |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = −5.6

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Notes

References

"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England.
"South East Results after 84 of 84". BBC News.
(2022-01-14). "Southampton Test Labour MP Alan Whitehead to step down". BBC News.
Representation of the People Act 1948, Sch. 1.
The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, SI 1995 No 1626
LGBCE. "Southampton {{!}} LGBCE".
"The Southampton (Electoral Changes) Order 2023".
"New Seat Details – Southampton Test".
"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023".
{{Rayment-hc. t. 1. (March 2012)
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001500 Southampton Test]
"Southampton Test Parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
"Election Data 2015". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"BBC NEWS – Election 2015 – Southampton Test". BBC News.
"Election Data 2010". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Southampton Test". BBC News.
"Election Data 2005". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 2001". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1997". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
(1970). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
(1966). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
(1964). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
(1959). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
(1955). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
(1951). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
(1950). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".

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