Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency)

For the Croydon South constituency which covered a different area and existed 1918–1945 and 1950–1974, see Croydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency).

Croydon South is a constituency^{[n 1]} created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Chris Philp, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Croydon South
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary within Greater London
County	Greater London
Electorate	71,541 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Coulsdon, Purley, South Croydon
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Chris Philp (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	East Surrey

Political history

In 1974, the original Croydon South constituency created in 1918 was renamed Croydon Central and the current Croydon South was created from the northwestern part of East Surrey, covering Purley and Coulsdon, which had become parts of Greater London in 1965.

Since its creation, the constituency has been represented by three Conservative MPs. Sir William Clark, who had represented East Surrey since 1970, won the new seat in February 1974, and held it until his retirement in 1992. His successor, Sir Richard Ottaway, then held the seat until 2015, when he stood down and was succeeded by Chris Philp.^[2][3] Boundary changes have been minor and the 2015 result made the seat the 145th safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.^[4] At the 2015 general election, it was one of the Conservatives' safest seats in Greater London.^[5] Philp held the seat at the 2024 general election on a substantially reduced majority of just over 2,000, the lowest majority since the seat was created.

Constituency profile

Croydon South consists of affluent suburbia, including a significant minority of large houses with gardens on the North Downs escarpment. It has many well-to-do commuters taking advantage of the fast trains to the City and Gatwick Airport, plus a significant proportion of retired people. Included are the suburbs of Purley and Kenley, home to the Kenley Aerodrome

The village-like Selsdon – one of the few places in the seat where transport links are poor – has a place on the political map having spawned the phrase 'Selsdon Man',^{[citation needed]} its swing and voters first seen as an ideal bellwether for the national swing by the Conservative Party. The Purley Way, which runs mainly through Waddon, has become home to large retail estates for out-of-town shopping and leisure. Prior to 2018 Waddon was the sole Labour ward in the constituency – one of its councillors, Andrew Pelling, the former Conservative MP for Croydon Central, defected to the Labour Party.

Boundary changes before the 2024 election removed both Selsdon and Waddon from the seat and added the Park Hill & Whitgift ward, close to Croydon Town centre.

At the southern end of the constituency, Coulsdon has much in common with the residual county of Surrey of which it was a more intrinsically associated part until 1965 as it was excluded from Croydon County Borough on the county borough's creation in 1889.

Boundaries

Dates	Local authority	Maps	Wards
1974–1983	London Borough of Croydon		Coulsdon East, Purley, Sanderstead and Selsdon, Sanderstead North, Woodcote and Coulsdon West
1983–1997			Coulsdon East, Croham, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Woodcote and Coulsdon West
1997–2010			Coulsdon East, Croham, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Waddon, Woodcote and Coulsdon West
2010–2024			Coulsdon East, Coulsdon West, Croham, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon and Ballards, Waddon
2024–present			Coulsdon Town, Kenley, Old Coulsdon, Park Hill & Whitgift, Purley & Woodcote, Purley Oaks & Riddlesdown, Sanderstead, South Croydon[6]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	February 1974	Sir William Clark	Conservative
	1992	Sir Richard Ottaway	Conservative
	2015	Chris Philp	Conservative

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Croydon South^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Philp	19,757	40.0	–14.5
	Labour	Ben Taylor	17,444	35.3	+7.2
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Howard	4,384	8.9	–4.6
	Reform UK	Bob Bromley	4,149	8.4	N/A
	Green	Elaine Garrod	2,859	5.8	+2.9
	Workers Party	Kulsum Hussin	612	1.2	N/A
	Independent	Mark Samuel	173	0.4	N/A
Majority			2,313	4.7	–21.7
Turnout			49,378	65.9	–5.2
Registered electors			74,968
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.9

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[8]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	27,725	54.5
	Labour	14,317	28.1
	Liberal Democrats	6,885	13.5
	Green	1,466	2.9
	Others	442	0.9
	Brexit Party	59	0.1
Turnout		50,894	71.1
Electorate		71,541

General election 2019: Croydon South^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Philp	30,985	52.2	−2.2
	Labour	Olga FitzRoy	18,646	31.4	−4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Anna Jones	7,503	12.6	+6.8
	Green	Peter Underwood	1,782	3.0	+1.2
	UKIP	Kathleen Garner	442	0.7	−1.1
Majority			12,339	20.8	+2.2
Turnout			59,358	70.7	−2.6
Registered electors			83,977
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

General election 2017: Croydon South^[11][12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Philp	33,334	54.4	−0.1
	Labour	Jennifer Brathwaite	21,928	35.8	+11.0
	Liberal Democrats	Anna Jones	3,541	5.8	−0.2
	Green	Catherine Shelley	1,125	1.8	−1.9
	UKIP	Kathleen Garner	1,116	1.8	−8.7
	CPA	David Omamogho	213	0.3	New
Majority			11,406	18.6	−11.1
Turnout			61,247	73.3	+2.9
Registered electors			83,518
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.5

General election 2015: Croydon South^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Philp	31,448	54.5	+3.6
	Labour	Emily Benn	14,308	24.8	+4.8
	UKIP	Kathleen Garner	6,068	10.5	+6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Gill Hickson	3,448	6.0	−16.8
	Green	Peter Underwood	2,154	3.7	+2.0
	Independent	Mark Samuel	221	0.4	New
	Class War	Jon Bigger[15]	65	0.1	New
Majority			17,140	29.7	+1.6
Turnout			57,712	70.4	+1.1
Registered electors			82,010
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.6

General election 2010: Croydon South^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Ottaway	28,684	50.9	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Rix	12,866	22.8	+2.4
	Labour	Jane Avis	11,287	20.0	−4.0
	UKIP	Jeffrey Bolter	2,504	4.4	+2.3
	Green	Gordon Ross	981	1.7	New
Majority			15,818	28.1	+1.4
Turnout			56,322	69.3	+5.8
Registered electors			81,303
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Ottaway	25,320	51.8	+2.6
	Labour	Paul Smith	11,792	24.1	–5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Lawman	10,049	20.6	+2.3
	UKIP	James Feisenberger	1,054	2.2	0.0
	Veritas	Graham Dare	497	1.0	New
	Independent	Mark Samuel	185	0.4	0.0
Majority			13,528	27.7	+8.4
Turnout			48,897	63.6	+2.2
Registered electors			75,812
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.2

General election 2001: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Ottaway	22,169	49.2	+1.9
	Labour	Gerry Ryan	13,472	29.9	+4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Anna-Nicolett Gallop	8,226	18.3	–2.8
	UKIP	Kathleen Garner	998	2.2	New
	Independent	Mark Samuel	195	0.4	+0.2
Majority			8,697	19.3	−2.7
Turnout			45,060	61.4	–12.1
Registered electors			73,372
	Conservative hold		Swing	–1.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Ottaway	25,649	47.3	−14.3
	Labour	Charlie Burling	13,719	25.3	+9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Gauge	11,441	21.1	−0.5
	Referendum	Tony Barber	2,631	4.9	New
	BNP	Paul Ferguson	354	0.7	New
	Independent	A.G. Harker	309	0.6	New
	Independent	Mark Samuel	96	0.2	−0.3
Majority			11,930	22.0	−18.7
Turnout			54,199	73.5	−4.1
Registered electors			73,787
	Conservative hold		Swing	-11.7

General election 1992: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Ottaway	31,993	63.7	−0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Billenness	11,568	23.0	−1.3
	Labour	Helen Salmon	6,444	12.8	+3.0
	Independent	Mark Samuel	239	0.5	New
Majority			20,425	40.7	+0.9
Turnout			50,244	77.6	+3.9
Registered electors			64,768
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Clark	30,732	64.1	−1.0
	Liberal	George Morrison	11,669	24.3	−2.8
	Labour	Geraint Davies	4,679	9.8	+2.0
	Green	Paul Baldwin	900	1.9	New
Majority			19,063	39.8	+1.8
Turnout			47,980	73.7	+2.6
Registered electors			65,085
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.9

General election 1983: Croydon South^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Clark	29,842	65.1	+0.2
	Liberal	James Forrest[18]	12,402	27.1	+6.1
	Labour	Robert C E Brooks[18]	3,568	7.8	−5.3
Majority			17,440	38.0	−5.9
Turnout			46,702	71.1	−5.7
Registered electors			64,482
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.9

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Clark[19]	30,874	64.9	+7.0
	Liberal	Peter Billenness[19]	10,006	21.0	−4.9
	Labour	John Bloom[19]	6,249	13.1	−3.1
	National Front	Roland Dummer[19]	469	1.0	New
Majority			20,868	43.9	+11.9
Turnout			47,598	76.7	+2.8
Registered electors			62,022
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.9

General election October 1974: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Clark	25,703	57.9	−1.2
	Liberal	D Nunneley	11,514	25.9	−0.8
	Labour	DW Keene	7,203	16.2	+2.0
Majority			14,189	32.0	−0.4
Turnout			44,420	73.9	−8.4
Registered electors			60,090
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.2

General election February 1974: Croydon South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Clark	28,915	59.1
	Liberal	J.P. Coleman	13,048	26.7
	Labour	Henry Hodge	6,965	14.2
Majority			15,867	32.4
Turnout			48,928	82.3
Registered electors			59,447
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, Croydon South elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – London". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
2. "Conservative MP Richard Ottaway to step down at election". BBC News. 27 October 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
3. "DECLARATION OF RESULT OF POLL" (PDF). 2011 Electorate Figures. London Borough of Croydon. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
4. "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
5. "Election 2015: Croydon South". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 3 London region.
7. "Candidate information". Croydon Council. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
8. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
9. https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Statement%20of%20Persons%20Nominated%20and%20Notice%20of%20Poll%20Croydon%20South.pdf ^{[dead link]}
10. "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
11. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL" (PDF). Croydon London Borough Council. 11 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
12. "Croydon South parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
13. "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "Jon Bigger – Croydon South". Class War. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
16. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
17. "UK General Election results June 1983:Croydon South". PoliticalResources.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
18. "Election '86 – the candidates". Croydon Advertiser. 2 May 1986. p. 5.
19. Return of the Expenses of each candidate at the general election of May, 1979, in the United Kingdom (HC 374). Parliament of the United Kingdom. p. 11.

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• Croydon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Croydon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Croydon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51.331°N 0.098°W / 51.331; -0.098