Bristol South (UK Parliament constituency)

Bristol South is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Karin Smyth of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Bristol South
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary of Bristol South in South West England
County	City of Bristol
Population	107,365 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	74,696 (2023)[2]
Major settlements	Bedminster
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Karin Smyth (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Bristol

Constituency profile

Bristol South is a traditional white working class seat. Residents' wealth is around average for the UK.^[3]

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 1997–2024

The constituency covers the south-west of Bristol, bounded by the Avon New Cut to the north, the A37 Wells Road to the east, and the city boundaries to the south and west.

1885–1918: The Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster East, Bedminster West, Bristol, and Redcliffe, and part of the civil parish of Bedminster.

1918–1950: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster East, Bedminster West, and Southville, and part of Somerset ward.

1950–1955: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Somerset, Southville, and Windmill Hill.

1955–1983: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Hengrove, Somerset, and Southville.

1983–1997: The City of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Filwood, Hartcliffe, Knowle, Southville, Whitchurch Park, and Windmill Hill.

1997–2024: The City of Bristol wards of Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Filwood, Hartcliffe, Hengrove, Knowle, Southville, Whitchurch Park, and Windmill Hill.

2024–present: The City of Bristol wards of Bedminster; Bishopsworth; Filwood; Hartcliffe & Withywood; Hengrove & Whitchurch Park; Southville; and Windmill Hill.^[4]

To bring the electorate within the permitted range, the Knowle ward was moved to Bristol East.^[5][6]

History

The seat has elected Labour MPs at every election since 1935, the only seat in the south of England outside Greater London with such a record. The closest result, giving a marginal majority, was the 1987 election where Dawn Primarolo won a majority of 2.7% of the vote — in that election the Social Democratic Party, a 'moderate' breakaway party from the Labour Party,^{[n 3]} won 19.6% of the vote.

The incumbent prior to Smyth was Baroness Dawn Primarolo who held the seat for 28 years. She was a Minister of the Crown in the Blair Ministry and throughout the Coalition Government 2010 was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[7]	Party
	1885	Sir Joseph Dodge Weston	Liberal
	1886	Sir Edward Stock Hill	Conservative
	1900	Walter Long	Conservative
	1906	Sir Howell Davies	Liberal
	1922	Sir Beddoe Rees	Liberal
	1929	Alexander Walkden	Labour
	1931	Noel Ker Lindsay	Conservative
	1935	Alexander Walkden	Labour
	1945	William Wilkins	Labour
	1970	Michael Cocks	Labour
	1987	Dawn Primarolo	Labour
	2015	Karin Smyth	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bristol South^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karin Smyth	18,521	42.7	−8.9
	Green	Jai Breitnauer	10,855	25.0	+19.9
	Reform UK	Richard Visick	6,195	14.3	+10.0
	Conservative	Liz Brennan	4,947	11.4	−21.4
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Brown	2,721	6.3	+0.1
	SDP	Neil Norton	164	0.4	N/A
Majority			7,666	17.7	−1.1
Turnout			43,403	57.5	−7.1
Registered electors			75,533
	Labour hold		Swing	−14.4

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[9]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	24,917	51.6
	Conservative	15,840	32.8
	Liberal Democrats	3,012	6.2
	Green	2,445	5.1
	Brexit Party	2,054	4.3
Turnout		48,268	64.6
Electorate		74,696

General election 2019: Bristol South^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karin Smyth	27,895	50.5	−9.6
	Conservative	Richard Morgan	18,036	32.7	+2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Brown	4,227	7.7	+4.4
	Green	Tony Dyer	2,713	4.9	+2.3
	Brexit Party	Robert de Vito Boutin	2,325	4.2	N/A
Majority			9,859	17.8	−11.6
Turnout			55,196	65.6	+0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.8

General election 2017: Bristol South^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karin Smyth[13]	32,666	60.1	+21.7
	Conservative	Mark Weston	16,679	30.7	+6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Nutland[14]	1,821	3.3	−5.4
	UKIP	Ian Kealey	1,672	3.1	−13.4
	Green	Tony Dyer[15]	1,428	2.6	−8.9
	Independent	John Langley	116	0.2	N/A
Majority			15,987	29.4	+15.3
Turnout			54,382	65.5	+3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.7

General election 2015: Bristol South^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karin Smyth[17]	19,505	38.4	±0.0
	Conservative	Isobel Grant [17]	12,377	24.3	+1.4
	UKIP	Steve Wood [18]	8,381	16.5	+13.9
	Green	Tony Dyer [17]	5,861	11.5	+9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Wright[17]	4,416	8.7	−20.0
	TUSC	Tom Baldwin[19]	302	0.6	+0.2
Majority			7,128	14.1	+4.4
Turnout			50,842	62.0	+0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−0.8

General election 2010: Bristol South^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo	18,600	38.4	−10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Wright	13,866	28.7	+4.9
	Conservative	Mark Lloyd Davies	11,086	22.9	+2.9
	BNP	Colin Chidsey	1,739	3.6	N/A
	UKIP	Colin McNamee	1,264	2.6	−0.5
	Green	Charles Bolton	1,216	2.5	−2.5
	English Democrat	Craig Clarke	400	0.8	N/A
	TUSC	Tom Baldwin	206	0.4	N/A
Majority			4,734	9.7	−16.6
Turnout			48,377	61.6	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.5

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo	20,778	49.1	−7.8
	Liberal Democrats	Kay Barnard	9,636	22.8	+8.0
	Conservative	Graham Hill	8,466	20.0	−2.3
	Green	Charlie Bolton	2,127	5.0	+2.0
	UKIP	Mark Dent	1,321	3.1	+1.9
Majority			11,142	26.3	−8.3
Turnout			42,328	59.8	+3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.9

General election 2001: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo	23,299	56.9	−3.1
	Conservative	Richard Eddy	9,118	22.3	+1.1
	Liberal Democrats	James Main	6,078	14.8	+1.4
	Green	Glenn Vowles	1,233	3.0	+1.5
	Socialist Alliance	Brian Drummond	496	1.2	N/A
	UKIP	Chris Prasad	496	1.2	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Giles Shorter	250	0.6	N/A
Majority			14,181	34.6	−4.2
Turnout			40,970	56.5	−12.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo	29,890	60.0	+9.8
	Conservative	Michael Roe	10,562	21.2	−11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Williams	6,691	13.4	−2.2
	Referendum	Derek W. Guy	1,486	3.0	N/A
	Green	John H. Boxall	722	1.5	0.0
	Socialist Alternative	Ian P. Marshall	355	0.7	N/A
	Glow Bowling Party	Louis P. Taylor	153	0.3	N/A
Majority			19,328	38.8	+21.0
Turnout			49,859	68.9	−8.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1992: Bristol South^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo	25,164	50.2	+9.3
	Conservative	John Bercow	16,245	32.4	−5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Paul N. Crossley	7,822	15.6	−4.0
	Green	John H. Boxall	756	1.5	+0.3
	Natural Law	Neil D. Phillips	136	0.3	N/A
Majority			8,919	17.8	+15.0
Turnout			50,123	77.8	+3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo	20,798	40.9	−3.1
	Conservative	Philip Cutcher	19,394	38.1	+3.0
	SDP	Hilary Long	9,952	19.6	+0.1
	Green	Glenn Vowles	600	1.2	+0.5
	Red Front	Carol Meghji	149	0.3	N/A
Majority			1,404	2.8	−6.1
Turnout			50,893	74.1	+5.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1983: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Cocks	21,824	44.0
	Conservative	Alistair B. Gammell	17,405	35.1
	SDP	David M. Stanbury	9,674	19.5
	Ecology	Geoff Collard	352	0.7	N/A
	Communist	A. Chester	224	0.5	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	L.J. Byrne	113	0.2
Majority			4,419	8.9
Turnout			49,592	68.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Cocks	25,038	57.9	−1.4
	Conservative	Terry Dicks	13,855	32.1	+8.2
	Liberal	C.J. Bidwell	3,815	8.8	−6.1
	National Front	K.G. Elliott	392	0.9	−1.0
	Workers Revolutionary	L.J. Cheek	135	0.3	N/A
Majority			11,183	25.8	−9.6
Turnout			43,235	71.9	+2.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Cocks	25,108	59.3	+4.1
	Conservative	R.J. Kellaway	10,124	23.9	−2.1
	Liberal	D.R.F. Burrows	6,289	14.9	−1.7
	National Front	P.H. Gannaway	798	1.9	−0.3
Majority			14,984	35.4	+6.2
Turnout			42,316	69.4	−5.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

General election February 1974: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Cocks	24,909	55.2	−6.6
	Conservative	R.J. Kellaway	11,742	26.0	−12.2
	Liberal	H.J. Stevens	7,499	16.6	N/A
	National Front	P.H. Gannaway	1,006	2.2	N/A
Majority			13,167	29.2	+5.6
Turnout			45,156	74.7	+9.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Cocks	24,662	61.8	−5.3
	Conservative	David Hunt	15,254	38.2	+5.3
Majority			9,428	23.6	−10.6
Turnout			39,916	64.9	−4.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	26,552	67.1	+3.6
	Conservative	Robert William Wall	12,998	32.9	−3.6
Majority			13,554	34.2	+7.2
Turnout			39,550	69.5	−3.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	26,569	63.5	+2.7
	Conservative	Robert William Wall	15,282	36.5	−2.7
Majority			11,287	27.0	+5.4
Turnout			41,851	72.9	−2.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	27,010	60.8	−3.3
	Conservative	George Edward McWatters	17,428	39.2	+3.3
Majority			9,582	21.6	−6.6
Turnout			44,438	75.7	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	24,954	64.1	+0.8
	Conservative	George Edward McWatters	13,978	35.9	−0.8
Majority			10,976	28.2	+1.6
Turnout			38,932	74.7	−9.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	24,444	63.3	+3.4
	Conservative	Herbert E.P. Buckle	14,161	36.7	+4.9
Majority			10,283	26.6	−1.5
Turnout			38,605	84.5	−0.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	23,456	59.9	+1.1
	Conservative	Lynch Maydon	12,473	31.8	+2.6
	Liberal	Harold Tutt Kay	3,259	8.3	−3.7
Majority			10,983	28.1	−1.5
Turnout			39,188	85.1	+9.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wilkins	24,929	58.8	+8.4
	Conservative	Ted Leather	12,379	29.2	−15.8
	Liberal	Douglas Arthur Jones	5,083	12.0	+7.3
Majority			12,550	29.6	+24.2
Turnout			42,391	75.5	−1.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexander Walkden	22,586	50.4	+11.3
	Conservative	Noel Lindsay	20,153	45.0	−15.9
	Liberal	John Osborne Marshall Skelton	2,090	4.7	N/A
Majority			2,433	5.4	N/A
Turnout			44,829	76.9	−5.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1931: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Noel Lindsay	26,694	60.9	N/A
	Labour	Alexander Walkden	17,174	39.1	−17.4
Majority			9,520	21.8	N/A
Turnout			43,868	82.3	+1.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexander Walkden	23,591	56.5	+8.1
	Liberal	Beddoe Rees	18,194	43.5	−8.1
Majority			5,397	13.0	N/A
Turnout			41,785	80.9	−2.1
Registered electors			51,628
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+8.1

General election 1924: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Beddoe Rees	16,722	51.6	−1.1
	Labour	David Vaughan	15,702	48.4	+1.1
Majority			1,020	3.2	−2.2
Turnout			32,424	83.0	+8.2
Registered electors			39,056
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.1

General election 1923: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Beddoe Rees	15,235	52.7	−3.5
	Labour	David Vaughan	13,701	47.3	+3.5
Majority			1,534	5.4	−7.0
Turnout			28,936	74.8	−1.1
Registered electors			38,675
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.5

General election 1922: Bristol South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Beddoe Rees	16,199	56.2	−12.0
	Labour	David Vaughan	12,650	43.8	+12.0
Majority			3,549	12.4	N/A
Turnout			28,849	75.9	+19.3
Registered electors			38,030
	National Liberal gain from National Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

Davies

General election 1918: Bristol South^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Liberal	Howell Davies	13,761	68.2	+17.7
	Labour	Thomas Lewis	6,409	31.8	N/A
Majority			7,352	36.4	+35.4
Turnout			20,170	56.6	−27.8
Registered electors			35,663
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General election December 1910: Bristol South^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Howell Davies	6,895	50.5	−0.4
	Conservative	J.T. Francombe	6,757	49.5	+0.4
Majority			138	1.0	−0.8
Turnout			13,652	84.4	−4.0
Registered electors			16,171
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.4

General election January 1910: Bristol South^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Howell Davies	7,281	50.9	−9.3
	Conservative	H.W. Chatterton	7,010	49.1	+9.3
Majority			271	1.8	−18.6
Turnout			14,291	88.4	−0.2
Registered electors			16,171
	Liberal hold		Swing	−9.3

Elections in the 1900s

Walter Long

General election 1906: Bristol South^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Howell Davies	7,964	60.2	+13.2
	Conservative	Walter Long	5,272	39.8	−13.2
Majority			2,692	20.4	N/A
Turnout			13,236	88.6	+10.4
Registered electors			14,935
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.2

General election 1900: Bristol South^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Long	5,470	53.0	−0.9
	Liberal	Howell Davies	4,859	47.0	+0.9
Majority			611	6.0	−1.8
Turnout			10,329	78.2	−0.1
Registered electors			13,206
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.9

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Bristol South^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stock Hill	5,190	53.9	+1.0
	Liberal	John O'Connor Power	4,431	46.1	−1.0
Majority			759	7.8	+2.0
Turnout			9,621	78.3	−1.0
Registered electors			12,281
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

General election 1892: Bristol South^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stock Hill	4,990	52.9	−3.6
	Liberal	William Wills	4,442	47.1	+3.6
Majority			548	5.8	−7.2
Turnout			9,432	79.3	+3.5
Registered electors			11,887
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.6

Elections in the 1880s

Hill

General election 1886: Bristol South ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stock Hill	4,447	56.5	+7.1
	Liberal	Joseph Dodge Weston	3,423	43.5	−7.1
Majority			1,024	13.0	N/A
Turnout			7,870	75.8	−4.5
Registered electors			10,384
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.1

General election 1885: Bristol South ^[25][26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Dodge Weston	4,217	50.6
	Conservative	Edward Stock Hill	4,121	49.4
Majority			96	1.2
Turnout			8,338	80.3
Registered electors			10,384
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Avon

Notes

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