# Stockton South (UK Parliament constituency)

Stockton South was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2019 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Matt Vickers of the Conservative Party.
Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished; subject to moderate boundary changes, it was reformed as Stockton West.

## Boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth, Egglescliffe, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick, Mandale, Parkfield, Preston, Stainsby, Victoria, Village, and Yarm, and the Borough of Middlesbrough wards of Ayresome, Brookfield, and Kader.
1997–2010: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth, Egglescliffe, Elm Tree, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick, Mandale, Parkfield, Preston, Stainsby, Victoria, Village, and Yarm. The three Middlesbrough wards were transferred to the redrawn Middlesbrough constituency.
2010–2024: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth and Elm Tree, Eaglescliffe, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick East, Ingleby Barwick West, Mandale and Victoria, Parkfield and Oxbridge, Stainsby Hill, Thornaby-on-Tees, and Yarm.
2024: Constituency was abolished as a result of 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies.
Stockton South consisted of the south-western half of Stockton-on-Tees and on the same bank, upstream, the town of Eaglescliffe – on the southern bank of the River Tees are the towns of Thornaby-on-Tees, Yarm, and Ingleby Barwick.

## History

The seat was formed from a combination of Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby in 1983, predominantly as a replacement to the latter seat.

### Political history

More middle-class than neighbouring Stockton North, this seat was first won by the SDP–Liberal Alliance in a narrow victory at the 1983. Ian Wrigglesworth, the former Labour MP for Thornaby, defected to the newly formed Social Democratic Party in 1981, and held the successor seat as the SDP candidate.
This result came after the Conservative candidate's nomination was withdrawn when he was revealed to have previously been in the National Front.
Following this, the seat was held by a Conservative for ten years, from 1987 to 1997. It was a bellwether in Labour's landslide at the 1997 general election, and its member, Dari Taylor, retained it until the 2010 general election, when the Conservative, James Wharton narrowly won back the seat.
It was the Conservative Party's only gain in the North East, with Wharton substantially increasing his majority at the 2015 general election. However, Labour's victory in the seat in 2017 saw the seat's 30 year status as a bellwether constituency come to an end. In 2019, the Conservatives took it back, in line with the general swing in their favour in multiple north east red wall seats, despite only being held by Labour for fifteen of its 39 years of existence.

## Constituency profile

Based on ONS data, workless claimants and registered jobseekers, were in May 2017 lower than the North East average of 5.9% and also lower than the national average of 4.6%, at 3.4% of the population.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | Ian Wrigglesworth | SDP |
| 1987 | Tim Devlin | Conservative |
| 1997 | Dari Taylor | Labour |
| 2010 | James Wharton | Conservative |
| 2017 | Paul Williams | Labour |
| 2019 | Matt Vickers | Conservative |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Election results 1983–2024
### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SDP | Ian Wrigglesworth | 19,550 | 36.8 | |
| | Conservative | Tom Finnegan | 19,448 | 36.6 | |
| | Labour | Frank Griffiths | 13,998 | 26.3 | |
| | Independent | D. Fern | 205 | 0.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 102 | 0.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,201 | 72.1 | |
| | SDP win (new seat) | SDP win (new seat) | SDP win (new seat) | SDP win (new seat) | SDP win (new seat) |
General election 1987: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Devlin | 20,833 | 35.0 | 1.6 |
| | SDP | Ian Wrigglesworth | 20,059 | 33.7 | 3.1 |
| | Labour | John McKie Scott | 18,600 | 31.3 | 5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 774 | 1.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,492 | 79.0 | 6.9 |
| | Conservative gain from SDP | Conservative gain from SDP | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Devlin | 28,418 | 45.2 | 10.2 |
| | Labour | John McKie Scott | 25,049 | 39.8 | 8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kay R. Kirkham | 9,410 | 15.0 | 18.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,369 | 5.4 | 4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,877 | 82.8 | 3.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 0.8 | |
General election 1997: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dari Taylor | 28,790 | 55.2 | 15.4 |
| | Conservative | Tim Devlin | 17,205 | 33.0 | 12.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Monck | 4,721 | 9.1 | 5.9 |
| | Referendum | John Horner | 1,400 | 2.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,585 | 22.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,116 | 75.9 | 6.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 14.0 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dari Taylor | 23,414 | 53.0 | 3.3 |
| | Conservative | Tim Devlin | 14,328 | 32.4 | 1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Suzanne Fletcher | 6,012 | 13.6 | 4.4 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Lawrence Coombes | 455 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,086 | 20.6 | 2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,209 | 62.9 | 11.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 0.8 | |
General election 2005: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dari Taylor | 21,480 | 47.8 | 5.2 |
| | Conservative | James Gaddas | 15,341 | 34.1 | 1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Barker | 7,171 | 16.0 | 2.4 |
| | UKIP | Sandra Allison | 931 | 2.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,139 | 13.7 | 6.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,923 | 63.0 | 0.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.5 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Wharton | 19,577 | 38.9 | 4.7 |
| | Labour | Dari Taylor | 19,245 | 38.3 | 9.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jacquie Bell | 7,600 | 15.1 | 1.0 |
| | BNP | Neil Sinclair | 1,553 | 3.1 | New |
| | UKIP | Peter Braney | 1,471 | 2.9 | 0.9 |
| | Independent | Yvonne Hossack | 536 | 1.1 | New |
| | Christian | Ted Strike | 302 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 332 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,284 | 67.4 | 4.4 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 7.0 | |
General election 2015: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Wharton | 24,221 | 46.8 | 7.9 |
| | Labour | Louise Baldock | 19,175 | 37.0 | 1.3 |
| | UKIP | Ted Strike | 5,480 | 10.6 | 7.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Drew Durning | 1,366 | 2.6 | 12.5 |
| | Green | Jacqui Lovell | 952 | 1.8 | New |
| | Independent | Steve Walmsley | 603 | 1.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,046 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,797 | 69.0 | 1.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 4.55 | |
General election 2017: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Paul Williams | 26,102 | 48.5 | 11.5 |
| | Conservative | James Wharton | 25,214 | 46.8 | 0.0 |
| | UKIP | David Outterside | 1,186 | 2.2 | 8.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Drew Durning | 951 | 1.8 | 0.8 |
| | Green | Jo Fitzgerald | 371 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 888 | 1.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,824 | 71.2 | 2.2 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 5.8 | |
General election 2019: Stockton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Matt Vickers | 27,764 | 50.7 | 3.9 |
| | Labour | Paul Williams | 22,504 | 41.1 | 7.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Brendan Devlin | 2,338 | 4.3 | 2.5 |
| | Brexit Party | John Prescott | 2,196 | 4.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,260 | 9.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,802 | 71.3 | 0.1 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 5.6 | |