# Battersea South (UK Parliament constituency)

Battersea South was a parliamentary constituency, originally in the County of London and later in Greater London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament (using first-past-the-post voting).
It was created for the 1918 general election, when the former Battersea constituency was divided in two and the Clapham constituency was reduced in size, losing both of its Battersea wards of the four in total. Battersea South was abolished for the 1983 general election, when the bulk of its territory was reunited with Battersea North to form a new Battersea seat. The south of its area formed a new Tooting seat.

## Boundaries

1918–1950: The Metropolitan Borough of Battersea wards of Bolingbroke, Broomwood, St John, Shaftesbury, and Winstanley.
1950–1974: The Metropolitan Borough of Battersea wards of Bolingbroke, Broomwood, Lavender, Nightingale, St John, Shaftesbury, Stormont, and Thornton.
1974–1983: The London Borough of Wandsworth wards of Balham, Earlsfield, Fairfield, Nightingale, and Northcote.
The seat was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918. When seats were redistributed by the Representation of the People Act 1948 the boundaries of the constituency were altered to contain only four wards, and Winstanley ward was transferred to Battersea North. However the wards of the borough were redrawn in 1949 prior to the next general election in 1950. Accordingly, changes were made under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. Of the 16 new wards, eight were included in each of the Battersea North and South constituencies.
In 1965 Battersea became part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. This, however made no immediate change to the parliamentary constituencies. It was not until the general election of February 1974 that the constituency boundaries were altered. The Shaftesbury and St John's wards were transferred to Battersea North, while the redrawn constituency incorporated areas previously in the Clapham and Putney seats. These boundaries were used until abolition.
The constituency was abolished in 1983. Most of its area (Balham, Fairfield and Northcote wards) went to the recreated Battersea seat, with part (Earlsfield and Nightingale wards) passing to Tooting.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Viscount Curzon | Conservative |
| | 1929 by-election | William Bennett | Labour |
| | 1931 | Sir Harry Selley | Conservative |
| | 1945 | Caroline Ganley | Labour Co-operative |
| | 1951 | Ernest Partridge | Conservative |
| | 1964 | Ernie Perry | Labour |
| | 1979 | Alf Dubs | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alf Dubs | 13,984 | 45.11 | |
| | Conservative | Wellesley Wallace | 13,652 | 44.04 | |
| | Liberal | Jennifer Ware | 2,802 | 9.04 | |
| | National Front | A Perry | 561 | 1.81 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 332 | 1.07 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,000 | 70.92 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ernest Perry | 14,284 | 47.84 | |
| | Conservative | Wellesley Wallace | 11,433 | 38.29 | |
| | Liberal | Jennifer Ware | 3,971 | 13.3 | |
| | More Prosperous Britain | Thomas Keen | 170 | 0.57 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,851 | 9.55 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,856 | 63.9 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ernest Perry | 14,431 | 42.55 |
| | Conservative | Anthony V Bradbury | 12,778 | 37.68 |
| | Liberal | G Mulholland | 5,919 | 17.45 |
| | National Front | John Clifton | 787 | 2.32 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,653 | 4.87 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,916 | 73.02 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1970: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ernest Perry | 10,925 | 49.54 | |
| | Conservative | Ian Norman Samuel | 9,227 | 41.84 | |
| | Liberal | Raymond Benad | 1,183 | 5.36 | |
| | National Front | Tom Lamb | 716 | 3.25 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,698 | 7.70 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,050 | 63.57 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ernest Perry | 13,651 | 52.94 |
| | Conservative | Ian Norman Samuel | 9,861 | 38.24 |
| | Liberal | Basil Weekley | 2,276 | 8.83 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,790 | 14.70 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,788 | 72.95 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1964: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ernest Perry | 12,253 | 46.84 | |
| | Conservative | Ernest Partridge | 10,615 | 40.57 | |
| | Liberal | David Layton | 3,294 | 12.59 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,638 | 6.27 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,162 | 72.30 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Ernest Partridge | 14,203 | 48.26 |
| | Labour Co-op | Geoffrey Rhodes | 12,451 | 42.31 |
| | Liberal | William Broderick Mattinson | 2,774 | 9.43 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,752 | 5.95 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,428 | 78.85 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Partridge | 15,044 | 47.57 | |
| | Labour | Eric Kenneth I Hurst | 14,365 | 45.42 | |
| | Liberal | Alan Cooper-Smith | 2,219 | 7.02 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 679 | 2.15 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,628 | 80.60 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Partridge | 17,731 | 50.71 | |
| | Labour Co-op | Caroline Ganley | 17,237 | 49.29 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 494 | 1.42 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,968 | 85.61 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour Co-op | Conservative gain from Labour Co-op | Swing | | |
General election 1950: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Caroline Ganley | 16,142 | 46.30 | |
| | Conservative | Ernest Partridge | 15,774 | 45.24 | |
| | Liberal | Clifford Henry Tyers | 2,949 | 8.46 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 368 | 1.06 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,865 | 85.62 | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | | |

### Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Caroline Ganley | 19,275 | 61.53 | |
| | Conservative | Ernest Partridge | 12,050 | 38.47 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,225 | 23.06 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,325 | 73.04 | |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Election in the 1930s

General election 1935: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harry Selley | 21,268 | 57.3 | −9.6 |
| | Labour | Herbert Romeril | 15,821 | 42.7 | +11.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,447 | 14.6 | −21.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37.089 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1931: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harry Selley | 27,857 | 66.9 | +24.1 |
| | Labour | William Bennett | 12,822 | 30.8 | −13.1 |
| | New Party | Leslie Charles Cuming | 909 | 2.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,035 | 36.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,588 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Election in the 1920s

General election 1929: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William Bennett | 18,113 | 43.9 | +1.6 |
| | Unionist | Harry Selley | 17,695 | 42.8 | −14.9 |
| | Liberal | William J. West | 5,516 | 13.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 418 | 1.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,324 | 72.5 | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | | |
1929 Battersea South by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William Bennett | 11,789 | 45.5 | +3.2 |
| | Unionist | Harry Selley | 11,213 | 43.4 | −14.3 |
| | Liberal | Vivian Albu | 2.858 | 11.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 576 | 2.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,557 | 57.7 | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | | |
General election 1924: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Francis Curzon | 19,588 | 57.7 | +5.7 |
| | Labour | Albert Winfield | 14,371 | 42.3 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,217 | 15.4 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,959 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General election 1923: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Francis Curzon | 14,558 | 52.0 | −9.5 |
| | Labour | Albert Winfield | 13,440 | 48.0 | +9.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,118 | 4.0 | −19.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,998 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −9.5 | |
General election 1922: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Francis Curzon | 17,685 | 61.5 | −6.7 |
| | Labour | Albert Winfield | 11,050 | 38.5 | +23.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,635 | 23.0 | −30.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,735 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −15.2 | |

### Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Battersea South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Francis Curzon | 15,670 | 68.2 | |
| | Labour | Arthur Lynch | 3,383 | 14.7 | |
| | Liberal | Joseph William Molden | 2,273 | 9.9 | |
| | Independent | John Ernest Philip Jenkin* | 1,657 | 7.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,287 | 53.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,983 | 53.4 | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
* Jenkin was supported by and possibly the nominee of the local National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers branch.