# South Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South Staffordshire was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to major boundary changes, it was reformed as Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, which was first contested at the 2024 general election. Part of the constituency was absorbed into the new seat of Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge, with Sir Gavin Williamson becoming its MP.

## Boundaries

1832–1868: The Hundreds of South Offlow, Seisdon and Cuttleston.
1983–1997: The District of South Staffordshire.
1997–2010: The District of South Staffordshire wards of Bilbrook, Brewood and Coven, Cheslyn Hay, Codsall North, Codsall South, Essington, Featherstone, Great Wyrley Landywood, Great Wyrley Town, Kinver, Lower Penn, Pattingham and Patshull, Perton Central, Perton Dippons, Shareshill, Swindon, Trysull and Seisdon, Wombourne North, Wombourne South East, and Wombourne South West.
2010–2024: The District of South Staffordshire wards of Bilbrook, Brewood and Coven, Cheslyn Hay North and Saredon, Cheslyn Hay South, Codsall North, Codsall South, Essington, Featherstone and Shareshill, Great Wyrley Landywood, Great Wyrley Town, Himley and Swindon, Huntington and Hatherton, Kinver, Pattingham and Patshull, Perton Dippons, Perton East, Perton Lakeside, Trysull and Seisdon, Wombourne North and Lower Penn, Wombourne South East, and Wombourne South West.
The constituency was made up of about two-thirds of the South Staffordshire local government district, its southern bulk. It flanked the western edge of the West Midlands, the closest parts being Wolverhampton and Dudley and did not contain any large towns; the largest town (by electorate) was Wombourne. Its settlements included Brewood, Cheslyn Hay, Codsall, Featherstone, Great Wyrley, Kinver, Perton and Wombourne. Most electoral wards were locally Conservative safe seats with Labour's only area of frequent strength, Cheslyn Hay, a town with historically a greater dependence on coal mining than the others.

### Abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Northern parts, including Great Wyrley along with adjoining built up areas such as Cheslyn Hay, were moved to the newly created constituency of Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge. To compensate, the Borough of Dudley communities of Kingswinford, Wall Heath and Wordsley were transferred from the also-abolished seat of Dudley South, thereby forming a cross-boundary constituency, to be named Kingswinford and South Staffordshire.

## History
### 1832–1868

The ancient county constituency of Staffordshire was divided under the Reform Act 1832 into two two-member constituencies, while other parts of the old constituency were made into or added to borough constituencies. These halves were formally the Northern division of Staffordshire and the Southern division of Staffordshire with less formal variations more common. The Reform Act 1867 abolished the Southern Division with effect from the 1868 general election, replacing it with two new two-seat constituencies: East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire.

#### Prominent figures

Edward Littleton was involved heavily in Catholic Emancipation, the Truck Act 1831, the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 and the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. For two years he was Chief Secretary for Ireland, prominent in the governments led by Melbourne.
Henry Chetwynd-Talbot (later the Earl of Shrewsbury) became an Admiral and whip in the House of Lords in later in life. In most of this early period the constituency elected prominent land-owning industrialists, including, for example, in Walsall, and Wolverhampton. Henry Hodgetts-Foley inherited the majority of Penkridge, now in the Stafford seat, much developed by his heirs.

### 1983–2024

The second creation of the South Staffordshire constituency was established in 1983, although in reality this was merely a renaming of the Staffordshire South West constituency formed in 1974 from parts of the former constituencies of Brierley Hill and Cannock. It covered the whole of the South Staffordshire district until 1997, when the area around Penkridge was removed to the Stafford constituency.
South Staffordshire was a safe seat for the Conservative Party, with Sir Patrick Cormack having held it from its creation in 1974 until he retired in 2010, when he was succeeded by Sir Gavin Williamson. Williamson has held many offices, including Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2013 until 2016, Chief Whip of the House of Commons from 2016 until 2017, Defence Secretary from 2017 to 2019, and Education Secretary from 2019 until his return to the backbenches in 2021.

### General election 2005

* UK Staffordshire South 2005 election postponed
On 30 April 2005, the Liberal Democrat candidate Josephine Harrison died of an undisclosed illness at the age of 53. Election procedures at the time required that in the event of a candidate's death after the close of nominations, the returning officer had to direct the general election poll (due to be held on 5 May) to be abandoned, and to call a fresh general election poll. This was duly done under the same writ of election, 28 days after having seen proof of death. As the poll was not strictly a by-election, but rather a part of the general election, it was run under general election regulations; for instance, not qualifying for the significantly higher election expenses available at by-elections.
The original candidates were:
* Penny Barber, Labour
* Sir Patrick Cormack, Conservative
* Adrian Davies. Freedom Party
* Josephine Harrison, Liberal Democrats
* Malcolm Hurst, United Kingdom Independence Party
On 9 May, the Labour candidate, Penny Barber, announced that she was standing down as she could not afford to take any more time off work. The constituency Labour Party had to select a new candidate, choosing Paul Kalinauckas who had been their candidate in the 2001 election. The Liberal Democrats selected Jo Crotty as their replacement candidate. In addition, three additional candidates who had not been nominated for the original poll fought the delayed election: Kate Spohrer of the Green Party, Rev. David Braid of Clause 28 Children's Protection Christian Democrats, and most notably the journalist Garry Bushell representing the English Democrats Party, who had already stood in the Greenwich and Woolwich constituency on 5 May, where he had polled 3.4%.
The election was eventually held on 23 June 2005 and saw Sir Patrick Cormack hold the seat. With the seat being safely Conservative, and with the results of the general election in other constituencies already known, the election attracted a considerably lower turnout (37.3%) than in other constituencies (akin to a by-election). Cormack increased his majority to 34.5% (a 9.1% swing), while the United Kingdom Independence Party saw one of their best results of 2005, with 10.4% of the vote.
A year later the Electoral Administration Act 2006 was passed, in part because of the events in South Staffordshire. Under the new rules, in case of the death of a candidate, the party of the deceased candidate is allowed to select a replacement candidate. New nominations from parties which did not contest the original poll are no longer permitted. This rule was first used in the 2010 general election when the UKIP candidate for Thirsk and Malton died before the election.

## Constituency profile

A Guardian statistical compilation by constituency in November 2012 showed that 2.8% of the population only were registered jobseekers, significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1832–1868

| Election | | First member | First party | | Second member | Second party |
| 1832 | | Edward Littleton | Whig | | Sir John Wrottesley, Bt | Whig |
| 1835 by-election | | Sir Francis Holyoake-Goodricke, Bt | Conservative | | Sir John Wrottesley, Bt | Whig |
| 1837 | | George Anson | Whig | | Henry Chetwynd-Talbot | Conservative |
| 1849 by-election | | George Anson | Whig | | William Legge | Conservative |
| 1853 by-election | | Edward Littleton | Whig | | William Legge | Conservative |
| 1854 by-election | | Edward Littleton | Whig | | Henry Paget, Earl of Uxbridge | Whig |
| 1857 | | William Orme Foster | Whig | | Henry Hodgetts-Foley | Whig |
| 1859 | | William Orme Foster | Liberal | | Henry Hodgetts-Foley | Liberal |
| 1868 | Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire | Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire | Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire | Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire | Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire | Constituency abolished: replaced by East Staffordshire and West Staffordshire |

### MPs 1983-2024

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1983 | Sir Patrick Cormack | Conservative | Previously MP for South West Staffordshire |
| 2010 | Sir Gavin Williamson | Conservative | Secretary of State for Defence (2017–2019) Secretary of State for Education (2019–2021) |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished: replaced by Kingswinford & South Staffordshire and Stone, Great Wyrley & Penkridge | Constituency abolished: replaced by Kingswinford & South Staffordshire and Stone, Great Wyrley & Penkridge | Constituency abolished: replaced by Kingswinford & South Staffordshire and Stone, Great Wyrley & Penkridge |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gavin Williamson | 36,520 | 73.0 | 3.2 |
| | Labour | Adam Freeman | 8,270 | 16.5 | 8.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Fewtrell | 3,280 | 6.6 | 4.0 |
| | Green | Claire McIlvenna | 1,935 | 3.9 | 1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 28,250 | 56.5 | 12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,005 | 67.9 | 1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 6.0 | |
General election 2017: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gavin Williamson | 35,656 | 69.8 | 10.4 |
| | Labour | Adam Freeman | 12,923 | 25.3 | 6.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hilary Myers | 1,348 | 2.6 | 0.3 |
| | Green | Claire McIlvenna | 1,182 | 2.3 | 0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,733 | 44.5 | 3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,109 | 69.6 | 1.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.7 | |
General election 2015: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gavin Williamson | 29,478 | 59.4 | 6.2 |
| | Labour | Kevin McElduff | 9,107 | 18.4 | 1.9 |
| | UKIP | Lyndon Jones | 8,267 | 16.7 | 11.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Woodthorpe Browne | 1,448 | 2.9 | 13.8 |
| | Green | Claire McIlvenna | 1,298 | 2.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,371 | 41.0 | 7.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,598 | 68.2 | 0.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 4.05 | |
The vote share change in 2010 comes from the notional, not actual, results because of boundary changes.
General election 2010: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gavin Williamson | 26,834 | 53.2 | 2.5 |
| | Labour | Kevin McElduff | 10,244 | 20.3 | 0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarah Fellows | 8,427 | 16.7 | 3.3 |
| | UKIP | Mike Nattrass | 2,753 | 5.5 | 4.7 |
| | BNP | David Bradnock | 1,928 | 3.8 | New |
| | Independent | Andrew Morris | 254 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,590 | 32.9 | 2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,440 | 68.7 | 31.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.1 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Cormack | 13,343 | 52.0 | 1.5 |
| | Labour | Paul Kalinauckas | 4,496 | 17.6 | 16.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jo Crotty | 3,540 | 13.8 | 2.2 |
| | UKIP | Malcolm Hurst | 2,675 | 10.4 | 6.7 |
| | English Democrat | Garry Bushell | 643 | 2.5 | New |
| | Green | Kate Spohrer | 437 | 1.7 | New |
| | Freedom (UK) | Adrian Davies | 434 | 1.7 | New |
| | Clause 28 Children's Protection Christian Democrats | David Braid | 67 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,847 | 34.4 | 18.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,609 | 37.3 | 23.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 9.1 | |
* Note the South Staffordshire 2005 Parliamentary election was postponed until 23 June due to the death of a candidate.
General election 2001: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Cormack | 21,295 | 50.5 | 0.5 |
| | Labour | Paul Kalinauckas | 14,414 | 34.2 | 0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Josephine Harrison | 4,891 | 11.6 | 0.3 |
| | UKIP | Mike Lynch | 1,580 | 3.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,881 | 16.3 | 1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,180 | 60.3 | 13.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Cormack | 25,568 | 50.0 | 9.7 |
| | Labour | Judith LeMaistre | 17,747 | 34.7 | 8.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jamie Calder | 5,797 | 11.3 | 2.9 |
| | Referendum | Peter Carnell | 2,002 | 3.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,821 | 15.3 | 18.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,114 | 74.2 | 7.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 9.0 | |
General election 1992: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Cormack | 40,266 | 59.7 | 1.2 |
| | Labour | BA Wylie | 17,633 | 26.1 | 7.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | IL Sadler | 9,584 | 14.2 | 5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,633 | 33.6 | 7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 67,483 | 81.5 | 3.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 4.1 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Cormack | 37,708 | 60.9 | 1.7 |
| | Liberal | Fran Oborski | 12,440 | 20.1 | 3.4 |
| | Labour | Philip Bateman | 11,805 | 19.1 | 1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25,268 | 40.8 | 5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,953 | 78.2 | 2.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1983: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Cormack | 32,764 | 59.2 | 1.2 |
| | Liberal | John Chambers | 13,004 | 23.5 | 13.2 |
| | Labour | Martin Cartwright | 9,568 | 17.3 | 10.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,760 | 35.7 | 3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,336 | 75.8 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Hodgetts-Foley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal | William Orme Foster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,841 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Hodgetts-Foley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal | William Orme Foster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,375 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1857: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Henry Hodgetts-Foley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | William Orme Foster | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,202 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative |
By-election, 8 February 1854: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Henry Paget | 4,328 | 61.0 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Charles Chetwynd-Talbot | 2,769 | 39.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,559 | 22.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,097 | 71.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,933 | | |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
* Caused by Legge's succession to the peerage, becoming 5th Earl of Dartmouth.
By-election, 15 August 1853: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Edward Littleton | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
* Caused by Anson's resignation.
General election 1852: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Anson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | William Legge | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,116 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

By-election, 19 February 1849: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Legge | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
* Caused by Chetwynd-Talbot's succession to the peerage, becoming 18th Earl of Shrewsbury
General election 1847: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Anson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | Henry Chetwynd-Talbot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,545 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
By-election, 17 July 1846: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Anson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
* Caused by Anson's appointment as Clerk of the Ordnance
General election 1841: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Anson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | Henry Chetwynd-Talbot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,798 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | George Anson | 3,173 | 25.7 |
| | Conservative | Henry Chetwynd-Talbot | 3,126 | 25.3 |
| | Conservative | Richard Dyott | 3,046 | 24.7 |
| | Whig | John Wrottesley | 2,993 | 24.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,269 | 79.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,871 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 47 | 0.4 |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 180 | 1.4 |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig |
By-election, 23 May 1835: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Francis Holyoake Goodricke | 1,776 | 53.3 |
| | Whig | George Anson | 1,553 | 46.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 223 | 6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,329 | 83.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,990 | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig |
* Caused by Littleton's elevation to the peerage, becoming 1st Baron Hatherton
General election 1835: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Edward Littleton | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | John Wrottesley | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,990 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
By-election, 7 June 1833: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Edward Littleton | 439 | 98.7 |
| | Tory | Henry Chetwynd-Talbot | 6 | 1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 433 | 97.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 445 | 14.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,107 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
* Caused by Littleton's appointment as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
General election 1832: South Staffordshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Edward Littleton | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | John Wrottesley | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,107 | |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |