South Swindon
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South Swindon in Wiltshire
Location of Wiltshire within England
County	Wiltshire
Electorate	73,449 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Robert Buckland (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Swindon and Devizes

South Swindon is a constituency^{[n 1]} in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Robert Buckland, a Conservative^{[n 2]}, who previously served as Justice Secretary and Welsh Secretary.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be formally renamed Swindon South, to be first contested at the next general election.^[2]

Boundaries

1997–2010: The Borough of Thamesdown wards of Central, Chiseldon, Dorcan, Eastcott, Freshbrook, Lawns, Park, Ridgeway, Toothill, Walcot, and Wroughton.

2010–present: The Borough of Swindon wards of Central, Dorcan, Eastcott, Freshbrook and Grange Park, Old Town and Lawn, Parks, Ridgeway, Shaw and Nine Elms, Toothill and Westlea, Walcot, and Wroughton and Chiseldon.

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the seats of Swindon that was abolished, and Devizes that remains. This seat with a population of around 93,000 incorporates the southern half of the town as well as farms and villages with hamlets to the immediate south and east of Swindon.

It used slightly amended boundaries for the 2010 election, which saw it lose South Marston to North Swindon. The border now runs from Dorcan across to Bishopstone and then down to Russley Park before running west to Barbury Castle. From there it runs north to the Roughmoor area and loops back down to incorporate West Swindon, before following the railway line east through the town and back to Dorcan. In addition to the south of Swindon, main settlements include Wroughton, Chiseldon, Wanborough and Liddington.^[3]

History

Historically Swindon is a railway town and until the latter part of the 20th century the related works were the primary employer.^[4] Today Swindon is the home of a number of large companies, examples specific to South Swindon include Intel's European headquarters,^[5] Nationwide's headquarters^[6] and Zurich Financial Services' UK headquarters.

Members

Created in 1997, the Swindon South constituency, swinging in line with the national average in the New Labour landslide, produced a fairly safe majority for the Labour winner. Julia Drown had a lead of more than 5,000 which was extended in 2001 to more than 7,000 but then dropped dramatically on a new candidate's selection, to just 1,353 in 2005. In 2010 Robert Buckland, a Conservative, gained South Swindon at the general election with a majority of just over 3500. In 2015, the Conservative majority increased to 5785; in 2017, the Conservative majority fell to 2,464 on a 3.5% swing to Labour. In 2019, Buckland's majority rose to 6625 (13%) and 52% of the vote with a swing of 4.1% to Conservative. These patterns suggest a seat that is more marginal than its neighbour North Swindon, and one which has acted as a bellwether of the national result. Incumbent MP Buckland was the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice between July 2019 and September 2021, and Secretary of State for Wales from July 2022.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: South Swindon^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	26,536	52.3	3.9
	Labour Co-op	Sarah Church	19,911	39.2	4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Stan Pajak	4,299	8.5	4.4
Majority			6,625	13.1	8.2
Turnout			50,746	69.4	1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.1

General election 2017: South Swindon^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	24,809	48.4	2.2
	Labour Co-op	Sarah Church	22,345	43.5	9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Stan Pajak	2,079	4.1	0.4
	UKIP	Martin Costello	1,291	2.5	9.5
	Green	Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn	747	1.5	2.1
Majority			2,464	4.9	6.8
Turnout			51,358	71.0	3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.5

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § South Swindon

General election 2015: South Swindon^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	22,777	46.2	4.4
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	16,992	34.5	0.2
	UKIP	John Short[12]	5,920	12.0	7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Damon Hooton[13]	1,817	3.7	13.9
	Green	Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn[14]	1,757	3.6	2.3
Majority			5,785	11.7	4.2
Turnout			49,263	66.6	1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.1

General election 2010: South Swindon^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	19,687	41.8	4.9
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	16,143	34.3	6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Damon Hooton	8,305	17.6	0.6
	UKIP	Robert Tingley	2,029	4.3	2.1
	Green	Jenni Miles	619	1.3	1.6
	Christian	Alistair Kirk	176	0.4	New
	Independent	Karsten Evans	160	0.3	New
Majority			3,544	7.5	N/A
Turnout			47,119	64.9	5.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	5.51

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: South Swindon^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	17,534	40.3	11.0
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	16,181	37.2	2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Stebbing	7,322	16.8	4.9
	Green	Bill Hughes	1,234	2.8	New
	UKIP	Stephen Halden	955	2.2	0.6
	Independent	Alan Hayward	193	0.4	New
	Independent	John Williams	53	0.1	New
Majority			1,353	3.1	13.8
Turnout			43,472	60.2	0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	6.9

General election 2001: South Swindon^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julia Drown	22,260	51.3	4.5
	Conservative	Simon Coombs	14,919	34.4	1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Geoff Brewer	5,165	11.9	2.5
	UKIP	Vicki Sharp	713	1.6	New
	Rock 'n' Roll Loony	Roly Gillard	327	0.8	New
Majority			7,341	16.9	5.9
Turnout			43,384	61.0	11.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Neighbouring constituencies

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Wiltshire

Notes

References

51°33′32″N 1°46′55″W / 51.559°N 1.782°W / 51.559; -1.782