Following its review of parliamentary representation in Leicestershire, the Boundary Commission for England recommended replacing the Blaby constituency with a new South Leicestershire seat, with some boundary changes. This change occurred for the 2010 general election.
The electoral wards used to create the new constituency are;
Broughton Astley-Astley, Broughton Astley-Broughton, Broughton Astley-Primethorpe, Broughton Astley-Sutton, Dunton, Lutterworth Brookfield, Lutterworth Orchard, Lutterworth Springs, Lutterworth Swift, Misterton, Peatling, and Ullesthorpe in the Harborough District
Blaby South, Cosby with South Whetstone, Countesthorpe, Croft Hill, Enderby and St John's, Millfield, Narborough and Littlethorpe, Normanton, North Whetstone, Pastures, Ravenhurst and Fosse, Saxondale, Stanton and Flamville, and Winstanley in the Blaby District[3]
The District of Blaby wards of: Blaby South; Cosby with South Whetstone; Countesthorpe; Croft Hill; Enderby and St. John’s; Narborough and Littlethorpe; Normanton; North Whetstone; Pastures; Saxondale; Stanton and Flamville.
The District of Harborough wards of: Bosworth; Broughton Astley-Primethorpe & Sutton; Broughton Astley South & Leire; Dunton; Fleckney; Lutterworth East; Lutterworth West; Misterton; Ullesthorpe.[4]
The Blaby District wards of Millfield, Ravenhurst and Fosse, and Winstanley (comprising the community of Braunstone Town) will be transferred to the new constituency of Mid Leicestershire. The Harborough District wards of Bosworth and Fleckney will be transferred from Harborough.
Following a local government boundary review in Blaby which came into effect in May 2023,[5][6] the constituency will now comprise the following from the next general election:
The District of Blaby wards of: Blaby; Cosby & South Whetstone; Countesthorpe; Enderby; Fosse Highcross; Fosse Normanton; Fosse Stoney Cove; Glen Parva; Narborough & Littlethorpe; North Whetstone; and a small part of Leicester Forest & Lubbesthorpe.
The District of Harborough wards of: Bosworth; Broughton Astley-Primethorpe & Sutton; Broughton Astley South & Leire; Dunton; Fleckney; Lutterworth East; Lutterworth West; Misterton; Ullesthorpe.[7]
Constituency profileedit
The current South Leicestershire is a slice of Leicestershire to the south west of Leicester, with most of the population in commuter towns and villages clustered close to Leicester itself, both in the suburb of Braunstone Town, including the large modern development of Thorpe Astley, and commuter villages like Whetstone, Blaby and Narborough. Further south it is more rural, with the largest settlement the old market town of Lutterworth. Nearby is the former site of RAF Bitteswell, since redeveloped as Magna Park, one of the largest distribution centres in Europe.[8]
The constituency name of South Leicestershire was new for 2010, but the seat was not massively changed from the old seat of Blaby. Both this and its predecessor are safe Tory seats held by the party since Blaby's creation in 1974. The best known MP to represent the area is the former Chancellor Nigel Lawson.
Prominent members in this period included Thomas Paget (Jnr) (1807–1892) who followed the footsteps of his father in this role (his father having represented Leicestershire) and as partner in Leicester Bank, and Albert Pell, a member of a group of MPs, which included Henry Chaplin, Sir Massey Lopes and Clare Sewell Read, who supported farming interests. He was also a member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.
^"Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^"The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. XLV: An Act to amend the Representation of the People in England and Wales". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 154–206. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
^2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part I.
^LGBCE. "Blaby | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
^ abcLeigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
^ abcdefghijStooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 192. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
^Alberto Costa MP [@AlbertoCostaMP] (17 March 2023). "This evening I was delighted to be reselected as the @Conservatives candidate for South Leicestershire. Hugely grateful to all at the @SLConservatives for their faith and support and I look forward to continue doing all I can for the great people of South Leicestershire" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"South Leicestershire Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that they have selected local campaigner, Paul Hartshorn, to be the Prospective Parliamentary candidate for South Leicestershire". South Leicestershire Lib Dems. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
^"Full list of all Green Party candidates at the next general election". Bright Green. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
^"Leicestershire South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^"General Election 2017: South Leicestershire". The Daily Express. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ abcdefghijklmnoCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 417–418. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^"South Leicestershire Election". Leicester Journal. 16 July 1841. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 16 May 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.