Nottingham South is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, represented since 2010 by Lilian Greenwood of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile Nottingham South is a constituency in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It covers the southern and western neighbourhoods of the city of Nottingham, including Clifton, Wilford, the Meadows, Dunkirk, Lenton, Radford, Wollaton, Beechdale and Bilborough.

Nottingham is a historic city of medieval origin. During the industrial era, the manufacturing of bicycles and textiles, particularly lace, were significant industries in the city. Today, Nottingham is a major centre for sports and is recognised as a City of Literature by UNESCO. This constituency contains neighbourhoods of varying character. Radford, Lenton and Dunkirk are densely-populated, inner-city residential neighbourhoods with large student populations due to their location close to the University of Nottingham, which has around 36,000 students. The Meadows, Clifton, Bilborough and Beechdale were developed as planned council estates in the post-war period and have high levels of deprivation. Wollaton and Wilford are affluent and suburban, with both areas falling within the top 10% least-deprived areas in England. This constituency contains the Queen's Medical Centre, once the largest hospital in the UK, and the headquarters of health retailer Boots, both of which are significant local employers. Nottingham South has overall below-average levels of wealth and house prices are generally lower than the regional and UK averages.

Nottingham South has a low proportion of older adults and a very high percentage of young adults and students; people between the ages of 18 and 24 make up 28% of the population, more than three times the UK-wide rate. In general, residents have low levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is high. They are well-educated and a high proportion work in the health, education and public sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is above-average. White people made up 69% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians were the largest ethnic minority group at 14% and Black people were 8%.

Most of Nottingham South is represented by the Labour Party at the local city council, although some localists were elected in Clifton. An estimated 51% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the UK-wide rate of 52%.

History Since as early as 1295, Nottingham was represented by one large constituency which elected two members of parliament to the House of Commons. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 three single-member subdivisions were created: Nottingham East, Nottingham West and Nottingham South.

Nine year absence of the seat Nottingham South was abolished in the election of February 1974 but was re-formed with altered boundaries nine years later in 1983 from parts of Nottingham East and Nottingham West.

Modern demography Nottingham South is the most diverse of the three constituencies in terms of economic demographics. It includes areas of higher incomes than average in the form of Wollaton and The Park Estate and areas of relative poverty, both suburban and inner city. The council estate built next to and within the bounds of the village/parish of Clifton was once the largest in Europe.

Results to date excluding under the Blair Ministry when it was quite firmly Labour have produced the most marginal majorities of Nottingham City's three constituencies. The Conservative Martin Brandon-Bravo held the seat from 1983 to 1992. Since 1992, Nottingham South has been held by Labour MPs; Alan Simpson until retiring from the House of Commons in 2010 and Lilian Greenwood from 2010.

Communities or localities in Nottingham South include:

Clifton Dunkirk Hockley Village Lace Market Leen Valley Lenton Abbey Lenton Parts of Nottingham City Centre Radford The Meadows The Park Estate Wollaton

Boundaries

Historic 1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Nottingham wards of Bridge, Castle, Market, Meadow, St Mary, and Trent.

1918–1955: The County Borough of Nottingham wards of Bridge, Castle, Meadows, and Trent.

1955–1974: The County Borough of Nottingham wards of Bridge, Clifton, Lenton, and Trent, and the Urban District of West Bridgford.

1983–2010: The City of Nottingham wards of Abbey, Bridge, Clifton East, Clifton West, Lenton, Park, Robin Hood, Wilford, and Wollaton.

2010–2024: The City of Nottingham wards of Bridge, Clifton North, Clifton South, Dunkirk and Lenton, Leen Valley, Radford and Park, Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey, and Wollaton West.

Current Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

The City of Nottingham wards of Bilborough, Clifton East, Clifton West, Lenton & Wollaton East, Meadows, Radford, and Wollaton West.

Nottingham city centre was transferred to Nottingham East and Leen Valley to the newly created seat of Nottingham North and Kimberley, with the Bilborough ward being transferred from the abolished Nottingham North constituency.

Nottingham South contains at least parts of both of the city's universities. The University of Nottingham's University Park Campus and Jubilee Campus are both in the constituency, as is the Clifton Campus of Nottingham Trent University. Many of these students are based in rows of terraced housing in the Lenton and Radford wards of this seat. A minority of students and much of the universities' staff are based in neighbouring Beeston, but this falls within the Broxtowe constituency.

Members of Parliament Since 2010, the seat has been represented by Lilian Greenwood, who succeeded Labour's Alan Simpson on his retirement. Simpson had held the seat since 1992, when he unseated the Conservative Martin Brandon-Bravo.

MPs 1885–1974

Nottingham prior to 1885

ElectionMemberParty 1885 John Williams Liberal 1886 Henry Smith Wright Conservative 1895 Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative 1906 Arthur Richardson Liberal-Labour January 1910 Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative 1929 Holford Knight Labour 1931 National Labour 1935 Frank Markham National Labour 1945 Norman Smith Labour Co-operative 1955 Denis Keegan Conservative 1959 William Clark Conservative 1966 George Perry Labour 1970 Norman Fowler Conservative February 1974 constituency abolished

MPs since 1983

Nottingham East and Nottingham West prior to 1983

ElectionMemberParty 1983 Martin Brandon-Bravo Conservative 1992 Alan Simpson Labour 2010 Lilian Greenwood Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire

Notes

References

External links Nottingham South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Nottingham South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Nottingham South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK