:''This seat should not be confused with the current Croydon South constituency'' Croydon South was a constituency represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It elected one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system. It was created for the 1918 general election when the

County Borough of Croydon The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. Hi ...

had grown so the

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

seat was split into two seats. In 1974 the seat was redrawn and renamed

Croydon Central Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...

; following the 1965 addition of Purley and

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The loc ...

to the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

in 1974 a fresh seat of Croydon South was created to the south predominantly from

East Surrey East Surrey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Claire Coutinho, a Conservative. The seat covers an affluent area in the English county of Surrey. Since its creation in 1918, East Surrey has ...

rather than from the historic Croydon South. It did not exist from 1950 to 1955 as an east–west division of the town was chosen instead. Its voters elected twice Labour candidates, for the 1945 and 1966 Parliaments when the Labour Party received strong majorities, and at all other elections elected

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidates.

Boundaries

1918-1950: The County Borough of Croydon wards of Central, East, South, and West. 1955-1965: The County Borough of Croydon wards of Addington, Broad Green, Central, Shirley, South, and Waddon. 1965-1974: The London Borough of Croydon wards of Addington, Broad Green, Central, Shirley, South, and Waddon.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

From 1950 to 1955 the seat was divided into Croydon East and Croydon West.

MPs 1955–1974

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in 1930s

Elections in 1940s

Elections in 1950s

Elections in 1960s

Elections in 1970s

Politics and history of the constituency

The seat was created in 1918 and the first MP was Ian Malcolm, who had been the MP for all of Croydon. H.T. Muggeridge, father of

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

, fought the seat for Labour four times from 1918, later becoming MP for

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...

. The seat saw a by-election in 1932, won by Herbert Williams. Croydon South had twice seen Croydon's only Labour MPs before the 1990s.

David Rees-Williams David Rees Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore, PC, TD (22 November 1903 – 30 August 1976) was a British politician. Life and career Rees-Williams was born in Bridgend, Wales, the son of William Rees Williams, of Garth-celyn, Bridgend, and Jen ...

held the seat from the 1945 Labour landslide until unfavourable boundary changes in 1950.

David Winnick David Julian Winnick (born 26 June 1933) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Walsall North between 1979 and 2017, he was also the MP for Croydon South from 1966 to 1970. Early life Born into a Britis ...

won the seat in 1966 before losing in 1970. Otherwise the seat, and indeed the rest of Croydon, had always been firm Conservative territory. From 1950 until 1955 the seat was divided into east and west, represented by Conservatives Herbert Williams and Richard Thompson respectively.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Croydon South (Historic Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of the London Borough of Croydon Parliamentary constituencies in London (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1955 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1974