Leeds South was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

in the city of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, which returned 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 of ...

(MP) to 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. ...

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 ...

from

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was then largely replaced by the new Morley and Leeds South constituency. It was the seat of the former Leader of the Labour Party, the late Hugh Gaitskell, and the former Home Secretary

Merlyn Rees Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–197 ...

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Leeds wards of East Hunslet, South, and West Hunslet, and part of Bramley ward. 1918–1950: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Holbeck and West Hunslet, and part of New Wortley ward. 1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Beeston, Holbeck South, Hunslet Carr and Middleton, and West Hunslet. 1955–1974: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Beeston, Holbeck, Hunslet Carr, and Middleton. 1974–1983: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Beeston, East Hunslet, Holbeck, Middleton, and West Hunslet.

History

The constituency was created in 1885 by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

, and was first used in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of that year.

had previously been represented by two MPs (1832–1868) and three MPs (1868–1885). From 1885 it was represented by five single-member constituencies:

Leeds Central Leeds Central is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency recreated in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 1999 b ...

Leeds East Leeds East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Richard Burgon of the Labour Party. The constituency is notable for having been represented by Denis Healey who was the MP from 1955 to 1992. ...

, Leeds North, Leeds South and

Leeds West Leeds West is a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of elect ...

. The constituencies of

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

and

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...

were also created in 1885. The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was then largely replaced by the new Morley and Leeds South constituency. After the 1983 general election Leeds was represented by the constituencies of Leeds Central, Leeds East,

Leeds North East Leeds North East is a constituency which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Fabian Hamilton of the Labour Party. Boundaries 1918–1950: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Crossgates, Roundh ...

Leeds North West Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Sobel, of Labour Co-op. Boundaries 1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Far He ...

, Leeds West and Morley and Leeds South. There were also constituencies of

Elmet Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...

(created 1983) and Pudsey.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Playfair was appointed

Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...

, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

* Caused by Playfair's elevation to the peerage.

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Liberal:

William Middlebrook Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet (22 February 1851 – 30 June 1936) was an English solicitor and Liberal Party politician. Family and education William Middlebrook was born at Birstall in the West Riding of Yorkshire the son of John Mid ...

*Unionist: *Labour: * Brook was supported by the three local branches of

National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (NADSS) was a British veterans' organisation. The group was founded in early 1917 at a conference in Blackburn, drawing together various local groups representing working men who had ser ...

National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers The National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers (NFDDSS) was a British veterans organisation. The organisation was founded in January 1917 by various London-based veterans groups opposed to the Military Service (Review of ...

and

Comrades of the Great War The Comrades of The Great War were formed in 1917 as an association to represent the rights of ex-service men and women who had served or had been discharged from service during World War I. Comrades of The Great War was one of the original four e ...

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected; *Labour: Hugh GaitskellYorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 31 March 1939 *Conservative: Donald Kaberry *Liberal: J. Alun WilliamsYorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 6 June 1939 *British Union: John Angus Macnab

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Election in the 1970s

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds South (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Yorkshire and the Humber (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1983 Politics of Leeds