South Suffolk is a

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 (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

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. ...

of the

UK Parliament 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 supremac ...

since 2015 by

James Cartlidge James Roger Cartlidge (born 30 April 1974) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since 2015, and has been serving as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury since October 2022. He ...

, a

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 i ...

History

South Suffolk is one of seven constituencies in the county of Suffolk and was created by boundary changes which came into force for the 1983 general election. It was formed primarily from areas to the west of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and the

River Orwell The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...

, including the towns of Sudbury and Hadleigh, which had formed the majority of the abolished constituency of Sudbury and Woodbridge. Extended westwards to include Haverhill and surrounding areas, transferred from

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. Between 1559 and 1844, the constituency of Sudbury represented the town on the southwestern border with Essex, but this constituency was disenfranchised for corruption in 1844. In every election, the Conservative candidate has been elected or re-elected; until 2015, said candidate was

Tim Yeo Timothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo (born 20 March 1945) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of South Suffolk between the 1983 United Kingdom general election and tha ...

, who was deselected prior to the 2015 general election; he was succeeded as Conservative candidate, and subsequently MP, by

Constituency profile

South Suffolk is a large and predominantly rural seat, sharing a long border with the county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

but retaining a rather different identity and character - distinctly East Anglian rather than

Home Counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inc ...

. The largest settlements, Sudbury and Hadleigh, are small, quiet towns, somewhat off the beaten track, and the only other significantly built-up area in the seat is the suburb of Pinewood, just outside the limits of

, where there are many new developments. There is still some industry in

Brantham Brantham is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. It is located close to the River Stour and the border with Essex, around north of Manningtree, and around southwest of Ipswich. History The name Brantham i ...

, close to the Essex border, but most of the seat is traditional agriculture, sitting alongside remote commuter bases for those working in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Ipswich,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. In common with many seats of this type, it is fairly safe for the Conservatives, with the opponents being significantly lower in terms of the vote share. Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1983–1997: The District of Babergh, and the Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Cangle, Castle, Cavendish, Chalkstone, Clare, Clements, Hundon, Kedington, St Mary's and Helions, Wickhambrook, and Withersfield. 1997–present: The District of Babergh, and the Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Cavendish, and Clare. All but two of the

Borough of St Edmundsbury St Edmundsbury was a local government district and borough in Suffolk, England. It was named after its main town, Bury St Edmunds. The second town in the district was Haverhill. The population of the district was 111,008 at the 2011 Census. ...

wards, including Haverhill were transferred to the new county constituency of

West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suffolk South Parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Babergh District