Leeds South


Leeds South is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, which returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency existed from 1885 to 1983 and was recreated in 2024 following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.
In the 2024 general election, the seat was won by Hilary Benn of the Labour Party, who serves as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the government of Keir Starmer. Benn had represented Leeds Central, the main predecessor of Leeds South, since 1999.
Leeds South was the seat of the former Leader of the Labour Party, the late Hugh Gaitskell, and the former Home Secretary Merlyn Rees.

History

The constituency was created in 1885 by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and was first used in the general election of that year. Leeds had previously been represented by two MPs and three MPs. From 1885 it was represented by five single-member constituencies: Leeds Central, Leeds East, Leeds North, Leeds South and Leeds West. The constituencies of Morley, Otley and Pudsey were also created in 1885.
The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was then split between the re-established constituency of Leeds Central, which included just over half of the seat's boundaries, and the new constituency of Morley and Leeds South, which took slightly under half of the seat's boundaries. After the 1983 general election Leeds was represented by the constituencies of Leeds Central, Leeds East, Leeds North East, Leeds North West, Leeds West and Morley and Leeds South. There were also constituencies of Elmet and Pudsey.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established for the 2024 general election, formed primarily from the constituency of Leeds Central, but excluding the city centre, and including a small part of Leeds East and a very small part of Morley and Outwood. The notional 2019 result for the new seat was Labour.

Boundaries

1885–1983

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.
1950–1951: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Beeston, Holbeck South, Hunslet Carr and Middleton, and West Hunslet.
1951–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Beeston, Holbeck, Hunslet Carr, and Middleton.
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.

2024–present

The City of Leeds wards of Beeston & Holbeck, Burmantofts & Richmond Hill, Hunslet & Riverside, Middleton Park, and Temple Newsam.
The part ward of Temple Newsam was transferred from Leeds East, with the bulk of the remainder comprising approximately 72% of the electorate of the abolished Leeds Central seat.
Leeds South saw the lowest turnout of any constituency at the 2024 election, with just 42% of eligible voters casting a ballot.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1983

''Leeds prior to 1885''

MPs since 2024

''Leeds Central prior to 2024''

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Election results 1885–1983

Elections in the 1880s

Playfair was appointed Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education, 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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Brook was supported by the three local branches of National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers, National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers and Comrades of the Great War.

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;

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s