Labour in the South

An attempt to define where the South of England starts and ends will produce varying responses. For the purposes of this website the “political south” is made up of the three English regions of the South West, South East and East.

Labour’s electoral position in the south is stark: at the 2010 general election there was almost a wipe-out of Labour seats in southern England. In the preceding year’s European elections, Labour managed to secure enough votes to elect just two MEPs, one each in the South East and Eastern regions. Labour failed to elect a single MEP in the south west, where the party performs poorly in all but a few urban pockets. Labour’s position in local government has also been on the wane, with over eight million southern voters living in local authority areas that do not elect a single Labour councillor.

But despite this, Labour does exist in the South. Constituency parties meet; activists run campaigns; Labour councillors serve local communities; and the South’s ten Labour MPs provide a distinctive voice in Parliament.


Parliament
There are 197 constituencies in the political south. At the 2010 general election ten Labour MPs were returned in the south, 4 in the south west, 4 in the south east and 2 in the east of England.

Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter
http://www.benbradshaw.co.uk/

John Denham, MP for Southampton Itchen
http://www.johndenham.org.uk/

Kelvin Hopkins, MP for Luton North
http://www.kelvinhopkinsmp.com/

Fiona MacTaggart MP for Slough
http://www.fionamactaggart.org.uk/

Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East
http://www.kerrymccarthymp.org/

Dawn Primarolo, MP for Bristol South
http://www.dawnprimarolo.labour.co.uk/

Alison Seabeck, MP for Plymouth Moor View
http://www.alisonseabeck.org.uk/

Gavin Shuker, MP for Luton South
http://www.gavinshuker.org/

Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East
http://www.andrewsmithmp.org.uk/

Alan Whitehead, MP for Southampton Test
http://www.alan-whitehead.org.uk/

European Parliament

Peter Skinner, MEP for South East England
http://www.peterskinnermep.eu/

Richard Howitt, MEP for Eastern England
http://www.richardhowittmep.com/

The next European elections are in June 2014.

Labour Party

Labour Party South East region
http://www.labour-southeast.org.uk/

Labour Party South West region
http://www.laboursouthwest.labour.co.uk/

Labour Party Eastern region
http://www.easternlabour.org/