Battersea South (UK Parliament constituency)

Battersea South
Battersea South
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Battersea South in Greater London for the February 1974 general election
County	County of London, then Greater London
1918–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Battersea (abolished and largely succeeded by Battersea North); Clapham (part of)
Replaced by	Battersea (most), Tooting (part)

Battersea South was a parliamentary constituency, originally in the County of London and later in Greater London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament (using first-past-the-post voting).

It was created for the 1918 general election, when the former Battersea constituency was divided in two and the Clapham constituency was reduced in size, losing both of its Battersea wards of the four in total. Battersea South was abolished for the 1983 general election, when the bulk of its territory was reunited with Battersea North to form a new Battersea seat. The south of its area formed a new Tooting seat.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 1974–1983

Dates	Local authority	Wards
1918–1950	Metropolitan Borough of Battersea	Bolingbroke, Broomwood, St John, Shaftesbury, and Winstanley
1950–1974	Metropolitan Borough of Battersea (before 1965) London Borough of Wandsworth (after 1965)	Bolingbroke, Broomwood, Lavender, Nightingale, St John, Shaftesbury, Stormont, and Thornton
1974–1983	London Borough of Wandsworth	Balham, Earlsfield, Fairfield, Nightingale, and Northcote

The seat was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918. When seats were redistributed by the Representation of the People Act 1948 the boundaries of the constituency were altered to contain only four wards, and Winstanley ward was transferred to Battersea North.^[1] However the wards of the borough were redrawn in 1949 prior to the next general election in 1950.^[2] Accordingly, changes were made under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. Of the 16 new wards, eight were included in each of the Battersea North and South constituencies.^[3]^[4]

In 1965 Battersea became part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. This, however made no immediate change to the parliamentary constituencies. It was not until the general election of February 1974 that the constituency boundaries were altered.^[5] The Shaftesbury and St John's wards were transferred to Battersea North, while the redrawn constituency incorporated areas previously in the Clapham and Putney seats. These boundaries were used until abolition.^[4]

The constituency was abolished in 1983. Most of its area (Balham, Fairfield and Northcote wards) went to the recreated Battersea seat, with part (Earlsfield and Nightingale wards) passing to Tooting.^[5]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	1918	Viscount Curzon	Conservative	Became ineligible following his succeeding to the peerage as Earl Howe
	1929 by-election	William Bennett	Labour
	1931	Sir Harry Selley	Conservative
	1945	Caroline Ganley	Labour Co-operative
	1951	Ernest Partridge	Conservative
	1964	Ernie Perry	Labour
	1979	Alf Dubs	Labour	Contested Battersea following redistribution
1983		constituency abolished: see Battersea

Election results

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Battersea South^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alf Dubs	13,984	45.1	–2.7
	Conservative	Wellesley Wallace	13,652	44.0	+5.7
	Liberal	Jennifer Ware	2,802	9.0	–4.3
	National Front	A Perry	561	1.8	New
Majority			332	1.1	–8.4
Turnout			31,000	70.9	+7.0
Registered electors			43,712
	Labour hold		Swing	–4.2

General election October 1974: Battersea South^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Perry	14,284	47.8	+5.3
	Conservative	Wellesley Wallace	11,433	38.3	+0.6
	Liberal	Jennifer Ware	3,971	13.3	–4.2
	More Prosperous Britain	Thomas Keen	170	0.6	New
Majority			2,851	9.5	+4.7
Turnout			29,856	63.9	–9.1
Registered electors			46,724
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.3

General election February 1974: Battersea South^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Perry	14,431	42.6	–2.1
	Conservative	Anthony Bradbury	12,778	37.7	–10.7
	Liberal	Gerard Mulholland	5,919	17.5	+10.5
	National Front	John Clifton	787	2.3	New
Majority			1,653	4.9	N/A
Turnout			33,916	73.0	+9.2
Registered electors			46,448
	Labour gain from Conservative (Notional.)		Swing	+4.3

1970 notional result^[7]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	16,600	48.4
	Labour	15,300	44.6
	Liberal	2,400	7.0

Turnout		34,300	63.8
Electorate		53,724

General election 1970: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Perry	10,925	49.5	–3.4
	Conservative	Ian Samuel	9,227	41.8	+3.6
	Liberal	Raymond Benad	1,183	5.4	–3.5
	National Front	Tom Lamb	716	3.2	New
Majority			1,698	7.7	–7.0
Turnout			22,050	63.6	–9.4
Registered electors			34,687
	Labour hold		Swing	–3.5

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Perry	13,651	52.9	+6.1
	Conservative	Ian Samuel	9,861	38.2	–2.3
	Liberal	Basil Weekley	2,276	8.8	–3.8
Majority			3,790	14.7	+8.4
Turnout			25,788	73.0	+0.7
Registered electors			35,350
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.2

General election 1964: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Perry	12,253	46.8	+4.5
	Conservative	Ernest Partridge	10,615	40.6	–7.7
	Liberal	David Layton	3,294	12.6	+3.2
Majority			1,638	6.3	N/A
Turnout			26,162	72.3	–6.6
Registered electors			36,186
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.1

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Partridge	14,203	48.3	+0.7
	Labour Co-op	Geoffrey Rhodes	12,451	42.3	–3.1
	Liberal	William Mattinson	2,774	9.4	+2.4
Majority			1,752	6.0	+3.8
Turnout			29,428	78.9	–1.8
Registered electors			37,320
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

General election 1955: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Partridge	15,044	47.6	–3.1
	Labour	Eric Hurst	14,365	45.4	–3.9
	Liberal	Alan Cooper-Smith	2,219	7.0	New
Majority			679	2.1	+0.7
Turnout			31,628	80.6	–5.0
Registered electors			39,239
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 1951: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Partridge	17,731	50.7	+5.5
	Labour Co-op	Caroline Ganley	17,237	49.3	+3.0
Majority			494	1.4	N/A
Turnout			34,968	85.6	–0.0
Registered electors			40,848
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing	+1.2

General election 1950: Battersea South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Caroline Ganley	16,142	46.3	–15.2
	Conservative	Ernest Partridge	15,774	45.2	+6.8
	Liberal	Clifford Tyers	2,949	8.5	New
Majority			368	1.1	–22.0
Turnout			34,865	85.6	+12.7
Registered electors			40,722
	Labour Co-op win (new boundaries)

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Caroline Ganley	19,275	61.5	+18.9
	Conservative	Ernest Partridge	12,050	38.5	–18.9
Majority			7,225	23.1	N/A
Turnout			31,325	72.9	+6.1
Registered electors			42,987
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative		Swing	+18.9

Election in the 1930s

General election 1935: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Selley	21,268	57.3	–9.6
	Labour	Herbert Romeril	15,821	42.7	+11.8
Majority			5,447	14.7	–21.5
Turnout			37,089	66.8	–5.9
Registered electors			55,546
	Conservative hold		Swing	–10.7

General election 1931: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Selley	27,857	67.0	+24.2
	Labour	William Bennett	12,822	30.8	–13.0
	New Party	Leslie Cuming	909	2.2	New
Majority			15,035	36.2	N/A
Turnout			41,588	72.7	+0.2
Registered electors			57,197
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+18.6

Election in the 1920s

General election 1929: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Bennett	18,113	43.8	+1.5
	Unionist	Harry Selley	17,695	42.8	–14.9
	Liberal	William West	5,516	13.3	N/A
Majority			418	1.1	N/A
Turnout			41,324	72.5	–14.4
Registered electors			57,018
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+8.2

1929 Battersea South by-election^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Bennett	11,789	45.6	+3.3
	Unionist	Harry Selley	11,213	43.4	–14.3
	Liberal	Vivian Albu	2,858	11.1	New
Majority			576	2.2	N/A
Turnout			25,557	57.7	–18.8
Registered electors			44,786
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+8.8

General election 1924: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Francis Curzon	19,588	57.7	+5.7
	Labour	Albert Winfield	14,371	42.3	–5.7
Majority			5,217	15.4	+11.4
Turnout			33,959	76.5	+13.0
Registered electors			44,369
	Unionist hold		Swing	+5.7

General election 1923: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Francis Curzon	14,558	52.0	–9.5
	Labour	Albert Winfield	13,440	48.0	+9.5
Majority			1,118	4.0	–19.1
Turnout			27,998	63.5	–1.9
Registered electors			44,062
	Unionist hold		Swing	–9.5

General election 1922: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Francis Curzon	17,685	61.5	–6.6
	Labour	Albert Winfield	11,050	38.5	+23.7
Majority			6,635	23.1	–30.4
Turnout			28,735	65.5	+12.1
Registered electors			43,891
	Unionist hold		Swing	–15.2

Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Battersea South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
C	Unionist Party (UK)	Francis Curzon	15,670	68.2
	Labour	Arthur Lynch	3,383	14.7
	Liberal	Joseph Molden	2,273	9.9
	Independent	John Jenkin*	1,657	7.2
Majority			12,287	53.5
Turnout			22,983	53.4
Registered electors			43,036
	Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

* Jenkin was supported by and possibly the nominee of the local National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers branch.

References

^ Representation of the People Act 1948, (1948, C.65), Schedule 1
^ Battersea (Wards) Order 1949 (S.I. 1949/552)
^ The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) (No. 2) Order, 1949 (S.I. 1949 No. 1440)
^ ^a ^b F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I: Southern England, London, 1979
^ ^a ^b The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (1970 No. 1674)
^ ^a ^b ^c Craig, Fred W. S (1980). Britain votes 2 : British parliamentary election results 1974-1979. Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0900178183. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
^ Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Craig, Fred W. S (1983). British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 (2nd ed.). Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0900178078. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Craig, Fred W. S (1969). British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949. Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178019. Retrieved 5 April 2025.

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)

[1] Representation of the People Act 1948, (1948, C.65), Schedule 1

[2] Battersea (Wards) Order 1949 (S.I. 1949/552)

[3] The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) (No. 2) Order, 1949 (S.I. 1949 No. 1440)

[youngs-4] F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I: Southern England, London, 1979

[The_Parliamentary_Constituencies_1674-5] The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (1970 No. 1674)

[1974-1979-6] Craig, Fred W. S (1980). Britain votes 2 : British parliamentary election results 1974-1979. Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0900178183. Retrieved 6 April 2025.

[7] Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.

[1950-1973-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Craig, Fred W. S (1983). British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 (2nd ed.). Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0900178078. Retrieved 5 April 2025.

[1918–49-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Craig, Fred W. S (1969). British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949. Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178019. Retrieved 5 April 2025.

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v t e Historic constituencies in London
1918	Balham and Tooting Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey West Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Camberwell North West Clapham Dulwich Chelsea City of London Deptford Finsbury Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham East Lewisham West Limehouse Mile End Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar South Putney Rotherhithe St Marylebone St Pancras North St Pancras South East St Pancras South West Shoreditch Southwark Central Southwark North Southwark South East Stoke Newington Streatham Wandsworth Central Westminster Abbey Westminster St George's Whitechapel and St George's Woolwich East Woolwich West
1950	Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Streatham Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West
1955	Barons Court Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hammersmith North Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Streatham Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West
1974	Acton Barking Battersea North Battersea South Beckenham Bermondsey Bethnal Green and Bow Bexleyheath Brent East Brent North Brent South Brentford and Isleworth Carshalton Chelsea Chingford Chipping Barnet Chislehurst City of London and Westminster South Croydon Central Croydon North East Croydon North West Croydon South Dagenham Dulwich Ealing North Edmonton Enfield North Enfield Southgate Erith and Crayford Feltham and Heston Finchley Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney South and Shoreditch Hammersmith North Hampstead Harrow Central Harrow East Harrow West Hayes and Harlington Hendon North Hendon South Holborn and St Pancras South Hornchurch Hornsey Ilford North Ilford South Islington Central Islington North Islington South and Finsbury Kensington Kingston-upon-Thames Lambeth Central Lewisham Deptford Lewisham East Lewisham West Leyton Mitcham and Morden Newham North East Newham North West Newham South Norwood Orpington Paddington Peckham Putney Ravensbourne Richmond Romford Ruislip-Northwood St Marylebone St Pancras North Sidcup Southall Stepney and Poplar Streatham Surbiton Sutton and Cheam Tooting Tottenham Twickenham Upminster Uxbridge Vauxhall Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford Wimbledon Wood Green Woolwich East Woolwich West