Southampton Test is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Satvir Kaur, a member of the Labour Party, since 2024.

Constituency profile

Southampton Test is a constituency in Hampshire in South East England. It covers the northern and western suburbs of the city of Southampton, including Northam, Nicholstown, Bevois Valley, Portswood, St Denys, Highfield, Shirley, Freemantle, Regents Park, Millbrook, Redbridge, Maybush, Lordshill and Lordswood. The constituency is named after the River Test which forms part of its western boundary.

Southampton is a port city on England's south coast and is a major commercial centre for freight and cruise shipping; the departed from the city on its final journey. This constituency contains the Port of Southampton, the UK's second-busiest container terminal. Southampton Test contains a variety of neighbourhood types; Northam and Nicholstown are highly-deprived, inner-city areas where most residents live in dense flats or terraces, Shirley and Highfield are affluent and suburban in character, and Redbridge and Maybush contain high quantities of low-income council housing where many properties are socially rented. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the UK average and considerably lower than the rest of South East England.

Southampton Test has a low proportion of retirees and a large student population; the University of Southampton, which has around 26,000 students, and its affiliated Southampton General Hospital are located here. Residents have average rates of income, low levels of homeownership, and above-average rates of child poverty. They have average levels of education and a high proportion work in the health, education and transport sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is high. White people made up 77% of the population at the 2021 census, around one-fifth of whom were of non-British origin including a large Polish community. Asians were the largest ethnic minority group at 13%.

At the local city council, most of the constituency is represented by the Labour Party, with some Green Party councillors elected close to the university and Reform UK representatives elected in the more deprived western suburbs. An estimated 51% of voters in Southampton Test supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the UK-wide figure of 52%.

History The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the previous two-member Southampton constituency was abolished. The boundaries of the seat have changed at most of the Boundary Commissions' periodic reviews.

Horace King, the MP between 1950 and 1955, before switching to the neighbouring seat of Southampton Itchen, would later become the first Speaker of the House of Commons from the Labour Party. The seat was contested unsuccessfully in 1955 and 1959 respectively by Anthony Crosland and Shirley Williams, who would both later be elected for other seats and become prominent ministers in the Labour governments of the 1960s and 1970s.

Southampton Test proved to be a bellwether (mirroring the national result) from 1966 until 2010, with the exception of the minority government of Harold Wilson from February to October 1974 .

In the 2010 general election, Alan Whitehead for Labour performed better here than John Denham in Southampton Itchen, the other Southampton seat, which the party also held more narrowly that year. The area from 2010 to 2015 was one of four Labour seats in South East England and from 2017 to 2019 among two of eighteen in Hampshire won by Labour candidates. Whitehead was re-elected in 2017 with a majority of over 10,000 votes, and in 2019 over 6,000, making Southampton Test a relatively comfortable Labour seat. Whitehead did not stand at the 2024 general election; he was succeeded by fellow Labour Party member, Satvir Kaur, with a majority of over 9,000.

Boundaries

Historic 1950–1955: The County Borough of Southampton wards of All Saints, Banister, Freemantle, Millbrook, St Nicholas, Shirley, and Town; and the (civil) Parish of Millbrook (which was then in the Romsey and Stockbridge Rural District).Representation of the People Act 1948, Sch. 1.

1955–1983: The County Borough of Southampton wards of Banister, Bargate, Bassett, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

1983–1997: The City of Southampton wards of Bassett, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

1997–2010: The City of Southampton wards of Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, St Luke's, and Shirley.The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, SI 1995 No 1626

2010–2023 The City of Southampton wards of Bevois, Coxford, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Redbridge, and Shirley.

Current Following a review of local authority ward boundaries, which became effective in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following:

The City of Southampton wards of: Banister & Polygon (majority); Bevois; Coxford; Freemantle; Millbrook; Portswood; Redbridge; Shirley; Swaythling (small part). The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.

The constituency is bounded to the east by Southampton Itchen, to the north by Romsey and Southampton North and to the west by New Forest East.

Members of Parliament

Southampton prior to 1950

ElectionMemberParty 1950 Horace King Labour 1955 John Howard Conservative 1964 John Fletcher-Cooke Conservative 1966 Bob Mitchell Labour 1970 James Hill Conservative October 1974 Bryan Gould Labour 1979 James Hill Conservative 1997 Alan Whitehead Labour 2024 Satvir Kaur Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

Notes

References

External links Southampton, Test UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Southampton, Test UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Southampton Test UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK