Croydon South is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Chris Philp, a Conservative. A constituency also named Croydon South but with entirely different boundaries originally existed from 1918 to 1950 and 1955 to 1974.
History Croydon South was first created under the Representation of the People Act 1918 when the existing Parliamentary Borough of Croydon was split between North and South divisions. Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, which came into effect for the 1950 general election, the seat was abolished as the County Borough of Croydon was split between Croydon East and Croydon West. The seat was then re-established for the 1955 general election when Croydon was split into three parliamentary seats - North East, North West and South.
In 1965, the County Borough was combined with the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District to form the London Borough of Croydon. However, this local government reorganisation was not reflected in the parliamentary boundaries until the February 1974 election. Under the Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the existing Croydon South constituency was effectively replaced by Croydon Central. A reconfigured Croydon South constituency was formed, primarily comprising the area which constituted the former Urban District of Coulsdon and Purley, which had previously formed the majority of the East Surrey constituency.
The seat has continued in existence since 1974 with relatively minor boundary changes.
Political history A seat called "Croydon South" was first created for the 1918 general election when the County Borough of Croydon had grown so the Croydon seat was split into two seats. The first MP was Ian Malcolm, who had been the MP for all of Croydon. H.T. Muggeridge, father of Malcolm Muggeridge, fought the seat for Labour four times from 1918, later becoming MP for Romford. The seat saw a by-election in 1932, won by Herbert Williams.
From 1950 until 1955 the seat was divided into east and west, represented by Conservatives Herbert Williams and Richard Thompson respectively.
Croydon South had twice seen Croydon's only Labour MPs before the 1990s. David Rees-Williams held the seat from the 1945 Labour landslide until unfavourable boundary changes in 1950. David Winnick won the seat in 1966 before losing in 1970. Otherwise the seat, and indeed the rest of Croydon, had always been firm Conservative territory.
In 1974 a fresh seat of Croydon South was created to the south predominantly from the northwestern part of East Surrey, covering Purley and Coulsdon, which had become parts of Greater London in 1965, rather than from the historic Croydon South. The pre-1974 Croydon South was renamed to Croydon Central.
Since 1974, the constituency has been represented by three Conservative MPs. Sir William Clark, who had represented East Surrey since 1970, won the new seat in February 1974, and held it until his retirement in 1992. His successor, Sir Richard Ottaway, then held the seat until 2015, when he stood down and was succeeded by Chris Philp. The 2015 result made the seat the 145th safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority. At the 2015 general election, it was one of the Conservatives' safest seats in Greater London.
The 2023 review of parliamentary constituencies in England made a number of changes to the boundaries of the constituency. An area corresponding to the electoral ward of Waddon (Ward) was removed from the constituency and an area corresponding to the electoral ward of Park Hill and Whitgift (Ward) was added to it. In addition, Selsdon and surroundings were removed from the constituency.
Chris Philp held the seat at the 2024 general election on a substantially reduced majority of just over 2,000, the lowest majority since the seat was created.
Constituency profile Croydon South is largely suburban in character, including the settlements of Purley, Coulsdon, Sanderstead and Kenley, home to the Kenley Aerodrome. There are substantial green spaces to the south, such as Farthing Downs, Happy Valley and Riddlesdown Common. The southern part of the constituency forms part of the North Downs National Character Area.
Croydon South is a relatively affluent parliamentary constituency, ranking at position 454 for deprivation amongst English constituencies (where 1 is the most deprived constituency and 543 is the least deprived constituency). For constituencies within Greater London, Croydon South ranks at position 67 (where 1 is the most deprived constituency and 75 is the least deprived constituency).
Rail links are good with stations such as South Croydon, Purley and Coulsdon South being situated on the Brighton Main Line with frequent trains to Gatwick Airport and Brighton, as well as commuter services to London Victoria and London Bridge.
Boundary changes before the 2024 election removed both Selsdon and Waddon from the seat and added the Park Hill & Whitgift ward, close to Croydon Town centre.
At the southern end of the constituency, Coulsdon has much in common with the county of Surrey of which it was historically a part until its inclusion in Greater London in 1965.
Boundaries Pre-1974 DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1918-1950County Borough of CroydonCentral, East, South, and West.1955-1974Addington, Broad Green, Central, Shirley, South, and Waddon.
In 1965, local government in Greater London was re-organised. This constituency was contained entirely within the new London Borough of Croydon from 1965, but new Constituency Boundaries would not take effect until 1974.
Post-1974 DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1974–1983London Borough of CroydonCoulsdon East, Purley, Sanderstead and Selsdon, Sanderstead North, Woodcote and Coulsdon West1983–1997 Coulsdon East, Croham, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Woodcote and Coulsdon West1997–2010Coulsdon East, Croham, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Waddon, Woodcote and Coulsdon West2010–2024Coulsdon East, Coulsdon West, Croham, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon and Ballards, Waddon2024–presentCoulsdon Town, Kenley, Old Coulsdon, Park Hill & Whitgift, Purley & Woodcote, Purley Oaks & Riddlesdown, Sanderstead, South Croydon
Members of Parliament MPs 1918–1950 Election Name Party Notes 1918 Ian Malcolm Conservative Member for Croydon (1910–1918) 1919 by-election Allan Smith Conservative 1923 William Mitchell-Thomson Conservative Raised to the peerage in January 1932 1932 by-election Herbert Williams Conservative Member for Reading (1924–1929) 1945 David Rees-Williams LabourContested Croydon West following redistribution 1950 Constituency abolished
From 1950 to 1955 the seat was divided into Croydon East and Croydon West.
MPs 1955–1974 Election Name Party Notes 1955 Richard Thompson Conservative Member for Croydon West (1950–1955) 1966 David Winnick Labour 1970 Richard Thompson ConservativeFeb 1974 Constituency abolished: see Croydon Central
MPs 1974– ElectionMemberPartyNotes February 1974 Sir William Clark Conservative Member for East Surrey (1970–1974) 1992 Richard Ottaway Conservative Member for Nottingham North (1983–1987)Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment (2004–2005) 2015 Chris Philp Conservative Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2022)Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (2024)Shadow Home Secretary (2024–present)
Election results 1974 to present
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 27,725 54.5 Labour 14,317 28.1 Liberal Democrats 6,885 13.5 Green 1,466 2.9 Others 442 0.9 Brexit Party 59 0.1Turnout50,89471.1Electorate71,541
Elections in the 2000s 2005 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 26,478 52.0 Labour 12,250 24.1 Liberal Democrats 10,400 20.4 UKIP 1,104 2.2 Others 682 1.3Turnout50,91463.4Electorate80,253
Elections in the 1990s
1992 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 35,937 61.7 Liberal Democrats 12,599 21.6 Labour 9,513 16.3 Others 242 0.4Turnout58,29178.0Electorate74,777
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s 1979 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 31,559 64.9 Liberal 10,168 20.9 Labour 6,450 13.3 Others 476 1.0Turnout48,653Electorate
1970 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 28,500 64.6 Liberal 8,300 18.8 Labour 7,300 16.6Turnout44,10072.4Electorate60,952
Election results 1955 to 1974 Elections in the 1970s
Elections in 1960s
Elections in 1950s
Election results 1918 to 1950 Elections in 1940s
Elections in 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1910s
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in London
Notes
References
Sources
External links Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards) Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards) Croydon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Croydon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Croydon South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK