South Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South Shropshire is a county constituency in Shropshire. It was first created in 1832 and was represented by two Knights of the Shire.

South Shropshire
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of South Shropshire in West Midlands region
County	Shropshire
Major settlements	Bridgnorth, Ludlow
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Stuart Anderson (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Ludlow Shrewsbury and Atcham (minor part)
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Created from	Bishop's Castle and Shropshire
Replaced by	Ludlow and Wellington

The constituency was abolished, along with North Shropshire, under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, with effect from the 1885 general election. The county was then split into four single-member constituencies: Ludlow, Newport, Oswestry and Wellington.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established for the 2024 general election, formed from the current constituency of Ludlow with only minor boundary changes.^[1] It has been represented since 2024 by Stuart Anderson of the Conservative Party.

Boundaries

1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the southern doubly blue area. The cumbersome enclaves (belonging to Herefordshire) of "Farlow" etc. were deemed inclusions, and formally united with Shropshire in 1844.

Historic

1832–1885: The Hundreds of Brimstey, Chirbury, Condover, Ford, Munslow, Overs, Purslow (including Clun) and Stoddesdon, and the Franchise of Wenlock.^[2]

Current

The re-established constituency is composed of the following:

• The County of Shropshire electoral divisions of: Alveley and Claverley; Bishop’s Castle; Bridgnorth East and Astley Abbotts; Bridgnorth West and Tasley; Broseley; Brown Clee; Burnell; Chirbury and Worthen; Church Stretton and Craven Arms; Clee; Cleobury Mortimer; Clun; Corvedale; Highley; Ludlow East; Ludlow North; Ludlow South; Much Wenlock; Severn Valley; Worfield.^[3]

It comprises the former constituency of Ludlow, with the addition of the Burnell and Severn Valley electoral division from Shrewsbury and Atcham (re-established as Shrewsbury).

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		1832	The Earl of Darlington	Tory[4]	Hon. Robert Clive	Tory[4]
		1834		Conservative[4]		Conservative[4]
		1842 by-election	Viscount Newport	Conservative[4]
		1854 by-election			Hon. Robert Windsor-Clive	Conservative
		1859 by-election			Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bt	Conservative
		April 1865 by-election	Hon. Sir Percy Egerton Herbert	Conservative
		July 1865			Jasper More	Liberal
		1868			Edward Corbett	Conservative
		1876 by-election	John Edmund Severne	Conservative
		1877 by-election			Sir Baldwyn Leighton, Bt	Conservative
		1885	Constituency abolished

MPs since 2024

Ludlow prior to 2024

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Stuart Anderson	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: South Shropshire^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stuart Anderson	17,628	34.1	−31.3
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Green	16,004	31.0	+15.6
	Reform UK	Charles Shackerley-Bennett	9,171	17.8	N/A
	Labour	Simon Thomson	6,939	13.4	−2.4
	Green	Hilary Wendt	1,911	3.7	+0.2
Majority			1,624	3.1	N/A
Turnout			51,653	67.6	N/A
Registered electors			76,723
	Conservative win (new seat)

To assess impact of the boundary changes various organisation calculated results of the 2019 election if it was conducted under boundaries established by 2023 Periodic review. Below is such assessment from the BBC for South Shropshire:

Notional result of 2019 election under new (2023) boundaries
UK General Election, 2019 Notional Result: South Shropshire[6] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative 37,752 65.4 Labour 9,116 15.8 Liberal Democrats 8,869 15.4 Green 1,999 3.5 Majority 28,636 49.6 Conservative hold Swing

For more information see Notional results of the 2019 United Kingdom general election by 2024 constituency.

Elections 1832–1885

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Baldwyn Leighton	2,491	29.3	N/A
	Conservative	John Edmund Severne	2,216	26.1	N/A
	Liberal	Jasper More	2,149	25.3	New
	Liberal	John William Handley Davenport[8]	1,634	19.2	New
Majority			67	0.8	N/A
Turnout			4,245 (est)	74.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			5,690
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

By-election, 10 August 1877: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Baldwyn Leighton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

By-election, 3 November 1876: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Edmund Severne	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Corbett resigned, triggering a by-election.

General election 1874: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Corbett	Unopposed
	Conservative	Percy Egerton Herbert	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,710
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Herbert's death triggered a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Egerton Herbert	2,703	36.6	+2.4
	Conservative	Edward Corbett	2,514	34.1	+5.6
	Liberal	Jasper More	2,161	29.3	−8.0
Majority			353	4.8	N/A
Turnout			4,770 (est)	81.6 (est)	+1.3
Registered electors			5,847
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.8

By-election, 8 March 1867: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Egerton Herbert	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1865: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jasper More	1,819	37.3	New
	Conservative	Percy Egerton Herbert	1,669	34.2	N/A
	Conservative	Baldwin Leighton	1,388	28.5	N/A
Majority			431	8.8	N/A
Turnout			3,348 (est)	80.3 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			4,170
	Liberal gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Herbert was appointed Treasurer of the Household, triggering a by-election.

By-election, 12 April 1865: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Egerton Herbert	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

By-election, 14 September 1859: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Baldwin Leighton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Bridgeman succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl of Bradford, triggering a by-election.

General election 1859: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Windsor-Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,380
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Windsor-Clive's death triggered a by-election.

By-election, 9 March 1858: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Windsor-Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,183
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bridgeman was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, triggering a by-election.

By-election, 8 February 1854: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Windsor Clive	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,571
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Clive's death triggered a by-election.

By-election, 23 March 1852: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: South Shropshire^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,678
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bridgeman was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, triggering a by-election.

By-election, 3 March 1842: South Shropshire^[7][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Orlando Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1841: South Shropshire^[7][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Vane	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,831
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Vane succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Duke of Cleveland, triggering a by-election.

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: South Shropshire^[7][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Henry Vane	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,240
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1835: South Shropshire^[7][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Henry Vane	Unopposed
	Conservative	Robert Clive	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,852
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1832: South Shropshire^[7][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Henry Vane	642	52.0
	Tory	Robert Clive	573	46.4
	Tory	Thomas Whitmore	20	1.6
Majority			553	44.8
Turnout			661	23.7
Registered electors			2,791
	Tory win (new seat)
	Tory win (new seat)

• Whitmore retired in favour of Clive before the poll concluded.

See also

• Parliamentary constituencies in Shropshire
• List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
• Unreformed House of Commons

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
2. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
4. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 16. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Google Books.
5. "UK parliamentary election - 4 July 2024". Shropshire Council. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
6. "Results spreadsheet (download)". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
7. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 448–449. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
8. "South Shropshire Election". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 16 April 1880. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 448–449. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.

External links

• South Shropshire UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

52.53°N 2.65°W / 52.53; -2.65