Reading South (UK Parliament constituency)

Reading South
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County Berkshire
Major settlements Reading
1950–1955
Replaced by Reading
Created from Reading
1974 (1974)–1983
Type of constituency Borough constituency
Replaced by Reading East, Reading West and Wokingham[1]
Created from Reading

Reading South was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency covered an area in and around the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire.

Boundaries

1950-1955: The County Borough of Reading wards of Church, East, Katesgrove, Minster, Redlands, and West.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Reading wards of Christchurch, Park, Redlands, and Whitley, and in the Rural District of Wokingham the civil parishes of Arborfield and Newland, Barkham, Earley, Finchampstead, Shinfield, Sonning, Swallowfield, Winnersh, and Woodley and Sandford.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1950–1955

ElectionMemberParty
1950 Ian Mikardo Labour
1955 constituency abolished - see Reading

MPs 1974–1983

ElectionMemberParty
Feb 1974 Gerard Vaughan Conservative
1983 constituency abolished - see Reading East and Reading West

Election results

General Election 1979: Reading South[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gerard Folliott Vaughan 30,067 53.85 +11.32
Labour Bernard Gale 14,422 25.83 -2.01
Liberal Keith Ernest Vincent Watts 10,642 19.06 -10.56
Ecology Peter George Chaloner Dunn 700 1.25
Turnout 55,831 76.48 +1.77
Majority 15,645 28.02 +15.89
Conservative hold Swing +6.67
General Election, October 1974: Reading South[1][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gerard Folliott Vaughan 21,959 42.53 -0.26
Liberal Paul Richard Burall 15,293 29.62 -3.51
Labour Lawrence Silverman 14,375 27.84 +3.76
Turnout 51,627 74.71 -6.23
Majority 6,666 12.91 +3.25
Conservative hold Swing +1.63
General Election, February 1974: Reading South[1][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gerard Folliott Vaughan 23,735 42.79
Liberal Paul Richard Burall 18,376 33.13
Labour Gerd Hugo Kaufman 13,358 24.08
Turnout 55,469 80.94
Majority 5,359 9.66
Conservative win (new seat)

Politics and history of the constituency

The Reading South parliamentary constituency was first created for the 1950 general election by splitting the previous parliamentary constituency of Reading into North and South divisions. The seat was contested and won for the Labour Party by Ian Mikardo, the sitting MP for the Reading constituency, who held the seat until it was merged back into a single Reading constituency for the 1955 general election.

The Reading South constituency was recreated in 1974, when it was contested and won for the Conservative Party by Gerard Vaughan, the sitting MP for the Reading constituency. For the 1983 general election the constituencies in Reading were reorganised, creating the new constituencies of Reading East and Reading West. Gerard Vaughan went on to hold the Reading East constituency until he stood down at the 1997 general election.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "'Reading South', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results May 1979". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

See also


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