Parliamentary Constituencies

12.3 There are 51 Parliamentary Constituencies in the South West, representing the region’s population of just over 5 million people. The last General Election, in May 2005, brought relatively little change to the overall political picture in the region. Following this election, the distribution of seats between Members of Parliament ( MPs) was as follows:

  • 22 Conservative MPs
  • 13 Labour MPs
  • 16 Liberal Democrat MPs

There have been no Parliamentary by-elections in the region since May 2005. To find out more about Parliament, the role of an MP, and to find your local MP, see the UK Parliament website.

Figure 12.1 Parliamentary Constituencies in the South West, by Political Party May 2005 (Popup full image) 
Parliamentary Constituencies in the South West, by Political Party May 2005.pdf

12.4 The South West is the only English region where no single party is dominant (controls more than half the seats). It contains more than a third of all the sitting Liberal Democrat MPs in England. There are also relatively few marginal constituencies in the region. Only three of the 38 English constituencies with majorities of less than a thousand are in the South West – Somerton & Frome (Lib Dem), Stroud (Labour) and Taunton (Lib Dem).