D.6 There are 55 Parliamentary Constituencies in the South West, representing the region’s population of just over 5 million people. The last General Election, in May 2010, brought significant change to the overall political picture in the region. Following this election, the distribution of seats between Members of Parliament (MPs) was as follows:
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36 Conservative MPs (22 at 2005 General Election)
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4 Labour MPs (13 at 2005 General Election)
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15 Liberal Democrat MPs (16 at 2005 General Election)
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.
D.7 The dominant party in the South West region is Conservative. The region contains almost a third of all the sitting Liberal Democrat MPs in England (29%), and around 12% of all the Conservative seats. There are relatively few marginal constituencies in the region. Only five of the 41 English constituencies with majorities of less than a thousand are in the South West – Cambourne & Redruth (Con), Dorset Mid and Poole North (Lib Dem), Newton Abbott (Con), Truro and Falmouth (Con) and Wells (Lib Dem).
Parliamentary Constituencies in the South West by Political Party, May 2010
D.8 There were previously seven Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) representing the South West region. However, due to changes following enlargement of the European Union, this dropped to six for the European Elections of June 2009. The MEPs returned from these last elections were:
D.9 Representation by the political parties was unchanged from before the elections, except that Labour's share of the voting was not high enough to retain the seat they had held previously.
D.10 European Parliamentary elections are held every five years, with the next elections being due in June 2014. To find out more about the European Parliament and MEPs, see the UK Office of the European Parliament website.
