South Hams (constituency)
UK Parliament constituency (1983–1997)
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South Hams was a county constituency based on the South Hams district of Devon. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election. The constituency covered a vast part of the English Riviera on the south Devon coast.
| South Hams | |
|---|---|
| Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
 South Hams in Devon, showing boundaries used from 1983 to 1997. | |
| County | Devon |
| Major settlements | Totnes, Ivybridge, Brixham, part of Paignton |
| 1983–1997 | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Totnes, Torbay and Devon West[1] |
| Replaced by | Totnes and Devon South West |
History
This was a safe seat for the Conservative Party. During the fourteen years and three parliaments of its existence, it was held by a single member, Anthony Steen.
In the 1987 general election the well-known Labour MP and staunch republican Willie Hamilton contested the seat, finishing third.
Boundaries
The District of South Hams wards of Avon and Harbourne, Avonleigh, Bickleigh and Shaugh, Brixton, Charterlands, Cornwood and Harford, Dart Valley, Dartington, Dartmouth Clifton, Dartmouth Hardness, Erme Valley, Garabrook, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Kingswear, Malborough, Marldon, Modbury, Newton and Noss, Salcombe, Saltstone, Skerries, South Brent, Sparkwell, Stoke Gabriel, Stokenham, Thurlestone, Totnes, Totnes Bridgetown, Ugborough, West Dart, Wembury, and Yealmpton, and the Borough of Torbay wards of Blatchcombe, Furzeham with Churston, and St Peter's with St Mary's.
The main towns of this South Devon constituency were Totnes and Ivybridge. It was divided in 1997 to form parts of the new constituencies of Totnes and Devon South West.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[2] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Anthony Steen | Conservative | |
| 1997 | constituency abolished: see Totnes and Devon South West | ||
Elections
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Anthony Steen | 31,855 | 57.24 | ||
| Liberal | Anthony H. Rogers | 19,454 | 34.96 | ||
| Labour | Graham Morris | 3,824 | 6.87 | ||
| Ecology | Wendy Morgan | 518 | 0.93 | ||
| Majority | 12,401 | 22.28 | |||
| Turnout | 55,133 | 74.92 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Anthony Steen | 34,218 | 55.4 | ||
| Liberal | Robert Chave | 21,072 | 34.09 | ||
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 5,060 | 8.2 | ||
| Green | Christopher Titmuss | 1,178 | 1.9 | ||
| Monster Raving Loony | Timothy Langsford | 277 | 0.45 | New | |
| Majority | 13,146 | 21.3 | |||
| Turnout | 61,805 | 78.6 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Anthony Steen | 35,951 | 53.4 | −2.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | RV Evans | 22,240 | 33.0 | −1.1 | |
| Labour | E Cohen | 8,091 | 12.0 | +3.8 | |
| Green | Christopher Titmuss | 846 | 1.3 | −0.6 | |
| Natural Law | LJ Somerville | 227 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 13,711 | 20.4 | −0.9 | ||
| Turnout | 67,355 | 81.0 | +2.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −0.5 | |||