South Cambridgeshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Pippa Heylings of the Liberal Democrats.
The constituency boundaries were significantly changed under the most recent Boundary Commission review. The new constituency is also named South Cambridgeshire although it comprises approximately 60% of the original electorate who are now joined by voters formerly in South East Cambridgeshire constituency along with voters in the Cherry Hinton ward formerly in Cambridge constituency.
The previous MP Anthony Browne opted to fight, unsuccessfully, the newly formed St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire seat which contains part of his old constituency.
Contents
Constituency profile
South Cambridgeshire is a constituency in Cambridgeshire in the East of England, covering part of the district of the same name and some south-eastern suburbs of the city of Cambridge including Cherry Hinton. Its largest settlement outside of Cambridge is the village of Sawston, which has a population of around 8,000. Other villages in the constituency include Gamlingay, Melbourn, Great Shelford, Fulbourn and Linton.
This is a large, rural constituency with many small villages, hamlets and farms. The Cambridge suburbs are highly-affluent and contain Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the largest centre for medical research and health science in Europe and a significant local employer. The rural villages are also wealthy; most are historic settlements that have undergone recent housing development for commuters to Cambridge. House prices across the constituency are considerably higher than the regional and UK averages.
South Cambridgeshire has an above-average retired population and a below-average proportion of young adults. Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is less than half the overall UK figure. Residents are generally well-educated and a high proportion work in the health and science sectors. The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is around half the UK-wide rate. White people made up 86% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians, mostly of Indian or Chinese origin, were 8% of residents but made up around a fifth of the population in the Cambridge suburbs.
At the local council level, almost all seats in this constituency are represented by Liberal Democrats with a small number of Conservative councillors elected in the rural villages. Voters in South Cambridgeshire strongly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 60% voted to remain compared to the UK-wide figure of 48%.
Boundaries and boundary changes
Historic
The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of Arrington, Bar Hill, Barrington and Shepreth, Barton, Bassingbourn, Bourn, Comberton, Coton, Duxford, Elsworth, Foxton, Gamlingay, Girton, Great Shelford, Hardwick, Harston, Haslingfield, Ickleton, Little Shelford, Longstanton, Melbourn, Meldreth, Orwell, Papworth, Sawston, Stapleford, Swavesey, The Mordens, and Whittlesford; and
The City of Cambridge wards of Queen Edith's and Trumpington.
The constituency was created following the boundary review of 1995, and was first contested at the 1997 general election. Before this, much of the region had been part of the now abolished South West Cambridgeshire constituency represented by Sir Anthony Grant from 1983 to 1997, while the wards of Bar Hill, Coton, Elsworth, Girton, Longstanton and Swavesey were transferred from South East Cambridgeshire.
The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of Bar Hill, Barton, Bassingbourn, Bourn, Caldecote, Comberton, Cottenham, Duxford, Fowlmere and Foxton, Gamlingay, Girton, Grantchester, Hardwick, Harston and Hauxton, Haslingfield and The Eversdens, Longstanton, Melbourn, Meldreth, Orwell and Barrington, Papworth and Elsworth, Sawston, Swavesey, The Abingtons, The Mordens, The Shelfords and Stapleford, and Whittlesford; and
The City of Cambridge ward of Queen Edith's.
Following the 2007 review of parliamentary representation in Cambridgeshire, the Boundary Commission made minor alterations to the existing constituencies to deal with population changes.
Trumpington ward and parts of Coleridge and Cherry Hinton wards in the City of Cambridge were transferred to Cambridge, having previously been part of South Cambridgeshire.
Additionally, parts of Cottenham ward (specifically the civil parishes of Cottenham and Rampton) and the Abingtons (Babraham, Great Abington, Little Abington and Pampisford) were added to South Cambridgeshire, having previously voted in the South East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Current
Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The City of Cambridge wards of: Cherry Hinton; Queen Edith’s.
The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of: Balsham; Barrington; Bassingbourn; Duxford; Fen Ditton & Fulbourn; Foxton; Gamlingay; Hardwick; Harston & Comberton; Linton; Melbourn; Sawston; Shelford; The Mordens; Whittlesford.
The seat was subject to major changes, with northern areas, including the new towns of Cambourne and Northstowe, being transferred to the newly created constituency of St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire. To partly compensate, it gained the Cherry Hinton ward in the City of Cambridge and southern parts of the abolished constituency of South East Cambridgeshire, including the villages of Fulbourn and Linton.
Members of Parliament
South West Cambridgeshire prior to 1997