Dudley South (UK Parliament constituency)

Dudley South was a United Kingdom House of Commons constituency from 1997 until 2024.

By the decision of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished and replaced primarily by the new Kingswinford and South Staffordshire and reconfigured Stourbridge constituencies, with small part transferred to Dudley.

Constituency profile
Dudley South is one of four constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and covers the central part of the borough to the south of the town centre. The constituency voted strongly for Brexit, and residents' wealth is around average for the UK.

Boundaries
1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Netherton and Woodside, St Andrews, and Wordsley.

2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Netherton, Woodside and St Andrews, and Wordsley.

History
Before the 1997 election, Dudley was divided into East and West constituencies, rather than North and South. Dudley South covers most of the area previously covered by Dudley West, which included Sedgley but excluded Netherton.

Dudley West was the scene of a by-election in 1994, held after the death of the Conservative John Blackburn who had represented the constituency since 1979. The by-election was won by Labour's Ian Pearson, who stood for Dudley South in 1997 and held the seat, winning by a comfortable margin each time, until he stood down in 2010.

The Conservative candidate, Chris Kelly, gained the seat in the subsequent general election. However, he decided to stand down in 2015.

Mike Wood retained the seat for the Conservatives in both the 2015 and 2017 general elections, in both cases achieving a swing towards his party and thus bucking the national trend.

Abolition
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways: