South Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)

South Suffolk
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South Suffolk in Suffolk.
Location of Suffolk within England.
County	Suffolk
Electorate	72,965 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Sudbury, Hadleigh and Great Cornard
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of parliament	James Cartlidge (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Sudbury and Woodbridge and Bury St Edmunds
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East of England

South Suffolk is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by James Cartlidge, a Conservative.

1983-1997: The District of Babergh, and the Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Cangle, Castle, Cavendish, Chalkstone, Clare, Clements, Hundon, Kedington, St Mary's and Helions, Wickhambrook, and Withersfield.

1997-present: The District of Babergh, and the Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Cavendish and Clare.

South Suffolk is one of seven constituencies in the county of Suffolk and was created by boundary changes during the early 1980s. It has been a constituency in the general election since 1983. In every election the Conservative candidate has been elected or re-elected; until 2015 said candidate was Tim Yeo, who was deselected prior to the 2015 general election; he was succeeded as Conservative candidate, and subsequently MP, by James Cartlidge. Prior to 1983, at least some of the constituency was represented as Sudbury and Woodbridge. Between 1559 and 1844 the constituency of Sudbury represented the town on the southwestern border with Essex, but this constituency was disenfranchised for corruption in 1844.

South Suffolk is a large and predominantly rural seat, sharing a long border with the county of Essex but retaining a rather different identity and character - distinctly East Anglian rather than Home Counties.

The largest settlements, Sudbury and Hadleigh, are small, quiet towns, somewhat off the beaten track, and the only other significantly built-up area in the seat is the suburb of Pinewood, just outside the limits of the Ipswich, where there are lots of new developments. There is still some industry in Brantham, close to the Essex border, but most of the seat is traditional agriculture, sitting alongside remote commuter bases for those working in London, Ipswich or Colchester.