The placeConstituency · East of England · Electorate 74,006 · 2023 boundaries

South Norfolk.

Labour Party MP Ben Goldsborough holds the seat on 35.0% of the vote.

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Member of ParliamentBen Goldsborough · Labour Party
CouncilSouth Norfolk
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001489
Electorate · 2024
74.0k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
35.0%
Labour Party · +5.7pp over Con
Settlements
21
Largest: Rural & dispersed
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
8.0
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
8 Jun 2026

Rural seat south of Norwich, contested and in flux

South Norfolk is a rural seat south and west of Norwich, where no single town dominates and the largest share of the population lives in scattered villages and open country. Wymondham, with roughly a sixth of residents, is the principal town, followed by Hethersett, Poringland, Long Stratton and Cringleford, each a modest settlement rather than an urban centre. The seat is older than the national average, overwhelmingly White and somewhat above the average for degree-level education. Local services fall to a single body, South Norfolk District Council, which handles the district-tier functions of planning, housing and waste across the constituency's seventeen wards.

The ward-level picture, drawn largely from contests in 2023, tilts Conservative but is far from settled. Of the most recent results, the Conservatives hold the largest bloc, with the Liberal Democrats and Labour each winning a comparable cluster and one independent in the mix. Turnouts vary widely between the larger settlements and the smaller rural wards. At Westminster the seat changed hands in 2024, when Labour took it on a 35 per cent share against a Conservative runner-up on 29 per cent -- a narrow margin in a seat the Conservatives had held five years earlier on a commanding 58 per cent. Ben Goldsborough, Labour, has represented it since.

The direction of travel appears genuinely open rather than fixed. The 2024 result rested on a slim plurality, the ward map remains mixed, and recent local coverage has carried a marked administrative tenor, dominated by planning, housing growth and routine council business. The broader county picture, meanwhile, suggests a fluid contest in which the older two-party pattern no longer holds with any certainty. On the figures available the seat reads as contested and in flux, a recent Labour gain on a thin margin sitting over a fragmented local base and an unsettled wider trend.

35.0%
Lab vote · 2024 GE
1
Council overlapping the seat
17
Wards · 28 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.17 wards · 28 councillors

Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Brooke John Charles Fuller609South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Central Wymondham(2 seats)Hurn · Savage1,356South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Cringleford(2 seats)Elmer · Sacks1,448South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Easton Margaret Dewsbury304South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Forncett Kim Carsok361South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Hempnall Martyn Hooton508South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Hethersett(3 seats)Bills · Morland · Cross2,819South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Loddon & Chedgrave(2 seats)Rowe · Billig1,833South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Mulbarton & Stoke Holy Cross Bob McClenning667South Norfolk ConSept 2023
Newton Flotman John Cook414South Norfolk ConMay 2023
North Wymondham(2 seats)Roberts · Rosen1,368South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Old Costessey(3 seats)Cork · Blundell · Laidlaw2,119South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Poringland, Framinghams & Trowse(3 seats)Overton · Neal · Fowler3,343South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Rockland Vic Thomson472South Norfolk ConMay 2023
South Wymondham Carmina Claire McConnell286South Norfolk ConSept 2023
Stratton(2 seats)Race · Carver712South Norfolk ConMay 2023
Thurlton Andrew Evans405South Norfolk ConMay 2023

Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

§ 02Settlements.21 named places

The seat’s population is concentrated in Rural & dispersed (18,672), with Wymondham (South Norfolk) (16,675) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 92,034.

city 2,470town 60,447village 29,117

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Rural & dispersed18,672town
Wymondham (South Norfolk)16,675town
Hethersett7,201town
Poringland6,766town
Long Stratton5,961town
Cringleford5,172town
Showing 6 of 21·All 21 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate59.5%57.1%+4%
Owner-occupied75.8%63.1%+20%
Private rented13.3%20.0%-34%
Social rented10.9%16.8%-35%

Ethnicity.

White94.9%
Asian2.1%
Black0.9%
Mixed1.6%
Other0.5%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 48.7% Female 51.3% Median seat
MaleAgeFemale
85+
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
16-19
10-15
5-9
0-4

Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band

§ 04Local economy.Income · tax · businesses · schools
Median income
£30,500
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£40,200
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
3,615
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
48
39 primary · 5 secondary
GCSE pass
79.1%
Attainment 8: 53.2

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£331m
Taxpayers51,000
Median per taxpayer£3,300
Mean per taxpayer£6,530

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

This constituency is served by South Norfolk. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.

For household tax breakdown

Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.

§ 05Recorded crime.data.police.uk · 12-month rolling

Headline rate.

Per 1k pop · 3mo
8.0
-61% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
2.7
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
50% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences4.0
Anti-social behaviour0.9
Criminal damage & arson0.7
Other theft0.6
Public order0.5
Other crime0.3
Burglary0.3

Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop

Showing 7 of 15·All 15 categories — full monthly trend & settlement breakdown
§ 06Election history.5 contests · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Ben GoldsboroughWONLab17,35335.0
Poppy Simister-ThomasCon14,52729.3
Chris HarrisonRef7,58315.3
Christopher BrownLD5,74611.6
Catherine RowettGrn3,9878.0
Paco DavilaInd2540.5
Jason MaguireInd1290.3

Turnout 49,579

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2019Richard BaconCon58.0
2017Richard BaconCon58.2
2015Richard BaconCon54.3
2010Bacon, RichardCon49.3
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
BoundariesONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundary review
Wards & councilsLGBCE · Democracy Club
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
SettlementsONS Built-Up Areas
Census 2021
DemographicsONS · Nomis · Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
Income & taxHMRC SPI
±8% confidence
SchoolsDfE · attainment data
Crimedata.police.uk
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo
ElectionsElectoral Commission