BBC News: Election 2010

Between 1950 and 1974 Norwich South was a Conservative seat, but Labour's John Garrett held the seat from 1974 to 1983. In 1979 he gained his second term in office with a majority of just over 1,000 votes. The 1983 election was a decisive electoral victory for the Conservative government, and a comparatively small swing to the Conservatives at Norwich South was enough to give their candidate John Powly the seat with a majority of 1,712.

Norwich South's marginality meant that a 2.1% swing to Labour was enough for John Garrett to regain the seat by 336 votes in 1987. A swing of 10.1% to Labour at the 1997 election caused the Conservative vote to fall by 14.4%. The new Labour candidate, Charles Clarke, emerged victorious with a majority of 14,239.

In 2005 Charles Clarke's vote dropped by 7.8% and his majority was cut to 3,653. The Liberal Democrats continued to close the gap on Labour, increasing their vote by 6.4% and moving into second place.

At the election, boundary changes see Norwich South gain two part-wards and lose two-part wards. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

Norwich South takes in the majority of the city's historical features, including its Norman castle and cathedral.

Norwich South encompasses the commercial area of Norwich city centre as well as sizeable residential and industrial areas in the south and west of the city. The University of East Anglia is situated on the edge of the citys western flank.

The city is a regional financial centre. Aviva (once Norwich Union) is Norwich's largest employer, and has been based here for 200 years. Virgin Direct relocated offices to the city, and MARSH's main processing office for all its insurance activities is in Norwich.

The manufacturing industry has declined since the early 1990s. Hundreds of jobs were lost when Nestl Rowntree closed its confectionery factory. Local engineering firms have weathered the storm well and Colmans the mustard manufacturer still has a major plant in the city.