Won by Labour in 1997 with a majority of 11,319, Luton South had voted Conservative in 1992 even though the party did not win a single ward in the constituency in the local elections the year before. The then PPS to John Major, Graham Bright, held on with a majority of 799 and the Liberal Democrats only secured 10% of the vote.
The seat is mainly urban but includes a couple of more rural wards to the south. The town was once known as a centre for millinery but few are employed in that industry now. The constituency is dominated by Luton airport and the Vauxhall car plant, and it came as a major blow to the area when Vauxhall announced that they plan to close their plant by mid 2002 with the loss of 2,000 jobs. The closure was announced just before Christmas 2000 and was met with strikes from the workers and intervention from the unions, and a scramble by MPs to put together a rescue package.
Margaret Moran, a Londoner, won Luton South in 1997 having been a Lewisham councillor since 1984 and leader of Lewisham council from 1993-95.