Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)
Meriden | |
---|---|
Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | West Midlands |
Electorate | 83,428 (December 2010)[1] |
Major settlements | Balsall Common, Hampton-in-Arden, Meriden and Chelmsley Wood |
1955–2024 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Sutton Coldfield and Nuneaton |
Replaced by |
Meriden was a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.[n 2] It was named after the village of Meriden, halfway between Solihull and Coventry.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to boundary changes, it was reformed as new Meriden and Solihull East constituency, first contested in the 2024 general election.[2]
Constituency profile
[edit]The constituency was one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It covered the rural area known as the Meriden Gap located between the West Midlands conurbation and Coventry, which contains villages such as Balsall Common, Hampton-in-Arden, and Meriden itself, with some suburban towns, particularly Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood (a large area of 1960s council housing on the eastern edge of Birmingham, some of which since acquired privately under the right to buy others of which being remaining social housing), higher than average national income and affluent areas particular examples being Hockley Heath, Bentley Heath, Temple Balsall, Catherine-de-Barnes, Dorridge and Knowle.[3] Incidence of home ownership in this area is high, as opposed to the rented sector.[4][5]
History
[edit]Meriden was the largest geographical constituency in the West Midlands metropolitan area. It was created for the 1955 general election.
The 1983 boundary changes and landslide electoral success of Margaret Thatcher that year transformed the constituency into a Conservative safe seat, with the Labour-leaning areas becoming part of the new Warwickshire North constituency (which was also won by the Conservatives). Iain Mills held this seat until he died in office in January 1997, with the seat remaining vacant until the dissolution of Parliament that March (and therefore no by-election being held). Caroline Spelman was victorious in the 1997 general election, though on that occasion only by a marginal majority, and held the seat until her retirement in 2019, with the challenge from Labour becoming more distant.
Boundaries
[edit]The constituency was created in 1955 following a review of parliamentary seats in Warwickshire by the Boundary Commission appointed under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. The constituency's area was transferred from the neighbouring constituencies of Nuneaton and Sutton Coldfield.[6]
Tamworth Rural District was abolished in 1965, with most of its area redistributed between the two neighbouring rural districts. Accordingly, this resulted in only a minor boundary change to the constituency in 1974.[7]
Until 1983 the seat was a Labour-Conservative marginal, covering the coal mining areas of northern Warwickshire and the more affluent area near Solihull. It changed hands between the two parties several times, including in a by-election in 1968, which was won by Keith Speed of the Conservatives.
In 1983, reflecting the major local government boundary changes effected by the Local Government Act 1972, a new Meriden County Constituency was created as part of the parliamentary county of West Midlands. There were no boundary changes in 1997.[8] The Conservatives have generally achieved solid majorities in the constituency since 1983, although Labour came within 582 votes of gaining the seat in its 1997 landslide.
1955–1974: The Rural Districts of Atherstone, Meriden, and Tamworth.[9]
1974–1983: The Rural Districts of Atherstone and Meriden.
1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Fordbridge, Kingshurst, Knowle, Meriden, Packwood, and Smith's Wood.
2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of Bickenhill, Blythe, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Dorridge and Hockley Heath, Kingshurst and Fordbridge, Knowle, Meriden, and Smith's Wood.
Members of Parliament
[edit]The MP from 1997 to 2019 was the Conservative Caroline Spelman. Conservative Saqib Bhatti took over the position after the 2019 General Election.
Election | Member[10] | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1955 | Reg Moss | Labour | ||
1959 | Gordon Matthews | Conservative | ||
1964 | Christopher Rowland | Labour | Died November 1967 | |
1968 by-election | Keith Speed | Conservative | ||
February 1974 | John Tomlinson | Labour | ||
1979 | Iain Mills | Conservative | Died January 1997; no by-election held due to imminent general election | |
1997 | Caroline Spelman | Conservative | Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2010–2012) Second Church Estates Commissioner (2015–2020) | |
2019 | Saqib Bhatti | Conservative | ||
2024 | Constituency abolished |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 1950s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Reg Moss | 22,796 | 51.24 | ||
Conservative | John Peel | 21,691 | 48.76 | ||
Majority | 1,105 | 2.48 | |||
Turnout | 44,487 | 81.48 | |||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Gordon Matthews | 26,498 | 50.25 | ||
Labour | Reg Moss | 26,235 | 49.75 | ||
Majority | 263 | 0.50 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 52,733 | 84.44 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
Elections in the 1960s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Christopher Rowland | 29,425 | 50.31 | ||
Conservative | Gordon Matthews | 29,062 | 49.69 | ||
Majority | 363 | 0.62 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 58,487 | 83.45 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Christopher Rowland | 33,831 | 53.6 | +3.3 | |
Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 29,250 | 46.4 | −3.3 | |
Majority | 4,581 | 7.2 | +6.6 | ||
Turnout | 63,081 | 85.7 | +2.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Keith Speed | 33,344 | 64.8 | +18.4 | |
Labour | Roderick MacFarquhar | 18,081 | 35.2 | –18.4 | |
Majority | 15,263 | 29.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 51,425 | 66.0 | –19.7 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +18.4 |
Elections in the 1970s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Keith Speed | 40,077 | 53.13 | ||
Labour | Peter Lister[12] | 35,353 | 46.87 | ||
Majority | 4,724 | 6.26 | |||
Turnout | 75,430 | 75.59 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Tomlinson | 40,541 | 52.93 | ||
Conservative | Keith Speed | 36,056 | 47.07 | ||
Majority | 4,485 | 5.86 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 76,597 | 79.47 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Tomlinson | 34,641 | 47.39 | ||
Conservative | Christopher Horne | 25,675 | 35.12 | ||
Liberal | Dennis Minnis[13] | 12,782 | 17.49 | New | |
Majority | 8,966 | 12.27 | |||
Turnout | 73,098 | 75.08 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Iain Mills | 37,151 | 48.77 | ||
Labour | John Tomlinson | 33,024 | 43.35 | ||
Liberal | David Spurling[14] | 4,976 | 6.53 | ||
National Front | Alfred Parkes[15] | 1,032 | 1.35 | New | |
Majority | 4,127 | 5.42 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 76,183 | 77.02 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
Elections in the 1980s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Iain Mills | 28,474 | 53.7 | ||
Labour | John Sever | 13,456 | 25.4 | ||
SDP | Pamela Dunbar[16] | 10,674 | 20.1 | ||
National Front | Cliff Collins[17] | 460 | 0.9 | ||
Majority | 15,018 | 28.3 | |||
Turnout | 53,064 | 71.6 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Iain Mills | 31,935 | 55.1 | +1.4 | |
Labour | Richard Burden | 15,115 | 26.1 | +0.7 | |
SDP | Christine Parkinson | 10,896 | 18.8 | −1.3 | |
Majority | 16,820 | 29.0 | +0.7 | ||
Turnout | 57,946 | 73.9 | +2.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.3 |
Elections in the 1990s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Iain Mills | 33,462 | 55.1 | 0.0 | |
Labour Co-op | Nick Stephens | 18,763 | 30.9 | +4.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Judy A Morris[19] | 8,489 | 14.0 | –4.8 | |
Majority | 14,699 | 24.2 | –4.8 | ||
Turnout | 60,714 | 78.8 | +4.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 22,997 | 42.0 | –13.1 | |
Labour | Brian Seymour-Smith | 22,415 | 41.0 | +10.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Tony Dupont | 7,098 | 13.0 | –1.0 | |
Referendum | Paul Gilbert | 2,208 | 4.0 | New | |
Majority | 582 | 1.0 | –23.2 | ||
Turnout | 54,718 | 71.7 | –7.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –11.6 |
Elections in the 2000s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 21,246 | 47.7 | +5.7 | |
Labour | Christine Shawcroft | 17,462 | 39.2 | –1.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Nigel Hicks | 4,941 | 11.1 | –1.9 | |
UKIP | Richard Adams | 910 | 2.0 | New | |
Majority | 3,784 | 8.5 | +7.5 | ||
Turnout | 44,559 | 60.4 | –11.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 22,416 | 48.2 | +0.5 | |
Labour | Jim Brown | 15,407 | 33.1 | –6.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | William Laitinen | 7,113 | 15.3 | +4.2 | |
UKIP | Denis Brookes | 1,567 | 3.4 | +1.4 | |
Majority | 7,009 | 15.1 | +6.6 | ||
Turnout | 46,503 | 60.1 | –0.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 |
Elections in the 2010s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 26,956 | 51.7 | +4.0 | |
Labour | Ed Williams | 10,703 | 20.5 | –11.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Simon Slater | 9,278 | 17.8 | +1.0 | |
BNP | Frank O'Brien | 2,511 | 4.8 | New | |
UKIP | Barry Allcock | 1,378 | 2.6 | –0.7 | |
Green | Elly Stanton | 678 | 1.3 | New | |
Solihull and Meriden Residents' Association | Nikki Sinclaire | 658 | 1.3 | New | |
Majority | 16,253 | 31.2 | +15.7 | ||
Turnout | 52,162 | 63.3 | +3.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 28,791 | 54.7 | +3.0 | |
Labour | Tom McNeil[25] | 9,996 | 19.0 | –1.5 | |
UKIP | Mick Gee | 8,908 | 16.9 | +14.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ade Adeyemo | 2,638 | 5.0 | –12.8 | |
Green | Alison Gavin[26] | 2,170 | 4.1 | +2.8 | |
Independence from Europe | Chris Booth | 100 | 0.2 | New | |
Majority | 18,795 | 35.7 | +4.5 | ||
Turnout | 52,603 | 64.9 | +1.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 33,873 | 62.0 | +7.3 | |
Labour | Tom McNeil | 14,675 | 26.9 | +7.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Antony Rogers | 2,663 | 4.9 | –0.1 | |
UKIP | Les Kaye | 2,016 | 3.7 | –13.2 | |
Green | Alison Gavin | 1,416 | 2.6 | –1.5 | |
Majority | 19,198 | 35.1 | –0.6 | ||
Turnout | 54,643 | 67.6 | +2.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –0.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Saqib Bhatti | 34,358 | 63.4 | +1.4 | |
Labour | Teresa Beddis | 11,522 | 21.3 | –5.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Laura McCarthy | 5,614 | 10.4 | +5.5 | |
Green | Stephen Caudwell | 2,667 | 4.9 | +2.3 | |
Majority | 22,836 | 42.1 | +7.0 | ||
Turnout | 54,161 | 64.9 | –2.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.5 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
[edit]- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
- ^ 2011 census interactive maps Archived 2016-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 1681 (section Schedule) The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007 (Coming into force 27 June 2007)
- ^ F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.II: Northern England, London, 1991
- ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970/1674)
- ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/1626)
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Birmingham and North Warwickshire) Order 1955. SI 1955/177". Statutory Instruments 1955. Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1956. pp. 2099–2102.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)
- ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
- ^ "Meriden's Labour candidate adopted". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 25 May 1970. p. 5.
- ^ "Third Time will be Lucky - Liberal Hope". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 12 September 1974. p. 17.
- ^ "Liberal to Fight Meriden". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 12 April 1979. p. 18.
- ^ "At the Heart of the Matter". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 29 April 1979. p. 10.
- ^ "The seat that was hard to hold". Birmingham Evening Mail. 26 May 1983. p. 8.
- ^ "Election Line-Up". Sandwell Evening Mail. p. 18.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Tories Triumph". Solihull Times. 10 April 1992. p. 1.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.118 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/SOPN.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "UK ELECTION RESULTS: MERIDEN 2015".
- ^ "Greens Select Meriden Parliamentary Candidate". westmidlands.greenparty.org.uk.
- ^ "Meriden Parliamentary constituency". BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "Meriden Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
External links
[edit]- Meriden UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Meriden UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK