Dudley West (UK Parliament constituency)

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Dudley West
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County West Midlands
February 1974–1997
SeatsOne
Created from Brierley Hill
Dudley
Replaced by Dudley North
Dudley South
Stourbridge

Dudley West was a parliamentary constituency, centred on the town of Dudley in the West Midlands. It existed from 1974 to 1997, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system.

Contents

History

The constituency was created for the February 1974 general election, from the old Dudley constituency (which was created following the Reform Act in 1832) along with the Brierley Hill constituency, and abolished for the 1997 general election. It was a 'bellwether' constituency where the winner of each general election throughout its existence matched the party which won the election.

Boundaries

1974–1983: The County Borough of Dudley wards of Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Gornal, Kingswinford and Wall Heath, Quarry Bank, Sedgley, and Wordsley.

1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Amblecote, Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Gornal, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Sedgley, and Wordsley.

Dudley West was one of three constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, encompassing the western half of the town of Dudley. The constituency included Brierley Hill, Kingswinford, and parts of Sedgley. At abolition in 1997, both Dudley West and Dudley East were replaced by two new constituencies: Dudley North and Dudley South, with some constituents being transferred to the re-formed Stourbridge constituency.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [1] PartyNotes
Feb 1974 Dr. Colin Phipps Labour
1979 Dr. John Blackburn Conservative Died in office 12 October 1994
1994 by-election Dr. Ian Pearson Labour Elected in 15 December 1994 by-election
1997 constituency abolished: see Dudley South, Dudley North and Stourbridge

Elections

Elections in the 1970s

1970 notional result [2]
PartyVote %
Conservative 26,80051.1
Labour 25,60048.9
Turnout52,40072.0
Electorate72,778
General election February 1974: Dudley West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Colin Phipps 29,143 48.9 +0.1
Conservative Fergus Montgomery 24,47441.1–10.1
Independent Liberal M Thirlby5,97110.0New
Majority4,6697.8N/a
Turnout 59,58880.3+8.3
Registered electors 74,219
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +5.1
General election October 1974: Dudley West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Colin Phipps 28,740 51.1 +2.2
Conservative LE Smith20,21536.0–5.1
Liberal A Martin7,25912.9New
Majority8,52515.2+7.3
Turnout 56,21475.2–5.1
Registered electors 74,746
Labour hold Swing +3.7
General election 1979: Dudley West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Blackburn 30,158 51.0 +15.0
Labour MJ Hartley-Brewer29,01949.0–2.1
Majority1,1391.9N/A
Turnout 59,17776.3
Registered electors 77,525
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +8.5
1979 notional result [3]
PartyVote %
Conservative 29,38551.9
Labour 27,20748.0
Others450.1
Turnout56,637
Electorate

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Dudley West [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Blackburn 27,250 46.2 –5.7
Labour William Price 18,52731.4–16.7
Liberal Gerald P.T. Lewis13,25122.5New
Majority8,72314.8+10.9
Turnout 59,02875.9
Registered electors 77,795
Conservative hold Swing +5.5
General election 1987: Dudley West [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Blackburn 32,224 49.8 +3.7
Labour Gary Titley 21,98034.0+2.6
Liberal Gerald P.T. Lewis10,47716.2–6.3
Majority10,24415.8+3.2
Turnout 64,68179.1+1.1
Registered electors 81,789
Conservative hold Swing +0.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Dudley West [6] [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Blackburn 34,729 48.8 −1.0
Labour KJ Lomax28,94040.7+6.7
Liberal Democrats Gerald P.T. Lewis7,44610.5−5.7
Majority5,7898.1−7.7
Turnout 71,11582.1+3.0
Registered electors 86,632
Conservative hold Swing −3.8
1994 by-election: Dudley West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Ian Pearson 28,400 68.8 +28.1
Conservative Graham Postles7,70618.7−30.1
Liberal Democrats Mike Hadley3,1547.6−2.8
UKIP Malcolm Floyd5901.4New
National Front Andy Carmichael5611.4New
Liberal Mike Hyde5481.3New
New Britain Mike Nattrass 1460.3New
FOREST - Freedom of Choice for SmokersMarjorie Nicholson770.2New
Natural Law John Oldbury700.2N/A
21st Century Conservatives Party Colin Palmer550.1New
Majority20,69450.1N/A
Turnout 41,30747.0–35.1
Registered electors 87,972
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +29.1

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)
  2. ↑ Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  3. ↑ "BBC/ITN NOTIONAL ELECTION 1979". election.demon.co.uk. BBC/ITN. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
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