Meriden | |
---|---|
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 |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1955 |
Member of Parliament | Saqib Bhatti (Conservative) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Sutton Coldfield and Nuneaton |
Meriden is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Saqib Bhatti, a Conservative. [n 2] It is 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 will be subject to boundary changes. As a consequence, it will be renamed Meriden and Solihull East , to be first contested at the next general election. [2]
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 [3] | 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 |
The constituency is one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It covers 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. [4] Incidence of home ownership in this area is high, as opposed to the rented sector. [5] [6]
Meriden is 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.
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. [7]
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. [8]
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. [9] 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. [10]
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–present: 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.
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 | |||
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 | Caroline Spelman | 28,791 | 54.7 | +3.0 | |
Labour | Tom McNeil [14] | 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 [15] | 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 | 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 | 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 | |||
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 | 22,997 | 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 | |||
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 [21] | 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 | 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 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Iain Mills | 28,474 | 53.7 | ||
Labour | John Sever | 13,456 | 25.4 | ||
SDP | Pamela Dunbar [22] | 10,674 | 20.1 | ||
National Front | Cliff Collins [23] | 460 | 0.9 | ||
Majority | 15,018 | 28.3 | |||
Turnout | 53,064 | 71.6 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Iain Mills | 37,151 | 48.77 | ||
Labour | John Tomlinson | 33,024 | 43.35 | ||
Liberal | David Spurling [24] | 4,976 | 6.53 | ||
National Front | Alfred Parkes [25] | 1,032 | 1.35 | New | |
Majority | 4,127 | 5.42 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 76,183 | 77.02 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Tomlinson | 34,641 | 47.39 | ||
Conservative | Christopher Horne | 25,675 | 35.12 | ||
Liberal | Dennis Minnis [26] | 12,782 | 17.49 | New | |
Majority | 8,966 | 12.27 | |||
Turnout | 73,098 | 75.08 | |||
Labour 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 | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Keith Speed | 40,077 | 53.13 | ||
Labour | Peter Lister [27] | 35,353 | 46.87 | ||
Majority | 4,724 | 6.26 | |||
Turnout | 75,430 | 75.59 | |||
Conservative 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 | |||
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 | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | ||||
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) |
Knowle is a large village situated 3 miles (5 km) east-southeast of the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England. Knowle lies within the Arden area of the historic county boundaries of Warwickshire, and since 1974 it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands. It lies 2.5 miles from the Warwickshire border and had a recorded population of 10,678.
North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone and Coleshill, and the large villages of Polesworth, Kingsbury, Hartshill and Water Orton.
The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in West Midlands county, England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of seven boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region. Much of the large residential population in the north of the borough centres on the communities of Castle Bromwich, Kingshurst, Marston Green and Smith's Wood as well as the towns of Chelmsley Wood and Fordbridge. In the south are the towns of Shirley and Solihull, as well as the large villages of Knowle, Dorridge, Meriden and Balsall Common.
Chelmsley Wood, sometimes called just Chelmsley, is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, with a population of 12,453. It is located near Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It lies about eight miles east of Birmingham City Centre and 5 miles to the north of Solihull. The town is also close to both Coleshill and Water Orton in Warwickshire, the county the area was historically part of.
Birmingham Yardley is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jess Phillips of the Labour Party.
North Warwickshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Craig Tracey, a Conservative.
The Meriden Gap is a mostly rural area in the West Midlands between Solihull and Coventry. It is a part of the wider West Midlands Green Belt, separating Coventry from the large West Midlands conurbation, which includes Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The 'Gap' takes its name from the village central to the area, Meriden, although the largest settlement is Balsall Common. The highest point lies at 181 metres (594 ft) above sea level, slightly north of the hamlet of Eaves Green near the West Midlands-Warwickshire border.
The Meriden Rural District was a rural district of Warwickshire, England, which existed between 1894 and 1974. It was named after the village of Meriden.
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is the local council of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of seven in the West Midlands and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in Solihull.
Solihull is a large market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census, and its wider borough had a population of 216,240. The town is located 7.5 miles southeast of Birmingham, 13 miles west of Coventry and 18 miles northwest of Warwick.
The 2008 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.
The 2010 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
The 2004 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2015 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections and on the same day as the General Election.
The 2022 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. This was on the same day as other local elections. 17 of the 51 seats were up for election.