Redditch (UK Parliament constituency)

Redditch
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Redditch in Worcestershire
Location of Worcestershire within England
County	Worcestershire
Electorate	66,492 (December 2010) [1]
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Rachel Maclean (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Part of Mid Worcestershire

Redditch is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in Worcestershire, England, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Rachel Maclean of the Conservative Party, who is currently Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. ^{[n 2]}

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [2]	Party
	1997	Jacqui Smith	Labour
	2010	Karen Lumley	Conservative
	2017	Rachel Maclean	Conservative

Constituency profile

From 1983 to 1997 the town of Redditch was, based on a series of high majorities, in the Conservative safe seat of Mid Worcestershire. The first MP for that constituency, Eric Forth, moved to the equally safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst in south east London as a result of major boundary changes in Worcestershire for the 1997 general election, and held that seat until his death in 2006. The seat has been a bellwether since 1997.

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries (since 2010 general election)

This seat is located in Worcestershire and contains the whole borough of Redditch and parts of the district of Wychavon. To make the size of the constituency's electorate suitable, the nearby villages of Inkberrow, Callow Hill, Cookhill, Feckenham, and Astwood Bank were included upon the constituency's creation in 1997. For the 2010 general election the villages of Hanbury and the Lenches have been included, and the constituency reclassified from Borough to County. ^[3]

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The Borough of Redditch.
• The District of Wychavon wards of: Dodderhill; Harvington and Norton; Inkberrow. ^[4]

In addition to the Wychavon Borough ward of Inkberrow, which is currently part of the seat, the two wards of Dodderhill to the north, and Harvington and Norton to the south, will be transferred in from Mid Worcestershire (to be renamed Droitwich and Evesham).

History

Redditch was created in 1997 following major changes to the Mid Worcestershire constituency. The Mid Worcestershire seat has been a much safer seat for the Conservatives since 1997 than beforehand, due to the Labour-voting wards within Redditch being taken out and made into its own constituency as it is today. There are nonetheless some Conservative-voting wards in the town, and the rural areas of the constituency are also strongly Conservative.

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Redditch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Julie Allison [5]
	Labour	Chris Bloore [6]
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Fieldsend-Roxborough [7]
	Conservative	Rachel Maclean [8]
Majority
Turnout
			Swing

The Conservative Party candidate at the next general election is Rachel Maclean , who currently serves as Conservative Party Vice Chair.

The Labour Party candidate is Chris Bloore, who was previously a Bromsgrove South county councillor, and resigned in 2019 after his re-election in 2017 to work in Toronto, Canada. ^[9]

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Redditch ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rachel Maclean	27,907	63.3	+11.0
	Labour	Rebecca Jenkins	11,871	26.9	-9.1
	Liberal Democrats	Bruce Horton	2,905	6.6	+4.0
	Green	Claire Davies	1,384	3.1	+2.3
Majority			16,036	36.4	+20.1
Turnout			44,067	67.4	-2.9
Registered electors			65,391
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.0

General election 2017: Redditch ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rachel Maclean	23,652	52.3	+5.2
	Labour	Rebecca Blake	16,289	36.0	+4.9
	NHA	Neal Stote	2,239	5.0	New
	UKIP	Paul Swansborough	1,371	3.0	-13.2
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Juned	1,173	2.6	-0.5
	Green	Kevin White	380	0.8	-1.4
	Independent	Sally Woodhall	99	0.2	New
Majority			7,363	16.3	+0.3
Turnout			45,213	70.3	+2.8
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.15

General election 2015: Redditch ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Karen Lumley	20,771	47.1	+3.6
	Labour	Rebecca Blake	13,717	31.1	+0.8
	UKIP	Peter Jewell	7,133	16.2	+12.8
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary Myers	1,349	3.1	-14.5
	Green	Kevin White	960	2.2	+1.3
	Independent	Seth Colton	168	0.4	New
Majority			7,054	16.0	+2.8
Turnout			44,222	67.5	+3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

General election 2010: Redditch ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Karen Lumley	19,138	43.5	+5.0
	Labour	Jacqui Smith	13,317	30.3	-13.4
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Lane	7,750	17.6	+3.2
	UKIP	Anne Davis	1,497	3.4	0.0
	BNP	Andy Ingram	1,394	3.2	New
	Green	Kevin White	393	0.9	New
	English Democrat	Vincent Schittone	255	0.6	New
	Christian	Scott Beverley	101	0.2	New
	Independent	Paul Swansborough	100	0.2	New
	Independent	Derek Fletcher	73	0.2	New
Majority			5,821	13.2	N/A
Turnout			44,018	64.2	+1.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Redditch ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jacqui Smith	18,012	44.7	-0.9
	Conservative	Karen Lumley	15,296	38.0	-0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Hicks	5,602	13.9	+3.6
	UKIP	John Paul Ison	1,381	3.4	0.0
Majority			2,716	6.7	0.0
Turnout			40,291	62.8	+3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	0.0

General election 2001: Redditch ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jacqui Smith	16,899	45.6	-4.2
	Conservative	Karen Lumley	14,415	38.9	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Ashall	3,808	10.3	-0.7
	UKIP	George Flynn	1,259	3.4	New
	Green	Richard Armstrong	651	1.8	New
Majority			2,484	6.7	-7.0
Turnout			37,032	59.2	-14.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Redditch ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jacqui Smith	22,280	49.8
	Conservative	Anthea McIntyre	16,155	36.1
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm Hall	4,935	11.0
	Referendum	Richard Cox	1,151	3.4
	Natural Law	Paul Davis	227	0.5
Majority			6,125	13.7
Turnout			44,748	73.5
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire and Worcestershire

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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

1. "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.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
3. Letter from Jacqui Smith to the Boundary Commission
4. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
5. "Redditch Constituency". Reform UK . Retrieved 20 March 2024.
6. "Redditch Labour names Chris Bloore as general election candidate". Redditch Advertiser. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
7. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack . Retrieved 20 March 2024.
8. "Rachel reselected as Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Redditch County". Rachel Maclean . Retrieved 20 March 2024.
9. "Bromsgrove South county councillor Chris Bloore resigns". Bromsgrove Standard. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
10. "Redditch Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
11. "Candidates confirmed for General Election". Stratford-upon-Avon Herald. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

52°15′N1°57′W / 52.25°N 1.95°W / 52.25; -1.95