Tamworth | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundaries since 2024 | |
![]() Boundary of Tamworth in West Midlands region | |
County | Staffordshire |
Electorate | 72,544 (December 2010) [1] |
Major settlements | Tamworth, Fazeley, Wilnecote |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1997 |
Member of Parliament | Sarah Edwards |
Seats | One |
Created from | South East Staffordshire |
1885–1945 | |
Seats | One |
Type of constituency | County constituency |
1567–1885 | |
Seats | Two |
Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
Tamworth is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, based on the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. The seat is currently represented by Sarah Edwards of the Labour Party, re-elected in the UK 2024 general election. [2]
1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Birmingham, the Sessional Divisions of Birmingham and Solihull, part of the Sessional Divisions of Atherstone and Coleshill, and part of the Municipal Borough of Tamworth.
1918–1945: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield, the Rural Districts of Meriden and Solihull, and part of the Rural District of Tamworth.
1997–2010: The Borough of Tamworth, and the District of Lichfield wards of Bourne Vale, Fazeley, Little Aston, Mease Valley, Shenstone, Stonnall, and Tame.
2010–2024: The Borough of Tamworth, and the District of Lichfield wards of Bourne Vale, Fazeley, Little Aston, Mease and Tame, Shenstone, and Stonnall.
2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency comprises the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
Minor adjustments to the boundary with Lichfield.[ clarification needed ]
The present Tamworth Constituency, a county constituency, [4] replaced the old South East Staffordshire constituency for the 1997 general election.
A previous Tamworth constituency existed from 1563 until it was abolished for the 1945 general election. It was a borough constituency that elected two MPs until the 1885 general election, when it was reincarnated as a single-MP constituency in the county of Warwickshire by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
Since its 1997 recreation the seat has been a bellwether, reflecting the largest party in terms of seats in the House of Commons with the largest share of the vote for the candidate locally. However, the seat has heavily trended towards the Conservatives in the general elections up to 2019, with majorities in excess of 10,000 in both 2015 and 2017 and almost 20,000 in 2019.
In the October 2023 by-election caused by the resignation of Chris Pincher (Conservative), Sarah Edwards (Labour) was elected. The results were videoed. [5] Whilst it was a 24% swing to Labour, the turnout was a comparatively low 35%.
In the 2024 general election, Eddie Hughes stood as the Conservative candidate; he was the incumbent MP for Walsall North, which had been abolished as a result of the 2023 boundary review. Edwards retained the seat with a slightly increased margin in numerical terms, but a lower percentage margin (3.1% versus 5.1%) due to the higher turnout. [2]
The Prime Minister and leader of the breakaway Tory group, the Peelites, Sir Robert Peel, represented the area for a long period 1830–1850, as did his father, brother and son at different periods. His father and son, also named Robert, also shared the baronetcy gained by his father, which gave them the automatic right to the style "Sir".
Income and wealth are around average for the UK. The area voted strongly for Brexit in 2016. [6]
The constituency is convenient for all of the West Midlands conurbation and has considerable local employment. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian . [7]
Tamworth was reduced to having one member in 1885.
The seat was abolished in 1945.
South East Staffordshire prior to 1997
Election | Member [13] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Brian Jenkins | Labour | |
2010 | Chris Pincher | Conservative | |
2022 [20] | Independent | ||
2023 by-election | Sarah Edwards | Labour |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Sarah Edwards | 15,338 | 35.0 | +11.7 | |
Conservative | Eddie Hughes | 13,956 | 31.9 | −34.8 | |
Reform UK | Ian Cooper | 11,004 | 25.1 | N/A | |
Green | Sue Howarth | 1,579 | 3.6 | +1.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Jed Marson | 1,451 | 3.3 | −2.0 | |
UKIP | Robert Bilcliff | 290 | 0.7 | −1.0 | |
Workers Party | Adam Goodfellow | 170 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,382 | 3.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 43,788 | 58.3 | ![]() | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Sarah Edwards | 11,719 | 45.8 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Andrew Cooper | 10,403 | 40.7 | ![]() | |
Reform UK | Ian Cooper | 1,373 | 5.4 | New | |
Britain First | Ashlea Simon | 580 | 2.3 | New | |
UKIP | Robert Bilcliff | 436 | 1.7 | ![]() | |
Green | Sue Howarth | 417 | 1.6 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Sunny Virk | 417 | 1.6 | ![]() | |
Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 155 | 0.6 | New | |
Independent | Peter Longman | 86 | 0.3 | New | |
Majority | 1,316 | 5.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 25,586 | 35.9 | ![]() | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Pincher | 30,542 | 66.3 | ![]() | |
Labour Co-op | Chris Bain | 10,908 | 23.7 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Rob Wheway | 2,426 | 5.3 | ![]() | |
Green | Andrew Tilley | 935 | 2.0 | New | |
UKIP | Robert Bilcliff | 814 | 1.8 | New | |
Independent | John Wright | 431 | 0.9 | New | |
Majority | 19,634 | 42.6 | ![]() | ||
Turnout | 46,066 | 64.3 | ![]() | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Pincher | 28,748 | 61.0 | ![]() | |
Labour | Andrew Hammond | 16,401 | 34.8 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Pinkett | 1,961 | 4.2 | ![]() | |
Majority | 12,347 | 26.2 | ![]() | ||
Turnout | 47,110 | 66.1 | ![]() | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Pincher [25] | 23,606 | 50.0 | ![]() | |
Labour | Carol Dean [25] | 12,304 | 26.1 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Janet Higgins [25] | 8,727 | 18.5 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Pinkett [25] | 1,427 | 3.0 | ![]() | |
Green | Nicola Holmes [25] | 1,110 | 2.4 | New | |
Majority | 11,302 | 23.9 | ![]() | ||
Turnout | 47,174 | 65.6 | ![]() | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Pincher | 21,238 | 45.8 | ![]() | |
Labour | Brian Jenkins | 15,148 | 32.7 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Pinkett [28] | 7,516 | 16.2 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Steven Fowler | 2,253 | 4.9 | ![]() | |
Christian | Charlene Detheridge | 235 | 0.5 | New | |
Majority | 6,090 | 13.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 46,390 | 63.8 | ![]() | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Brian Jenkins | 18,801 | 43.0 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Chris Pincher | 16,232 | 37.1 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Phil Bennion | 6,175 | 14.1 | ![]() | |
Veritas | Patrick Eston | 1,320 | 3.0 | New | |
UKIP | Tom Simpson | 1,212 | 2.8 | ![]() | |
Majority | 2,569 | 5.9 | ![]() | ||
Turnout | 43,740 | 61.0 | ![]() | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Brian Jenkins | 19,722 | 49.0 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Luise Gunter | 15,124 | 37.6 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Pinkett | 4,721 | 11.7 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Paul Sootheran | 683 | 1.7 | ![]() | |
Majority | 4,598 | 11.4 | ![]() | ||
Turnout | 40,250 | 57.8 | ![]() | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Brian Jenkins | 25,808 | 51.8 | ||
Conservative | Lady Lightbown | 18,312 | 36.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Pinkett | 4,025 | 8.1 | ||
Referendum | Dianne Livesey | 1,163 | 2.3 | ||
UKIP | Christopher Lamb | 369 | 0.7 | ||
Liberal | Catherine Twelvetrees | 177 | 0.4 | ||
Majority | 7,496 | 15.1 | |||
Turnout | 49,854 | 74.2 | |||
Labour win (new seat) |
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Mellor | 42,675 | 79.47 | ||
Labour | John Yates | 11,026 | 20.53 | ||
Majority | 31,649 | 58.94 | |||
Turnout | 53,701 | 64.72 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Mellor | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Arthur Steel-Maitland | 41,571 | 84.67 | ||
Labour | Joseph Willbery | 7,525 | 15.33 | ||
Majority | 34,046 | 69.34 | |||
Turnout | 49,096 | 73.92 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Arthur Steel-Maitland | 23,495 | 64.8 | –2.6 | |
Labour | George Horwill | 12,759 | 35.2 | +2.6 | |
Majority | 10,736 | 29.6 | –5.2 | ||
Turnout | 36,254 | 60.3 | –13.3 | ||
Registered electors | 60,087 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | –2.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Edward Iliffe | 29,807 | 67.4 | N/A | |
Labour | George Horwill | 14,402 | 32.6 | New | |
Majority | 15,405 | 34.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 44,209 | 73.6 | N/A | ||
Unionist hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Edward Iliffe | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Unionist hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Edward Iliffe | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Unionist hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Percy Newson | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Unionist hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Percy Newson | 14,732 | 68.8 | N/A |
Labour | George Henry Jones | 6,671 | 31.2 | New | |
Majority | 8,061 | 17.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 21,403 | 60.0 | N/A | ||
Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Henry Wilson-Fox | Unopposed | ||
Unionist hold | |||||
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Henry Wilson-Fox | Unopposed | |||
Unionist hold |
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Francis Newdegate | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Francis Newdegate | 10,313 | 68.2 | +7.2 | |
Liberal | Charles Henry Brampton | 4,799 | 31.8 | –7.2 | |
Majority | 5,514 | 36.4 | +14.4 | ||
Turnout | 15,112 | 82.9 | +2.8 | ||
Registered electors | 18,228 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Francis Newdegate | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip Muntz | 7,561 | 61.0 | N/A | |
Liberal | John Seymour Keay | 4,842 | 39.0 | New | |
Majority | 2,719 | 22.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 12,403 | 80.1 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 15,491 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip Muntz | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip Muntz | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip Muntz | 5,128 | 65.5 | N/A | |
Lib-Lab | William Johnson | 2,702 | 34.5 | New | |
Majority | 2,426 | 31.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 7,830 | 78.6 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 9,968 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip Muntz | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip Muntz | 4,338 | 52.9 | +25.9 | |
Liberal | William Beale | 3,858 | 47.1 | –25.9 | |
Majority | 480 | 5.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,196 | 81.6 | –16.8 (est) | ||
Registered electors | 10,046 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +25.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Hamar Bass | 1,409 | 41.4 | +2.9 | |
Liberal | Jabez Balfour | 1,074 | 31.6 | +24.2 | |
Conservative | William Henry Worthington | 920 | 27.0 | −11.3 | |
Majority | 154 | 4.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,329 (est) | 98.4 (est) | +21.9 | ||
Registered electors | 2,368 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +4.3 | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Hamar Bass | 1,186 | 66.1 | +20.2 | |
Conservative | Francis Bridgeman | 607 | 33.9 | −4.4 | |
Majority | 579 | 32.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,793 | 85.5 | +9.0 | ||
Registered electors | 2,096 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Robert Peel (3rd) | 1,089 | 38.5 | –2.6 | |
Conservative | Robert William Hanbury | 1,086 | 38.3 | N/A | |
Lib-Lab | Henry Hawkes [42] [43] | 448 | 15.8 | N/A | |
Liberal | Charles Parker Butt [44] | 209 | 7.4 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,416 (est) | 76.5 (est) | –2.3 | ||
Registered electors | 1,850 | ||||
Majority | 3 | 0.2 | –0.9 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 638 | 22.5 | N/A | ||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert William Hanbury | 946 | 74.5 | New | |
Liberal | Robert Spencer Robinson [45] | 323 | 25.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 623 | 49.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,269 | 72.6 | –6.2 | ||
Registered electors | 1,747 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Peel | Unopposed | |||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Robert Peel (3rd) | 1,136 | 41.1 | –10.5 | |
Liberal | Henry Bulwer | 827 | 30.0 | N/A | |
Liberal | John Peel | 798 | 28.9 | –6.7 | |
Majority | 29 | 1.1 | –21.7 | ||
Turnout | 1,381 (est) | 78.8 (est) | –6.6 | ||
Registered electors | 1,753 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Robert Peel (3rd) | 416 | 51.6 | +3.3 | |
Liberal | John Peel | 287 | 35.6 | –4.8 | |
Conservative | William Thomas Shave Daniel | 103 | 12.8 | +1.5 | |
Majority | 184 | 22.8 | –7.3 | ||
Turnout | 455 (est) | 85.4 (est) | +0.9 | ||
Registered electors | 532 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +1.3 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | –2.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Peel | 224 | 57.3 | –31.4 | |
Liberal | Henry Cowper [46] | 167 | 42.7 | +31.4 | |
Majority | 57 | 14.6 | –14.5 | ||
Turnout | 391 | 84.4 | –0.1 | ||
Registered electors | 463 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | –31.4 |
Caused by Townshend's succession to the peerage, becoming 5th Marquess Townshend.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Robert Peel (3rd) | Unopposed | |||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Robert Peel (3rd) | 341 | 48.3 | N/A | |
Liberal | John Townshend | 285 | 40.4 | N/A | |
Conservative | William Thomas Shave Daniel | 80 | 11.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 205 | 29.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 393 (est) | 84.5 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 465 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Robert Peel (3rd) | Unopposed | |||
Whig | John Townshend jnr. | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 419 | ||||
Peelite hold | |||||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Townshend jnr. | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Robert Peel (3rd) | Unopposed | |||
Peelite hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Robert Peel (3rd) | Unopposed | |||
Whig | John Townshend snr. | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 382 | ||||
Peelite hold | |||||
Whig gain from Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Robert Peel (3rd) | Unopposed | |||
Peelite hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Townshend snr. | Unopposed | |||
Whig gain from Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Robert Peel (2nd) | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | William Yates Peel | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 393 | ||||
Peelite gain from Conservative | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel (2nd) | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel (2nd) | 365 | 48.5 | +1.1 | |
Conservative | Edward Henry A'Court | 241 | 32.0 | +2.0 | |
Whig | John Townshend snr. | 147 | 19.5 | –3.1 | |
Majority | 94 | 12.5 | +5.1 | ||
Turnout | 377 (est) | 77.6 (est) | c. –11.7 | ||
Registered electors | 485 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.3 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel (2nd) | 387 | 47.4 | ||
Conservative | Edward Henry A'Court | 245 | 30.0 | ||
Whig | John Townshend snr. | 185 | 22.6 | ||
Majority | 60 | 7.4 | |||
Turnout | 444 | 89.3 | |||
Registered electors | 497 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel (2nd) | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | William Yates Peel | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 505 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Peel (2nd) | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Charles Townshend | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 586 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Peel (2nd) | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Charles Townshend | Unopposed | |||
Tory hold | |||||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Peel (2nd) | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Charles Townshend | Unopposed | |||
Tory hold | |||||
Whig hold |