West Bromwich West (UK Parliament constituency)

West Bromwich West
West Bromwich West
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of West Bromwich West in West Midlands
	Location of West Midlands within England
County	West Midlands
Electorate	65,249 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Tipton and Wednesbury
1974–2024
Seats	One
Created from	West Bromwich
Replaced by	Tipton and Wednesbury

West Bromwich West was a constituency^{[n 1]} in the West Midlands in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented from 1974 until 2019 by members of the Labour Party, and by the Conservatives from 2019 until 2024.^{[n 2]}

Further to the completion of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished at the 2024 general election, with most of the seat becoming part of the new Tipton and Wednesbury constituency, with the Oldbury and Tividale wards being transferred to the revived West Bromwich constituency, which is largely the successor to the abolished West Bromwich East.

In exchange the Friar Park and Hateley Heath wards from West Bromwich East, and the Coseley East ward from Wolverhampton South East, were transferred to the new Tipton and Wednesbury.^[2]

Constituency profile

Wednesbury and Tipton are economic centres and historic towns with considerable suburbs, although overshadowed in the service sector by nearby Birmingham. Since the recessions of the 1970s and early 1980s, West Bromwich West has suffered from an acute, stubbornly great minority of unemployment,^{[clarification needed]} and as a result of the Great Recession of 2008, unemployment peaked at 14.3%. Only Birmingham, Ladywood nearby had higher unemployment rates in all of Britain.^[3]

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were, in November 2012, higher than the national average of 3.8%, standing at 8.1% of the local population. Based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian, this also exceeded the regional average of 4.7% of those of working age in receipt of this benefit, which is seen as the lower gauge of the breadth of unemployment.^[4]

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 1997-2024

West Bromwich West was one of four constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, covering its west and north-west. Its main settlements were the towns of Tipton and Wednesbury, alongside the villages or suburbs of Great Bridge, Princes End and Tividale.

1974–1983: The County Borough of West Bromwich wards of Greets Green, Hill Top, Horseley Heath, Lyng, Market, Tibbington, Tipton Green, and Wood Green.

1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of Great Bridge, Greets Green and Lyng, Princes End, Tipton Green, Wednesbury North, and Wednesbury South.

1997–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of Great Bridge, Oldbury, Princes End, Tipton Green, Tividale, Wednesbury North, and Wednesbury South.

Political history

The seat was held by either the Labour Party or one of its members as the Speaker of the House of Commons from its creation until December 2019.

From 1974 until 2000, this was the constituency of Betty Boothroyd, who was first elected for the former West Bromwich in its by-election in 1973 and became the first woman to be Speaker of the House of Commons in 1992. She retired as Speaker in 2000.^{[n 3]} The ensuing by-election was won by the Labour Co-operative candidate Adrian Bailey, who held the seat until 2019. Shaun Bailey, the Conservative Party candidate in the 2019 general election, took the seat from Labour with a 50.5% vote share on an 11.7% swing. He became the first-ever Conservative member for the constituency.

At local level, Labour held most of the wards of the constituency. From 2008 until 2012, it was followed by the controversial British National Party, which had four councillors, ahead of the Conservatives with three. This came after a fairly strong BNP showing in the 2005 general election, when it received nearly 10% of the vote.

Members of Parliament

	Member^[5]	Party
Feb 1974	Betty Boothroyd	Labour
1992	Betty Boothroyd	Speaker
2000 by-election	Adrian Bailey	Labour Co-op
2019	Shaun Bailey	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: West Bromwich West^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Shaun Bailey	17,419	50.5	+10.8
	Labour	James Cunningham	13,620	39.5	–12.6
	Brexit Party	Franco D'Aulerio	1,841	5.3	New
	Liberal Democrats	Flo Clucas	915	2.7	+1.8
	Green	Keir Williams	664	1.9	+1.0
Majority			3,799	11.0	N/A
Turnout			34,459	53.4	–1.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+11.7

General election 2017: West Bromwich West^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Bailey	18,789	52.1	+4.8
	Conservative	Andrew Hardie	14,329	39.7	+15.8
	UKIP	Star Anderton	2,320	6.4	–18.8
	Liberal Democrats	Flo Clucas	333	0.9	–0.7
	Green	Robert Buckman	323	0.9	–1.1
Majority			4,460	12.4	–9.7
Turnout			36,094	54.7
	Labour hold		Swing	–5.6

General election 2015: West Bromwich West^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Bailey	16,578	47.3	+2.3
	UKIP	Graham Eardley	8,836	25.2	+20.9
	Conservative	Paul Ratner	8,365	23.9	–5.4
	Green	Mark Redding	697	2.0	New
	Liberal Democrats	Karen Trench	550	1.6	–10.4
Majority			7,742	22.1	+5.4
Turnout			35,026
	Labour hold		Swing	–9.3

General election 2010: West Bromwich West^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Bailey	16,263	45.0	–8.7
	Conservative	Andrew Hardie	10,612	29.3	+6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Sadie Smith	4,336	12.0	+1.8
	BNP	Russ Green	3,394	9.4	–0.5
	UKIP	Malcolm Ford	1,566	4.3	+1.8
Majority			5,651	15.7	–15.9
Turnout			36,171	55.6	+4.0
	Labour hold		Swing	–7.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: West Bromwich West^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Bailey	18,951	54.3	–6.5
	Conservative	Mimi Harker	8,057	23.1	–2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Martyn Smith	3,583	10.3	+3.5
	BNP	James Lloyd	3,456	9.9	+5.4
	UKIP	Kevin Walker	870	2.5	+0.9
Majority			10,894	31.2	–4.5
Turnout			34,917	52.3	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	–2.3

General election 2001: West Bromwich West^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Bailey	19,352	60.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	Karen Bissell	7,997	25.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Sadie Smith	2,168	6.8	N/A
	BNP	John Salvage	1,428	4.5	N/A
	UKIP	Kevin Walker	499	1.6	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Baghwant Singh	396	1.2	New
Majority			11,355	35.7	N/A
Turnout			31,840	47.7	–6.7
	Labour gain from Speaker		Swing

2000 West Bromwich West by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Adrian Bailey	9,460	50.6	*N/A*
	Conservative	Karen Bissell	6,408	34.3	New
	Liberal Democrats	Sadie Smith	1,791	9.6	New
	BNP	Nick Griffin	794	4.2	New
	UKIP	Jonathan Oakton	246	1.3	New
Majority			3,052	16.3	N/A
Turnout			18,599	27.3	−27.1
	Labour gain from Speaker		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Bromwich West^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Speaker	Betty Boothroyd¹	23,969	65.3	+10.5
	Independent Labour	Richard Silvester	8,546	23.3	New
	National Democrats	Steven Edwards	4,181	11.4	New
Majority			15,423	42.0	+22.7
Turnout			36,696	54.4	−16.0
	Speaker hold		Swing

¹Boothroyd stood as "The Speaker seeking re-election."

General election 1992: West Bromwich West^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Betty Boothroyd	22,251	54.8	+4.3
	Conservative	Desmond Swayne	14,421	35.5	–1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Broadbent	3,925	9.7	–2.7
Majority			7,830	19.3	+6.0
Turnout			40,597	70.4	+3.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.0

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: West Bromwich West^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Betty Boothroyd	19,925	50.5	−0.2
	Conservative	Francis Betteridge	14,672	37.2	+4.3
	SDP	Anthony Collingbourne	4,877	12.4	−4.0
Majority			5,253	13.3	−4.5
Turnout			39,474	67.0	+3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.2

General election 1983: West Bromwich West^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Betty Boothroyd	18,896	50.7	−9.6
	Conservative	David Harman	12,257	32.9	−3.4
	SDP	Anthony Collingbourne	6,094	16.4	New
Majority			6,639	17.8	−6.2
Turnout			37,247	63.8	−3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.1

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: West Bromwich West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Betty Boothroyd	23,791	60.3	−1.9
	Conservative	D Harrison	14,323	36.3	+13.5
	National Front	R Churms	1,351	3.4	−2.0
Majority			9,468	24.0	−15.4
Turnout			39,465	67.1	+4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.7

General election October 1974: West Bromwich West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Betty Boothroyd	23,336	62.2	−0.7
	Conservative	N Bridges-Adams	8,537	22.8	−6.5
	Liberal	DJ Corney	3,619	9.7	New
	National Front	R Churms	2,022	5.4	−2.4
Majority			14,799	39.4	+5.8
Turnout			37,514	62.8	−4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

General election February 1974: West Bromwich West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Betty Boothroyd	25,112	62.9
	Conservative	PM Smith	11,681	29.3
	National Front	G Bowen	3,107	7.8
Majority			13,431	33.6
Turnout			39,900	67.5
	Labour win (new seat)

Notes

^ A borough 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.
^ She was elevated to the House of Lords as Baroness Boothroyd of Sandwell.

References

^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
^ "Virgin Media - Official Site". Virgin Media.
^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)
^ "West Bromwich West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
^ "BBC Constituency Results 2017". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

External links

West Bromwich West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
West Bromwich West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Croydon North East	Constituency represented by the speaker 1992–2000	Succeeded by Glasgow Springburn

52°32′N 2°03′W / 52.53°N 2.05°W / 52.53; -2.05

[2] A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

[3] 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.

[7] She was elevated to the House of Lords as Baroness Boothroyd of Sandwell.

[1] "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

[4] "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

[5] "Virgin Media - Official Site". Virgin Media.

[6] Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian

[rayment-8] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)

[9] "West Bromwich West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

[bbcresults2017-10] "BBC Constituency Results 2017". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

[electoralcalculus2015-11] "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2010-12] "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2005-13] "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2001-14] "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1997-15] "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1992-16] "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[17] "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

[electoralcalculus1987-18] "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1983-19] "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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v t e Constituencies in the West Midlands (57)
Labour (37)	Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Erdington Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North Birmingham Ladywood Birmingham Northfield Birmingham Selly Oak Birmingham Yardley Burton and Uttoxeter Cannock Chase Coventry East Coventry North West Dudley Halesowen Lichfield Newcastle-under-Lyme North Warwickshire and Bedworth Nuneaton Redditch Rugby Shrewsbury Smethwick Stafford Stoke-on-Trent Central Stoke-on-Trent North Stoke-on-Trent South Stourbridge Tamworth Telford Tipton and Wednesbury Walsall and Bloxwich Warwick and Leamington West Bromwich Wolverhampton North East Wolverhampton South East Wolverhampton West Worcester
Conservative (15)	Aldridge-Brownhills Bromsgrove Droitwich and Evesham Hereford and South Herefordshire Kenilworth and Southam Kingswinford and South Staffordshire Meriden and Solihull East Solihull West and Shirley South Shropshire Staffordshire Moorlands Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge Sutton Coldfield The Wrekin West Worcestershire Wyre Forest
Liberal Democrats (2)	North Shropshire Stratford-on-Avon
Independent (2)	Birmingham Perry Barr Coventry South
Green Party (1)	North Herefordshire