Halesowen and Rowley Regis (UK Parliament constituency)

Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Halesowen and Rowley Regis in West Midlands.

Location of West Midlands within England.
County West Midlands
Electorate 67,656 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament James Morris (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Halesowen & Stourbridge, Warley West
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency West Midlands

Halesowen and Rowley Regis is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Contents

Boundaries

Halesowen and Rowley Regis straddles the border between the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley and Sandwell, being one of four constituencies covering Dudley and also one of four covering Sandwell. It covers the south-east part of Dudley borough (including the town of Halesowen) and the south-west part of Sandwell (covering Rowley Regis and Cradley Heath).

History

The constituency was formed for the 1997 general election, taking in the eastern part of the former Halesowen and Stourbridge constituency, (the remainder forming the reformed Stourbridge constituency) and the western part of the former Warley West constituency. Halesowen and Stourbridge had been held by the Conservatives, but both of its replacements were taken by Labour in 1997. Warley West had been held by Labour.

Unusually for a parliamentary constituency, Halesowen and Rowley Regis incorporates parts of two different boroughs. The area formerly in the Halesowen and Stourbridge constitiency is within the Dudley borough, while the area formerly in Warley West is within the Sandwell borough (which in turned had previously formed part of the boroughs of Warley and originally Rowley Regis).

From 1997 until she stood down at the 2010 general election the seat's MP was Sylvia Heal of the Labour Party. She previously held Mid Staffordshire from a 1990 by-election until she was defeated by the Conservatives in 1992. On become the MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, she gained more than half of the votes in 1997 and 2001 before her popularity dipped slightly in 2005 but she still managed to hold onto the seat.

James Morris of the Conservative Party was elected for the seat in the 2010 General Election. With approximately half of the constituency situated within the borders of Sandwell, it is the first time that any part of that borough (created in 1974) has ever been represented by a Tory MP. However, Tory MP's are no stranger to the Dudley borough, as Dudley South and Stourbridge both saw Tory candidates oust Labour MP's in the 2010 election and there have been a number of Tory MP's in various parts of the borough in the past.[2]

Morris had taken over as Conservative candidate for the seat after previous candidate Nigel Hastilow stepped down in November 2007 following a backlash from the public and fellow party members about his claims that Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech on immigration in 1968 had been proven correct.[3]

Members of Parliament

Election Member [4] Party
1997 Sylvia Heal Labour
2010 James Morris Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Halesowen and Rowley Regis[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Morris 18,115 41.2 +4.6
Labour Sue Hayman 16,092 36.6 -9.7
Liberal Democrat Philip Tibbetts 6,515 14.8 +2.3
UKIP Derek Baddeley 2,824 6.4 +1.7
Independent Derek Thompson 433 1.0 +1.0
Majority 2,023 4.6
Turnout 43,979 69.0 +5.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +7.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sylvia Heal 19,243 46.6 -6.4
Conservative Leslie Jones 14,906 36.1 +1.9
Liberal Democrat Martin Turner 5,204 12.6 +2.2
UKIP Nikki Sinclaire 1,974 4.8 +2.4
Majority 4,337 10.5
Turnout 41,327 62.9 +3.1
Labour hold Swing -4.2
Source BBC (2005)
General Election 2001: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sylvia Heal 20,804 53.0 -1.1
Conservative Leslie Jones 13,445 34.2 +1.4
Liberal Democrat Patrick Harley 4,089 10.4 +1.9
UKIP Alan Sheath 936 2.4 N/A
Majority 7,359 18.8
Turnout 39,274 59.8 -13.5
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sylvia Heal 26,366 54.1 N/A
Conservative John Kennedy 16,029 32.9 N/A
Liberal Democrat Elaine Todd 4,169 8.5 N/A
Referendum Party Alan Sheath 1,244 2.6 N/A
National Democrats K. Meads 592 1.2 N/A
Green Tim Weller 361 0.7 N/A
Majority 10,337 N/A
Turnout 73.6 N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/local/8152842.Historic_Tory_win_in_Halesowen_and_Rowley_Regis/
  3. ^ Watson, Nick (7 November 2007). "Enoch Powell's ghost". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/7080691.stm. 
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
  5. ^ Halesowen and Rowley Regis, UKPollingReport

Sources

Constituencies in the West Midlands (59)
Conservative (33)
Labour (24)
Liberal Democrats (2)