Birmingham Edgbaston (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 52°27′N 1°54′W / 52.450°N 1.900°W / 52.450; -1.900

Birmingham Edgbaston
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Birmingham Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Location of Birmingham within England.
County	West Midlands
Population	96,568 (2011 census)^[1]
Electorate	69,039 (December 2010)^[2]
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Gisela Stuart (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Birmingham
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

Birmingham, Edgbaston is a constituency^{[n 1]} in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Gisela Stuart MP of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Its best-known MP internationally was Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister 1937-1940), and since 1953 it has been represented only by women MPs. Since 1992 it has been a marginal constituency between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.

Boundaries

Situated to the south west of Birmingham city centre, this is a neat and mostly middle-class constituency with limited social housing, with parks, Warwickshire's cricket ground and two grammar schools. It was a safe Conservative seat for decades, emphasised by solid Tory areas like Edgbaston itself and Bartley Green, but some areas, such as the more Labour-inclined Quinton and Harborne, have pockets of considerable deprivation and of low incomes, helping Labour hold the seat since 1997. It contains the University of Birmingham's main campus, and most of the student halls.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Birmingham and the West Midlands, the Boundary Commission for England have created a modified Birmingham Edgbaston constituency, with the following electoral wards of the City of Birmingham:

History

The seat was held by the Conservatives until the 1997 Election. At that election it was the ninth seat to declare and the first seat to be gained by Labour from the Conservatives^[3] on a 10% swing, presaging the Labour landslide of that year.

Edgbaston has returned a female MP since 1953, longer than any other constituency.^[4] The sitting MP is Gisela Stuart. It has been classified as a marginal seat.^[5]

Members of Parliament

	Member^[6]	Party
1885	George Dixon	Liberal
1886	George Dixon	Liberal Unionist
1898 by-election	Francis Lowe	Conservative
1929	Rt Hon Neville Chamberlain	Conservative
1940 by-election	Peter Bennett	Conservative
1953 by-election	Dame Edith Pitt	Conservative
1966	Dame Jill Knight	Conservative
1997	Gisela Stuart	Labour

Election results 1931-2015

General Election 2015: Birmingham Edgbaston^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Lee Dargue^[8]
	Conservative	Luke Evans^[9]
	UKIP	Graham Short^[10]
	Green	Phil Simpson
	Christian	Gabriel Ukandu
	Labour	Gisela Stuart
	Independent	Henna Rai

Election			Party	Votes	%	±%
General Election 2010 Electorate: 69,039 Turnout: 41,571 (60.6%) +3.3	Labour hold Majority: 1,274 (3.1%) −3.1 Swing: 1.3% from Lab to Con	Gisela Stuart	Labour	16,894	40.6	−2.5
		Deirdre Alden	Conservative	15,620	37.6	+0.1
		Roger Harmer	Liberal Democrat	6,387	15.4	+2.6
		Trevor Lloyd	BNP	1,196	2.9	N/A
		Stephen White	UKIP	732	1.8	−0.4
		Phil Simpson	Green	469	1.1	−1.7
		Harry Takhar	Impact Party	146	0.4	N/A
		Charith Fernando	Christian	127	0.3	N/A
General Election 2005 Turnout: 37,631 (58.0%) +2.0	Labour hold Majority: 2,349 (6.2%) −6.2 Swing: 1.3% from Lab to Con	Gisela Stuart	Labour	16,465	43.8	−5.3
		Deirdre Alden	Conservative	14,116	37.5	+0.9
		Mike D. Dixon	Liberal Democrat	5,185	13.8	+1.8
		Peter C. Beck	Green	1,116	3.0	N/A
		Stephen White	UKIP	749	2.0	N/A
General Election 2001 Turnout: 37,749 (56.0%) −13.0	Labour hold Majority: 4,698 (12.4%) +2.4	Gisela Stuart	Labour	18,517	49.1	+0.5
		Nigel Hastilow	Conservative	13,819	36.6	−2.0
		Miss Nicola S. Davies	Liberal Democrat	4,528	12.0	+2.3
		Collis Gretton	Pro-Euro Conservative	454	1.2	N/A
		Sam Brackenbury	Socialist Labour	431	1.1	N/A
General Election 1997 Turnout: 48,465 (69.0%) −2.3	Labour gain from Conservative Majority: 4,842 (10.0%) N/A Swing: 10.0% from Con to Lab	Gisela Stuart	Labour	23,554	48.6	+9.3
		Andrew Marshall	Conservative	18,712	38.6	−10.7
		James Y. Gallagher	Liberal Democrat	4,691	9.7	−0.4
		Jonathan P. Oakton	Referendum Party	1,065	2.2	N/A
		Derek L. Campbell	British Democratic Party	443	0.9	N/A
General Election 1992 Turnout: 37,813 (71.3%) +2.7	Conservative hold Majority: 4,307 (11.4%) −11.6 Swing: −5.8% from Con to Lab	Jill Knight	Conservative	18,529	49.0	−0.8
		John F. Wilton	Labour	14,222	37.6	+10.8
		Dr. Iain R.S. Robertson-Steel	Liberal Democrat	4,419	11.7	−9.3
		Phil M. Simpson	Green	643	1.7	+0.2
General Election 1987 Turnout: 37,318 (68.6%) +2.4	Conservative hold Majority: 8,581 (22.9%) −8.4	Jill Knight	Conservative	18,595	49.8	-3.9
		John F. Wilton	Labour	10,014	26.9	+5.9
		J.C. Binns	Social Democratic	7,843	21.0	−1.4
		Phil M. Simpson	Green	559	1.5	N/A
		S.T. Hardwick	Independent Conservative	307	−0.0	N/A
General Election 1983 Turnout: 36,546 (66.2%) −1.6	Conservative hold Majority: 11,418 (31.3%) +10.7	Jill Knight	Conservative	19,585	53.7	−0.4
		J.C. Binns	Social Democratic	8,167	22.4	N/A
		P.A. Bilson	Labour	7,647	21.0	−12.5
		Dr. J. Hurdley	Ecology	516	1.4	−0.4
		S.T. Hardwick	Independent Conservative	293	0.8	N/A
		P.A. Davies	Communist	169	0.4	N/A
		Miss D.C. Howlett	Independent	97	0.3	N/A
General Election 1979 Turnout: 46,564 (67.8%)	Conservative hold Majority: 9,587 (20.6%)	Jill Knight	Conservative	25,192	54.1
		A Hudson	Labour	15,605	33.5
		J Dugued	Liberal	4,377	9.4
		J Tyler	Ecology	852	1.8
		D Howlett	Independent	297	0.6
		B Dore	Independent	129	0.3
		L Marshall	Independent	112	0.2
General Election October 1974 Turnout: 63.25%	Conservative hold Majority: 2,410 (5.44%)	Jill Knight	Conservative	19,483	43.95
		JG Hannah	Labour	17,073	38.52
		P Davies	Liberal	7,770	17.53
General Election February 1974 Turnout: 69.36%	Conservative hold Majority: 5,920 (12.26%)	Jill Knight	Conservative	25,914	53.65
		JG Hannah	Labour	19,994	41.40
		LW Marshall	Independent	2,391	4.95
General Election 1970 Turnout: 63.64%	Conservative hold Majority: 10,643 (28.41%)	Jill Knight	Conservative	23,690	63.24
		EJ Sever	Labour	13,047	34.83
		DC Howlett	Independent	725	1.94
General Election 1966 Turnout: 67.82%	Conservative hold Majority: 7,534 (21.51%)	Jill Knight	Conservative	18,869	53.86
		EO Smith	Labour	11,335	32.36
		DJ Badger	Liberal	4,829	13.78
General Election 1964 Turnout: 66.47%	Conservative hold Majority: 11,759 (34.71%)	Dame Edith Pitt	Conservative	22,818	67.36
General Election 1964 Turnout: 66.47%	Conservative hold Majority: 11,759 (34.71%)	AJ Kazantzis	Labour	11,059	32,64
General Election 1959 Turnout: 67.97%	Conservative hold Majority: 14,928 (39.41%)	Dame Edith Pitt	Conservative	26,401	69.71
General Election 1959 Turnout: 67.97%	Conservative hold Majority: 14,928 (39.41%)	NF Hinks	Labour	11,473	30.29
General Election 1955 Turnout: 68.22%	Conservative hold Majority: 14,094 (35.33%)	Dame Edith Pitt	Conservative	26,991	67.67
General Election 1955 Turnout: 68.22%	Conservative hold Majority: 14,094 (35.33%)	KV Russell	Labour	12,897	32.33
By-election, 2 July 1953	Conservative hold Majority: 10,507	Dame Edith Pitt	Conservative	20,142
By-election, 2 July 1953	Conservative hold Majority: 10,507	FB Watson	Labour	9,635
General Election 1951 Turnout: 76.06%	Conservative hold Majority: 13,104 (28.58%)	Peter Bennett	Conservative	29,477	64.29
General Election 1951 Turnout: 76.06%	Conservative hold Majority: 13,104 (28.58%)	WJS Pringle	Labour	16,373	35.71
General Election 1950 Turnout: 78.76%	Conservative hold Majority: 11,892 (25.35%)	Peter Bennett	Conservative	29,404	62.67
General Election 1950 Turnout: 78.76%	Conservative hold Majority: 11,892 (25.35%)	JA Hobson	Labour	17,512	37.33
General Election 1945 Turnout: 69.18%	Conservative hold Majority: 8,618 (21.43%)	Peter Bennett	Conservative	21,497	53.46
		GC Barrow	Labour	12,879	32.03
		Arthur Asher Shenfield	Liberal	5,832	14.50
By-election, 9 December 1940	Conservative hold	Peter Bennett	Conservative	unopposed
General Election 1935 Turnout: 62.41%	Conservative hold Majority: 21,862 (63.14%)	Rt Hon Neville Chamberlain	Conservative	28,243	81.57
General Election 1935 Turnout: 62.41%	Conservative hold Majority: 21,862 (63.14%)	J Adshead	Labour	6,381	18.43
General Election 1931 Turnout: 70.88%	Conservative hold Majority: 27,928 (73.03%)	Rt Hon Neville Chamberlain	Conservative	33,085	86.51
General Election 1931 Turnout: 70.88%	Conservative hold Majority: 27,928 (73.03%)	WW Blaylock	Labour	5,157	13.49

Election results 1885-1910

Election			Party	Votes	%	±%
December 1910 General Election Electorate: 13,383	Conservative hold	Sir Francis William Lowe	Conservative	unopposed
January 1910 General Election Electorate: 13,383 Turnout: 80.7% (+2.3)	Conservative hold Majority: 5,101 (47.2%) +7.0 Swing: +3.5% from Lib to Con	Sir Francis William Lowe	Conservative	7,951	73.6	+3.5
		Prof. John Hartman Morgan	Liberal	2,850	26.4	-3.5
1906 General Election Electorate: 13,230 Turnout: 78.4%	Conservative hold Majority: 4,160 (40.2%)	Sir Francis William Lowe	Conservative	7,263	70.1
	Conservative hold Majority: 4,160 (40.2%)	Hon. Lionel Raleigh Holland	Liberal	3,103	29.9
1900 General Election	Conservative hold	Francis William Lowe	Conservative	unopposed
By-election, 15 February 1898	Conservative hold	Francis William Lowe	Conservative	unopposed
1895 General Election	Liberal Unionist hold	George Dixon	Liberal Unionist	unopposed
1892 General Election	Liberal Unionist hold	George Dixon	Liberal Unionist	unopposed
1886 General Election	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal	George Dixon	Liberal Unionist	unopposed
1885 General Election Electorate: 8,693 Turnout: 80.6%	Liberal gain from new seat Majority: 1,191 (17.0%)	George Dixon	Liberal	4,098	58.5
	Liberal gain from new seat Majority: 1,191 (17.0%)	Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot, Bt.	Conservative	2,907	41.5

Notes and references

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.

References

↑ "Birmingham, Edgbaston: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
↑ Order of declarations at 1997 election
↑ Hansard report of Gisela Stuart; 10 April 2013: Column 1658
↑ Voter Power.org
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
↑ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/birminghamedgbaston/
↑ http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/birmingham-edgbaston-2015.html
↑ http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/birmingham-edgbaston-2015.html
↑ http://www.ukipbirmingham.org/prospective-parliamentary-candidates-ppcs/

British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
Debrett’s Illustrated Heraldic and Biographical House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
Debrett’s House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1901
Debrett’s House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1918

External links

Birmingham city council constituency page

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Colne Valley	Constituency represented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 1931–1937	Succeeded by Spen Valley
Preceded by Bewdley	Constituency represented by the Prime Minister 1937–1940	Succeeded by Epping

Birmingham Constituencies

Current	Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Hall Green Birmingham Hodge Hill Birmingham Erdington Birmingham Ladywood Birmingham Perry Barr Birmingham Northfield Birmingham Selly Oak Birmingham Yardley Sutton Coldfield

Historic	Birmingham (1832–1885) Aston Manor (1885-1918) Birmingham Bordesley (1885–1918) Birmingham Central (1885–1918) Birmingham East (1885-1918) Birmingham North (1885-1918) Birmingham South (1885-1918) Birmingham West (1885-1950) Hansworth (1885-1918) Birmingham Deritend (1918-1950) Birmingham Duddeston (1918-1950) Birmingham Moseley (1918-1950) Birmingham King's Norton (1918-1955) Birmingham Aston (1918-1974) Birmingham Handsworth (1918-1983) Birmingham Sparkbrook (1918-1997) Birmingham Acock's Green (1945-1950) Birmingham Stechford (1950-1983) Birmingham Small Heath (1950-1997) Birmingham All Saints (1955-1974) Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath (1997-2010)

Constituencies in the West Midlands (59)

Conservative (33)	Aldridge-Brownhills Bromsgrove Burton Cannock Chase Dudley South Halesowen and Rowley Regis Hereford and South Herefordshire Kenilworth and Southam Lichfield Ludlow Meriden Mid Worcestershire North Herefordshire North Shropshire North Warwickshire Nuneaton Redditch Rugby Shrewsbury and Atcham South Staffordshire Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stone Stourbridge Stratford-on-Avon Sutton Coldfield Tamworth The Wrekin Warwick and Leamington West Worcestershire Wolverhampton South West Worcester Wyre Forest

Labour (24)	Birmingham, Edgbaston Birmingham, Erdington Birmingham, Hall Green Birmingham, Hodge Hill Birmingham, Ladywood Birmingham, Northfield Birmingham, Perry Barr Birmingham, Selly Oak Coventry North East Coventry North West Coventry South Dudley North Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke-on-Trent Central Stoke-on-Trent North Stoke-on-Trent South Telford Walsall North Walsall South Warley West Bromwich East West Bromwich West Wolverhampton North East Wolverhampton South East

Liberal Democrats (2)	Birmingham, Yardley Solihull

West Midlands European constituency: Conservative (2) Labour (2) UKIP (3)