Solihull (UK Parliament constituency)

Solihull
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Solihull in West Midlands.
Location of West Midlands within England.
County	West Midlands
Electorate	77,354 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Solihull
Current constituency
Created	1945
Member of parliament	Julian Knight (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

Solihull is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Julian Knight, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

1945-1974: The Urban District of Solihull.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Solihull.

1983-present: The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of Elmdon, Lyndon, Olton, St Alphege, Shirley East, Shirley South, Shirley West, and Silhill.

The constituency is one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It covers the town of Solihull itself, as well as Shirley and Olton. It is a largely well-off, residential area, in the south-east of the West Midlands conurbation.

History

The Conservative Party had always viewed Solihull as a safe seat, having held it since it was established in 1945 until 2005. Roy Jenkins failed to win the constituency at the 1945 UK general election.

Yet, in the 2005 general election it was an unexpected gain for the Liberal Democrats, with Lorely Burt beating the incumbent John Taylor by a small majority of just 279 votes. Burt won the seat again at the 2010 general election, this time by just 175 votes following two recounts. Although the incumbent when the 2010 election was called, Mrs Burt's victory was classed as a 'gain' because boundary changes had given the Conservative candidate, Maggie Throup, a slender notional majority.

Constituency profile

The Solihull area is home to some of the West Midlands's more affluent residents and includes a high proportion of Birmingham workers and the managerial classes in manufacturing, retail, industry and the public sector. There are smaller villages and undeveloped green belt areas in its peripheral countryside, though the seat is primarily suburban and middle-class, with low levels of deprivation throughout. Workless claimants stood at only 2% of the population in November 2012, below every regional average in the UK. In the study of that date, only three of the 59 West Midlands seats had a lower proportion of registered jobseekers.^[2]

Following boundary changes, the northernmost tip of the seat now contains the point in England furthest from the coast in any direction.

Members of Parliament

	Member^[3]	Party
1945	Sir Martin Lindsay	Conservative
1964	Percy Grieve	Conservative
1983	John Mark Taylor	Conservative
2005	Lorely Burt	Liberal Democrat
2015	Julian Knight	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Solihull^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Knight	26,956	49.2	+6.6
	Liberal Democrat	Lorely Burt	14,054	25.7	-17.2
	UKIP	Phil Henrick^[6]	6,361	11.6	+9.4
	Labour	Nigel Knowles	5,693	10.4	+1.5
	Green	Howard Allen	1,632	3.0	N/A
	An Independence from Europe	Mike Nattrass	50	0.1	N/A
	Democratic	Matthew J. Ward	33	0.1	N/A
Majority			12,902	23.6
Turnout			54,779	70.9	-1.36
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	+6.6

General Election 2010: Solihull^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Lorely Burt	23,635	42.9	+3.5
	Conservative	Maggie Throup	23,460	42.6	+2.9
	Labour	Sarah Merrill	4,891	8.9	-6.7
	BNP	Andrew Terry	1,624	2.9	-0.5
	UKIP	John Ison	1,200	2.2	+0.3
	Solihull and Meriden Residents' Association	Neill Watts	319	0.6	N/A
Majority			175	0.3
Turnout			55,129	71.9	+4.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+0.3

Due to Boundary Changes this seat was notionally Conservative, even though it was previously held by the Liberal Democrats, making it a Liberal Democrat gain.

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Solihull^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Lorely Burt	20,896	39.9	+13.9
	Conservative	John Mark Taylor	20,617	39.4	-6.0
	Labour	Rory Vaughan	8,058	15.4	-10.2
	BNP	Diane Carr	1,752	3.3	N/A
	UKIP	Andrew Moore	990	1.9	-0.3
Majority			279	0.5
Turnout			52,313	63.1	+4.7
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.0

General Election 2001: Solihull^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Mark Taylor	21,935	45.4	+0.8
	Liberal Democrat	Jo Byron	12,528	26.0	+0.7
	Labour	Brendan O’Brien	12,373	25.6	+1.3
	UKIP	Andy Moore	1,061	2.2	N/A
	ProLife Alliance	Mary Pyne	374	0.8	-0.3
Majority			9,407	19.4
Turnout			48,271	63.3	-11.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Mark Taylor	26,299	44.7	-16.1
	Liberal Democrat	Michael J. Southcombe	14,902	25.3	4.3
	Labour	Mrs. Rachel N. Harris	14,334	24.3	7.6
	Referendum	Mike Nattrass	2,748	4.7	N/a
	ProLife Alliance	Jim Caffery	623	1.1	N/a
Majority			11,397	19.35	-20.55
Turnout			58,906	74.6	-7.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−10.3

General Election 1992: Solihull^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Mark Taylor	38,385	60.8	−0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Michael J. Southcombe	13,239	21.0	−3.0
	Labour	Mrs Nicola Kutapan	10,544	16.7	+1.7
	Green	Clifford G. Hards	925	1.5	N/A
Majority			25,146	39.9	+2.7
Turnout			63,093	81.6	+6.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Solihull^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Mark Taylor	35,844	61.07
	Liberal	Geoff E. Gadie	14,058	23.95
	Labour	Sue E. Knowles	8,791	14.98
Majority			21,786	37.12
Turnout				75.13
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Solihull^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Mark Taylor	31,947	60.76
	Liberal	I. Gillett	14,553	27.68
	Labour	I. Jamieson	6,075	11.55
Majority			17,394	33.08
Turnout				71.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	43,027	66.16
	Labour	David Hallam	10,820	16.64
	Liberal	I. Gillett	10,214	15.70
	National Front	D. Stevenson	978	1.50
Majority			32,207	49.52
Turnout				77.18
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	31,707	52.67
	Liberal	J.A. Windmill	15,848	26.33
	Labour	Denis MacShane	12,640	21.00
Majority			15,859	26.35
Turnout				75.25
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	35,049	54.47
	Liberal	J.A. Windmill	17,686	27.49
	Labour	D.A. Norman	11,608	18.04
Majority			17,363	26.99
Turnout				81.30
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	37,756	64.29
	Labour	D. Gray	13,181	22.44
	Liberal	R.A. Davis	7,795	13.27
Majority			24,575	41.84
Turnout				72.14
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	34,008	65.69
	Labour	D.A. Forwood	17,760	34.31
Majority			16,248	31.39
Turnout				74.80
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	32,355	59.45
	Labour	T.W.K. Scott	11,969	21.99
	Liberal	L. Farell	10,097	18.55
Majority			20,386	37.46
Turnout				80.46
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Martin Lindsay	35,862	73.88
	Labour	E.J. Bowen	12,682	26.12
Majority			23,180	47.75
Turnout				80.60
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Martin Lindsay	29,323	72.18
	Labour	M. Large	11,300	27.82
Majority			18,023	44.37
Turnout				78.28
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Martin Lindsay	27,871	70.35
	Labour	J. Johnson	11,747	29.65
Majority			16,124	40.70
Turnout				83.18
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Martin Lindsay	25,758	63.28
	Labour	W.N. Camp	11,741	28.84
	Liberal	Mrs Ada M Hayes	3,206	7.88
Majority			14,017	34.44
Turnout				86.92
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Martin Lindsay	26,696	55.22
	Labour	Roy Jenkins	21,647	44.78
Majority			5,049	10.44
Turnout				71.79
	Conservative win

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

↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ "Solihull Results". bbc.co.uk.
↑ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/solihull/
↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ BBC Election 2010, Solihull
↑ "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 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 2010-12-06.
↑ "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.

Constituencies in the West Midlands (59)

Conservative (34)	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 Solihull South Staffordshire Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stone Stourbridge Stratford-on-Avon Sutton Coldfield Tamworth Telford The Wrekin Warwick and Leamington West Worcestershire Worcester Wyre Forest

Labour (25)	Birmingham, Edgbaston Birmingham, Erdington Birmingham, Hall Green Birmingham, Hodge Hill Birmingham, Ladywood Birmingham, Northfield Birmingham, Perry Barr Birmingham, Selly Oak Birmingham, Yardley 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 Walsall North Walsall South Warley West Bromwich East West Bromwich West Wolverhampton North East Wolverhampton South East Wolverhampton South West

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

Coordinates: 52°25′N 1°47′W / 52.41°N 1.78°W / 52.41; -1.78

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