Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)

Meriden
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Meriden in the West Midlands for the 2007 general election.
Location of the West Midlands within England.
County	West Midlands
Electorate	83,428 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Balsall Common, Hampton-in-Arden, Meriden and Chelmsley Wood
Current constituency
Created	1955 (1955)
Member of Parliament	Caroline Spelman (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

Meriden is a county 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. It was first contested at the 1955 general election.

History

1955 - 1983

The Meriden County Constituency was created in 1955, following a review of parliamentary seats in Warwickshire by the boundary commission appointed under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. The new constituency comprised three rural districts in the north of the county: Atherstone, Meriden and Tamworth.^[2] The areas were transferred from the neighbouring constituencies of Nuneaton and Sutton Coldfield^[3]

Tamworth Rural District was abolished in 1965, with most of its area redistributed between the two neighbouring rural districts. Accordingly, when parliamentary constituencies were reorganised throughout England in 1970, Meriden was redefined to consist only of Atherstone and Meriden Rural Districts.^[4] This was only a minor boundary change.

The seat was a Labour/Conservative marginal, covering the coal mining areas of northern Warwickshire and the more affluent area near Solihull. It changed hands between the two parties several times, including in a by-election in 1968, which was won by Keith Speed of the Conservatives.

1983 to date

The next redistribution of constituencies was in 1983, reflecting the major boundary changes effected by the Local Government Act 1972. A new Meriden County Constituency was created as part of the parliamentary county of West Midlands, consisting of nine wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, namely Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Fordbridge, Kingshurst, Knowle, Meriden, Packwood and Smith's Wood.^[5] The boundaries were unchanged in 1997.^[6]

The 1983 boundary changes transformed the constituency into a safe Conservative seat, with the areas favouring Labour becoming part of a new North Warwickshire seat. Iain Mills held the seat until he died in office in January 1997, with the seat remaining vacant until the dissolution of Parliament and no by-election being held. Caroline Spelman was victorious in the 1997 general election, though only by a narrow margin, and has held the seat since then, with the challenge from Labour becoming more distant.

For the 2010 general election the constituency was redefined, following redrawing of the wards of the metropolitan borough. It now comprises the following nine wards: Bickenhill, Blythe, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Dorridge & Hockley Heath, Kingshurst & Fordbridge, Knowle, Meriden, Smith's Wood.^[7]

Boundaries

The constituency is one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It covers the rural area, known as the Meriden Gap, between the West Midlands conurbation and Coventry, which contains villages such as Balsall Common, Hampton-in-Arden and Meriden itself. It also covers some urban parts of the borough, particularly Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood (a large area of 1960s council housing on the eastern edge of Birmingham), but also the affluent areas of Dorridge and Knowle.

Members of Parliament

The current MP is the Conservative Caroline Spelman. She has been member for the seat since 1997, and Environment Secretary since 2010.

Election		Member[8]	Party
	1955	Reginald Moss	Labour
	1959	Gordon Matthews	Conservative
	1964	Christopher Rowland	Labour
	1968 by-election	Keith Speed	Conservative
	Feb 1974	John Tomlinson	Labour
	1979	Iain Mills	Conservative
	1997	Caroline Spelman	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Meriden [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Caroline Spelman	26,956	51.7	+4.0
	Labour	Ed Williams	10,703	20.5	−11.7
	Liberal Democrat	Simon Slater	9,278	17.8	+1.0
	BNP	Frank O'Brien	2,511	4.8	N/A
	UKIP	Barry Allcock	1,378	2.6	−0.7
	Green	Elly Stanton	678	1.3	N/A
	Solihull and Meriden Residents' Association	Nikki Sinclaire	658	1.3	N/A
Majority			16,253	31.2	+15.7
Turnout			52,162	63.3	+3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.9

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Meriden
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Caroline Spelman	22,416	48.2	+0.5
	Labour	Jim Brown	15,407	33.1	−6.1
	Liberal Democrat	William Laitinen	7,113	15.3	+4.2
	UKIP	Denis Brookes	1,567	3.4	+1.4
Majority			7,009	15.1	+6.6
Turnout			46,503	60.1	−0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.3

General Election 2001: Meriden
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Caroline Spelman	21,246	47.7	+5.7
	Labour	Christine Shawcroft	17,462	39.2	−1.8
	Liberal Democrat	Nigel Hicks	4,941	11.1	−1.9
	UKIP	Richard Adams	910	2.0	N/A
Majority			3,784	8.5	+7.4
Turnout			44,559	60.4	−11.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.7

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Meriden[10][11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Caroline Spelman	22,997	42.0	−13.1
	Labour	Brian Seymour-Smith	22,415	41.0	+10.1
	Liberal Democrat	Tony Dupont	7,098	13.0	−1.0
	Referendum Party	P Gilbert	2,208	4.0	N/A
Majority			582	1.1	−23.1
Turnout			54,718	71.7	−7.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−11.6

General Election 1992: Meriden[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Iain Mills	33,462	55.1	+0.0
	Labour	NJ Stephens	18,763	30.9	+4.8
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs JA Morris	8,489	14.0	−4.8
Majority			14,699	24.2	−4.8
Turnout			60,714	78.8	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.4

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county)

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. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (Birmingham and North Warwickshire) Order, 1955 (S.I. 1955/177)
3. ^ F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.II: Northern England, London, 1991
4. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970/1674)
5. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/417)
6. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/1626)
7. ^ Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 1681 (section Schedule) The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007 (Coming into force 27 June 2007)
8. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)
9. ^ http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/SOPN.pdf
10. ^ "Politcs Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/499.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-25. 
11. ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.118 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
12. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010. 

Coordinates: 52°24′N 1°43′W / 52.40°N 1.71°W / 52.40; -1.71