County West Midlands Electorate 75,668 (December 2010) Member of parliament Steve McCabe (Labour) | Population 104,067 (2011 census) Created 1955 Number of members One | |
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Birmingham, Selly Oak is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Steve McCabe of the Labour Party.
Contents
Boundaries
1955-1974: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Balsall Heath, Moseley and King's Heath, and Selly Oak.
1974-1983: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of King's Norton, Moseley, and Selly Oak.
1983-2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Bournville, King's Norton, Moseley, and Selly Oak.
2010-present: The City of Birmingham wards of Billesley, Bournville, Brandwood, and Selly Oak.
The seat includes many students and staff from the nearby University of Birmingham. Half of the University's Selly Oak campus is located within the constituency. The Cadbury factory and Cadbury World are also within its boundaries.
History
Since its creation in 1955 the seat has switched hands three times between Labour and the Conservatives. The seat has progressively swung towards Labour from being a safe Conservative seat, this has been attributed to housing redevelopments that took place in the 1960s and 1970. More recently it has acquired a reputation for electing outspoken MPs, first with the victory of Conservative Anthony Beaumont-Dark in 1979 and then with his defeat by Labour's Lynne Jones in 1992.
Elections in the 2010s
Going into the 2015 general election, this was the 143rd most marginal constituency in Great Britain, the Conservatives requiring a swing from Labour of 3.7% to take the seat (based on the result of the 2010 general election).