County West Midlands Created 1945 | Electorate 75,031 (December 2010) European Parliament constituency West Midlands | |
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Member of parliament Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) Created from North Warwickshire or the 'Tamworth' division of Warwickshire | ||
Sutton Coldfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative.
Contents
History
This area contributed to the old seat of North Warwickshire or the 'Tamworth' division of Warwickshire, which remains in a much narrower form as the largely suburban town to the north has developed.
All MPs elected since the constituency's creation in 1945 have been Conservative. Sutton Coldfield is, on the length of party representation measure combined with numerical majority, among the safest seats in the country for the party. The current MP was formerly for Gedling in Nottinghamshire
Geoffrey Lloyd (later created a life peer) was for four years the Minister of Fuel and Power then Minister of Education for two years mostly under the Third Churchill ministry then Macmillan Ministry.
Former Cabinet minister Sir Norman Fowler served the seat until retiring in 2001. Departments he led during the Thatcher ministry were transport, social services and then employment.
Andrew Mitchell was Secretary of State for International Development then briefly Chief Whip to the Conservatives while in Coalition Government 2010-2015, until standing down after swearing at police, while attempting to take his bicycle through the main gates of Downing Street, in 2012.
Boundaries
1945-1955: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield, and the Rural Districts of Meriden (the civil parishes of Allesley, Arley, Astley, Balsall, Barston, Berkswell, Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Coleshill, Corley, Coundon, Curdworth, Fillongley, Great Packington, Hampton-in-Arden, Keresley, Kinwalsey, Lea Marston, Little Packington, Maxstoke, Meriden, Nether Whitacre, Over Whitacre, Sheldon, Shustoke, Water Orton, and Wishaw) and Tamworth (the civil parishes of Amington, Austrey, Glascote, Kingsbury, Middleton, Newton Regis, Seckington, Shuttington, and Wilnecote and Castle Liberty).
1955-1974: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield, and the County Borough of Birmingham ward of Erdington.
1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield.
1983-2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton New Hall, and Sutton Vesey.
2010-present: The City of Birmingham wards of Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton New Hall, Sutton Trinity, and Sutton Vesey.
The constituency covers the northern part of the City of Birmingham. It corresponds to the former borough of Sutton Coldfield.
Constituency profile
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. At that date the regional average stood at 4.7%
Locally, the Conservatives have 11 councillors in this seat, with Labour's one councillor in the Sutton Vesey ward.