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)
Major settlements	Solihull
Current constituency
Created	1945 (1945)
Member of Parliament	Lorely Burt (Liberal Democrat)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

Solihull is a borough 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.

Boundaries

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. The seat currently comprises the following wards: Elmdon, Lyndon, Olton, St Alphege, Shirley East, Shirley South, Shirley West, Silhill.

Boundary changes

Boundary changes that came into effect at the 2010 General Election saw just under 5,000 electors transferred to the neighbouring Meriden constituency, and around 2,000 electors transferred in to Solihull from Meriden. The net effect of this (according to Rallings & Thrasher's calculations used by the major news outlets) was that the seat notionally switched from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives.

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 more affluent residents and serves as a comfortable commuter base for Birmingham workers. There are some smaller villages and undeveloped green belt areas in the countryside, though the seat is primarliy suburban and middle-class, with low levels of deprivation throughout.

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

Election		Member	Party
	1945	Sir Martin Lindsay	Conservative
	1964	Percy Grieve	Conservative
	1983	John Taylor	Conservative
	2005	Lorely Burt	Liberal Democrat

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Solihull
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 gain from Conservative		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
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Lorely Burt	20,896	39.9	+13.9
	Conservative	John 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
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John 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 1992: Solihull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Taylor	38,385	60.8	−0.2
	Liberal Democrat	MJ Southcombe	13,239	21.0	−3.0
	Labour	Mrs N Kutapan	10,544	16.7	+1.7
	Green	CG 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

See also

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