Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards
Walsall
Major settlements
Aldridge, Brownhills, Pelsall
Current constituency
Created
1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament
Wendy Morton (Conservative)
Seats
One
Created from
Walsall North and Walsall South
Aldridge-Brownhills (/ˈɔːldrɪdʒbraʊnhɪlz/) is a constituency[n 1] in the West Midlands, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.[n 2] It has been represented since 2015 by Wendy Morton, a Conservative.[3]
Constituency profile
The constituency covers Aldridge and Brownhills as well as a patchwork of smaller towns and villages within Walsall, West Midlands. The seat is described as a safe seat for the Conservative party.[4] Residents are around average in terms of wealth for the UK.[5]
Boundaries
Map of 2010-2024 boundaries
Aldridge-Brownhills constituency was created in 1974 from parts of the former seats of Walsall North and Walsall South. It is one of four constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.[6] It covers the north-east and east of the borough. When held by the Labour Party, the constituency included most of Pheasey, a ward of the same name, then a stronger area for Labour than much of the rest,[citation needed] which was moved into Walsall South to account for population expansion in the seat.
1974–1983: The Urban District of Aldridge-Brownhills.
1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall wards of Aldridge Central and South, Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, Brownhills, Hatherton Rushall, Pelsall, and Streetly.
2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall wards of Aldridge Central and South, Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, Brownhills, Pelsall, Rushall-Shelfield, and Streetly.
2024-present: From the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following wards (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The Borough of Walsall wards of: Aldridge Central and South; Aldridge North and Walsall Wood; Brownhills; Paddock (polling districts UE and UF); Pelsall; Pheasey Park Farm; Rushall-Shelfield; Streetly[7]
To bring the electorate within the permitted range, the seat was expanded to the south by transferring in the Pheasey Park Farm ward and part of the Paddock ward from the former constituency of Walsall South which was abolished in 2024.
Members of Parliament
The constituency has had just three different MPs since its formation in February 1974. Geoff Edge of the Labour Party served the constituency from February 1974 until 1979, when it was gained by Richard Shepherd of the Conservative Party; who was to represent the constituency for thirty-six years, even withstanding the 1997 Labour landslide on a below average Conservative-to-Labour swing. In 2014 Sir Richard Shepherd announced he would not stand for re-election at the 2015 general election. Wendy Morton, was selected to replace him as the Conservative candidate, and secured the seat with a safe majority of 11,723 votes.
List of parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county)
List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)
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
^"Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – West Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
^"MPs of the House of Commons". Members of Parliament. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
^Thandi, Gurdip (13 December 2019). "It's as you were in the 2019 General Election in Walsall". BirminghamLive. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
^Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Aldridge-Brownhills Archived 3 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine
^Walsall Council, 2024 General Election results for Walsall Borough
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 1)
^"Aldridge-Brownhills - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
^"STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL" (PDF). elections.walsall.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2021.