Birmingham Hall Green (UK Parliament constituency) explained

Birmingham Hall Green
Parliament:uk
Map2:EnglandBirmingham
Map Entity:Birmingham
Year:1950
Abolished:2024
Type:Borough
Elects Howmany:One
Next:Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley
Population:115,904 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate:77,157 (December 2010)[2]
Region:England

Birmingham Hall Green was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Birmingham, which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Tahir Ali of the Labour Party.

It was a safe seat for Labour, having the twelfth-largest majority in the UK (by percentage) with a vote share for Labour of 77.6% and majority of 62.5%, as of 2017. This is compared to only a 32.9% share of the vote and 7.8% majority that Labour achieved in 2010.[3]

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was abolished and replaced by a new seat of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley with minor boundary changes. The new seat was contested at the 2024 general election.[4]

Boundaries

1950–1955: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Hall Green, Sparkhill and Springfield.[5]

1955–1974: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Brandwood, Hall Green, and Springfield.[6]

1974–1983: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Billesley, Brandwood, and Hall Green.

1983–2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Billesley, Brandwood, and Hall Green.

2010–2024: The City of Birmingham wards of Hall Green, Moseley and King's Heath, Sparkbrook, and Springfield.

Following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England created a modified version of the Hall Green seat which contains a third of the constituency which existed for the 1997 general election and new additions – the retained former ward is Hall Green itself – and additional wards include two from the Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath which was abolished at the 2010 general election.

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England abolthed the constituency and created new constituency of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley with similar boundaries with minor boundary changes (minor gains and losses to Birmingham Ladywood, Birmingham Selly Oak, and Birmingham Yardley due to changes to ward boundaries in 2022) starting with 2024 general election.

Constituency profile

The constituency is an inner suburban seat on the fringes city centre to its north and bordering Solihull in the east and south. The number of non-whites (64.5%) is high compared to the rest of the city (42%),[7] as is the proportion of social housing (25.7%), with both figures higher than the national average. The area is home to a high number of public parks, open space and numerous tree-lined streets.[8] [9]

A famous landmark is Sarehole Mill, where J.R.R. Tolkien spent his boyhood, and which provided the inspiration for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Many constituents were employed in the car industry – notably Rover's nearby factories, which have now closed down.

History

Summary of resultsThe 2015 result made the seat the 28th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[10]

In the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the constituency voted to remain in the European Union with nearly two thirds of the vote, the strongest in Birmingham, despite the then-MP's Roger Godsiff's pro-Brexit stance.[11] It was thus the most pro-EU constituency outside of Greater London to be represented by a pro-Brexit MP. Despite the Leave side winning the referendum, Godsiff did not vote to trigger Article 50 in the Parliament out of respect for his constituents' wishes.[12]

The 2017 result made it the 12th safest seat in the UK, with a majority of 62.5% of the vote.

Hall Green, on various boundaries, elected a Conservative MP throughout the period from 1950 to 1997, and formed, with Birmingham, Edgbaston, the last of the Birmingham seats during the 1979–1997 Conservative Governments lost to Labour in 1997. This was the first time a Labour candidate had won the seat since it was created in 1950.

The 2015 result saw a +26.9% swing to the Labour Party and a correspondingly much greater than national average swing away from the Liberal Democrat candidate. This was in part due to the collapse of Respect's vote.

TurnoutTurnout has ranged from 83.1% in 1950 to 57.5% in 2001.

Members of Parliament

Birmingham Acock's Green and Birmingham Moseley prior to 1950

ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1950Aubrey JonesResigned 1965
1965 by-electionReginald Eyre
1987Andrew Hargreaves
1997Steve McCabe
2010Roger Godsiff
2019Tahir Ali
2024Constituency abolished

Election results 1950-2024

Elections in the 2010s

(Note that the vote-share changes for 2010 are from the notional results on the new boundaries, not the actual 2005 results)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Birmingham, Hall Green: Usual Resident Population, 2011 . Neighbourhood Statistics . Office for National Statistics . 30 January 2015 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084230/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6507735&c=&d=27&e=62&g=6430187&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1422104706393&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2473 . dead .
  2. Web site: Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England . 4 March 2011 . 2011 Electorate Figures . Boundary Commission for England . 13 March 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101106204053/http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm . 6 November 2010 . dmy .
  3. Web site: Constituencies A-Z - Election 2017. BBC News. 2017-06-10.
  4. Web site: West Midlands Boundary Commission for England . 2023-06-20 . Boundary Commission for England.
  5. Book: Craig. F.W.S.. Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. 1972. Political Reference Publications. Chichester, Sussex. 0-900178-09-4.
  6. Book: . 1956 . Statutory Instruments 1955 . Part II . The Parliamentary Constituencies (Birmingham and North Warwickshire) Order 1955. SI 1955/177 . London . . 2099–2102 .
  7. Web site: Hall Green Demographics . Hall Green Profile . 22 January 2021.
  8. Web site: OS Maps - online and App mapping system | Ordnance Survey Shop. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
  9. Web site: Google Maps. Google Maps.
  10. Web site: Labour Members of Parliament 2015 . UK Political.info . 2018-09-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180929214847/http://www.ukpolitical.info/labour-mps-elected-2015.htm . live.
  11. Web site: Brown . Graeme . 2016-06-28 . Birmingham Leave MPs' constituencies voted Remain . 2024-02-15 . Birmingham Live . en.
  12. Web site: Walker . Jonathan . 2017-01-30 . MP who backed Brexit says he WON'T vote to trigger Article 50 . 2024-02-15 . Birmingham Live . en.