Birmingham Hodge Hill (UK Parliament constituency) explained

Birmingham Hodge Hill
Parliament:uk
Map2:EnglandBirmingham
Year:1983
Abolished:2024
Type:Borough
Elects Howmany:One
Previous:Birmingham Hodge Hill
Next:Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
Population:121,678 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate:75,985 (December 2010)[2]
Region:England

Birmingham Hodge Hill was a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons by a member of the Labour Party since its creation and until its abolition.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished and replaced with new Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, first contested at the 2024 general election.[3]

Constituency profile

The constituency covers a diverse area of east Birmingham, including the predominantly Asian inner-city area of Washwood Heath and the mostly white area of Shard End on the city's eastern boundary, as well as Hodge Hill itself. There is roughly a three-way split of social housing, privately rented and privately owned homes. The area has a high proportion of low-income households, with the constituency having one of the highest Indices of Multiple Deprivation in the West Midlands for its central area.[4]

Boundaries

1983–2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Hodge Hill, Shard End, and Washwood Heath.

2010–2024: The City of Birmingham wards of Bordesley Green, Hodge Hill, Shard End, and Washwood Heath.

When the Hodge Hill area committee district of Birmingham was created in 2004, its boundaries were those of the constituency.

For the 2024 general election, Boundary Commission for England abolished the constituency in the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North was created as a primary successor of the constituency with bulk of abolished constituency's boundaries and minor parts transferred to Birmingham Ladywood and Birmingham Yardley.

History

The constituency was created in 1983, taking much of abolished Birmingham Stechford, the remainder of which bolstered Birmingham Yardley (principally Stechford itself). The predecessor seat was won by the Labour candidate in all but one election since its 1950 creation.

In 2004, the appointment of the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Terry Davis, as secretary general of the Council of Europe resulted in a fiercely contested by-election. The seat saw a strong result by the Liberal Democrat candidate, who hoped to build on her party's previous by-election gain at Brent East, as well as vote splitting by the similarly aligned-to-Labour, anti-war RESPECT The Unity Coalition candidate. On a low turnout, the incumbent held the seat by a margin of 460 votes over the Liberal Democrats. The 2015 result made the seat the ninth safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[5]

Members of Parliament

The current Member of Parliament is Liam Byrne of the Labour Party, who was elected in the 2004 by-election. He succeeded Terry Davis, who had held the seat since its creation in the 1983 general election. For the four years from the 1979 general election Davis held the largely predecessor constituency to the area, Birmingham Stechford.

ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1983Terry DavisResigned 2004
2004 by-electionLiam ByrneChief Secretary to the Treasury 2009–2010
2024Constituency abolished

Election results 1983–2024

Elections in the 2000s

Note: percentage changes are from the figures at the 2001 general election, not the 2004 by-election.

Elections in the 2010s

1: The Liberal Democrats suspended Waheed Rafiq from the party over numerous antisemitic and other offensive social media posts. It was too late to prevent him standing in the election and his name remained on the ballot paper as a Liberal Democrat.[6] Rafiq polled the lowest percentage for any Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2019 election.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Birmingham, Hodge Hill: Usual Resident Population, 2011 . Neighbourhood Statistics . Office for National Statistics . 30 January 2015 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110556/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6507736&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 .
  3. Web site: West Midlands Boundary Commission for England . 2023-06-20 . Boundary Commission for England.
  4. Web site: Local statistics – Office for National Statistics. neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. 23 December 2012. 11 February 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/. dead.
  5. 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.
  6. News: The Lib Dems Have Suspended A Candidate Who Repeatedly Made Antisemitic Remarks. Wickham. Alex. 20 November 2019. BuzzFeed News. 20 November 2019.