Wolverhampton_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Wolverhampton West (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1950
Wolverhampton West was a borough constituency in the town of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
| Wolverhampton West | |
|---|---|
| Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1885–1950 | |
| Seats | one |
| Created from | Wolverhampton |
| Replaced by | Wolverhampton North East and Wolverhampton South West |
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be re-established for the next general election, formed largely from the current Wolverhampton South West constituency.[1]
The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when the former two-seat Wolverhampton constituency was divided into three single-member constituencies.
It was abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new Wolverhampton South West constituency.
1885–1918
The original boundaries of the constituency were set in the sixth schedule of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. The seat comprised five wards of the municipal borough of Wolverhampton (St. Mark's, St. Paul's, St. John's, St. George's and St. Matthew's) and the neighbouring Ettingshall area which lay outside the borough boundaries.[2]
1918-1950
Constituencies throughout Great Britain and Ireland were redrawn by the Representation of the People Act 1918. Wolverhampton's municipal boundaries had been enlarged and it had become a county borough in the period since 1885. The Wolverhampton West seat was redefined to reflect this, and was described as comprising nine wards of the county borough: Blakenhall, Dunstall, Graiseley, Merridale, Park, St. George's, St. John's, St. Mark's and St. Matthew's.[3]
Proposed
The re-established constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The City of Wolverhampton wards of: Blakenhall; Graiseley; Merry Hill; Oxley; Park; Penn; St. Peter’s; Tettenhall Regis; Tettenhall Wightwick.[4]
The seat will comprise the whole of the current Wolverhampton South West constituency, with the addition of the Blakenhall ward from Wolverhampton South East and the Oxley ward from Wolverhampton North East.
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Alfred Hickman | Conservative | |
| 1886 | Sir William Chichele Plowden | Liberal | |
| 1892 | Sir Alfred Hickman | Conservative | |
| 1906 | Thomas Frederick Richards | Labour | |
| 1910 | Sir Alfred Bird | Conservative | |
| 1922 by-election | Sir Robert Bird, Bt. | Conservative | |
| 1929 | William Brown 1 | Labour | |
| 1929 | Independent Labour | ||
| 1931 | Sir Robert Bird, Bt. | Conservative | |
| 1945 | Billy Hughes | Labour | |
| 1950 | constituency abolished: see Wolverhampton South West | ||
1 Brown was elected in 1929, as a Labour Party candidate, but later sat as an "Independent Labour" MP. He sought re-election in 1931 and 1935 as an Independent Labour candidate, opposed in 1935 by an official Labour Party candidate, but lost on both occasions
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | 3,722 | 51.0 | ||
| Liberal | William Chichele Plowden | 3,569 | 49.0 | ||
| Majority | 153 | 2.0 | |||
| Turnout | 7,291 | 86.9 | |||
| Registered electors | 8,391 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Chichele Plowden | 3,706 | 50.8 | +1.8 | |
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | 3,583 | 49.2 | −1.8 | |
| Majority | 123 | 1.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 7,289 | 86.9 | 0.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 8,391 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.8 | |||
Elections in the 1890s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | 4,772 | 56.6 | +7.4 | |
| Liberal | William Chichele Plowden | 3,656 | 43.4 | −7.4 | |
| Majority | 1,116 | 13.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 8,428 | 89.4 | +2.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 9,424 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +7.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | 4,770 | 54.7 | −1.9 | |
| Liberal | George Rennie Thorne | 3,947 | 45.3 | +1.9 | |
| Majority | 823 | 9.4 | −3.8 | ||
| Turnout | 8,717 | 86.6 | −2.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,070 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
Elections in the 1900s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Repr. Cmte. | Thomas Frederick Richards | 5,756 | 50.8 | New | |
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | 5,585 | 49.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 171 | 1.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 11,341 | 89.3 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 12,707 | ||||
| Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1910s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alfred Bird | 6,382 | 52.4 | +3.2 | |
| Labour | Thomas Frederick Richards | 5,790 | 47.6 | −3.2 | |
| Majority | 592 | 4.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 12,172 | 92.4 | +3.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,170 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +3.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alfred Bird | 5,925 | 51.3 | −1.1 | |
| Liberal | P. Lewis | 5,631 | 48.7 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 294 | 2.6 | −2.2 | ||
| Turnout | 11,556 | 87.7 | −4.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,170 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −1.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Unionist | Alfred Bird | 13,329 | 56.8 | +5.5 |
| Labour | Alexander Walkden | 10,158 | 43.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,171 | 13.6 | +11.0 | ||
| Turnout | 23,487 | 63.3 | −24.4 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
Elections in the 1920s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Unionist | Robert Bird | 16,790 | 54.9 | −1.9 |
| Labour | Alexander Walkden | 13,799 | 45.1 | +1.9 | |
| Majority | 2,991 | 9.8 | −3.8 | ||
| Turnout | 30,589 | 80.0 | +16.7 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Robert Bird | 17,738 | 53.9 | −2.9 | |
| Labour | Alexander Walkden | 15,190 | 46.1 | +2.9 | |
| Majority | 2,548 | 7.8 | −5.8 | ||
| Turnout | 32,928 | 83.5 | +17.2 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | −1.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Robert Bird | 15,990 | 50.4 | −3.5 | |
| Labour | William Brown | 15,749 | 49.6 | +3.5 | |
| Majority | 241 | 0.8 | −7.0 | ||
| Turnout | 31,739 | 79.5 | −4.0 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | −3.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Robert Bird | 17,886 | 51.2 | +0.8 | |
| Labour | William Brown | 17,046 | 48.8 | −0.8 | |
| Majority | 840 | 2.4 | +1.6 | ||
| Turnout | 34,932 | 85.9 | +6.4 | ||
| Unionist hold | Swing | +0.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Brown | 21,103 | 49.1 | +0.3 | |
| Unionist | Robert Bird | 17,237 | 40.2 | −11.0 | |
| Liberal | George H Roberts | 4,580 | 10.7 | New | |
| Majority | 3,866 | 8.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 42,920 | 84.1 | −1.8 | ||
| Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +6.8 | |||
Elections in the 1930s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Bird | 26,181 | 60.5 | +20.3 | |
| Independent Labour | William Brown | 17,090 | 39.5 | −9.6 | |
| Majority | 9,091 | 21.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 43,271 | 84.3 | +0.2 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +15.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Bird | 19,697 | 54.9 | −5.6 | |
| Independent Labour | William Brown | 14,867 | 41.4 | +0.9 | |
| Labour | R. Lee | 1,325 | 3.7 | New | |
| Majority | 4,830 | 13.5 | −7.5 | ||
| Turnout | 35,889 | 72.4 | −11.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 | |||
Elections in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Billy Hughes | 21,186 | 59.9 | +56.2 | |
| Conservative | James Beattie | 14,176 | 40.1 | −14.8 | |
| Majority | 7,010 | 19.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 35,362 | 74.8 | +2.4 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.4 | |||
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform UK | Donald Brookes[7] | ||||
| Labour | Warinder Juss[8] | ||||
| Conservative | Mike Newton[9] | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
- "West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- "so much of the Parish of Bilston, as is known as Ettingshall New Village, being the portion which lies to the west of a line drawn along the centre of Ward Street, and is bounded on the south by Sedgley Parish, and on the north and west by the Municipal Borough of Wolverhampton". Sixth Schedule. Divisions Of Boroughs. Number, Names, Contents, and Boundaries Of Divisions. Redistribution Of Seats Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict.) Chapter 23.
- Representation Of The People Act 1918, Ninth Schedule. Redistribution Of Seats.
- "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
- Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
- F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
- "Wolverhampton West". Reform UK. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- "Labour selections: parliamentary candidates selected so far for the general election". LabourList. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- "Conservative Party chooses its parliamentary candidate for Wolverhampton West". Express & Star. Retrieved 15 March 2024.