Walsall South (UK Parliament constituency)
| Walsall South | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Walsall South in West Midlands. |
|
 Location of West Midlands within England. |
|
| County | West Midlands |
| Electorate | 66,082 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Darlaston and Walsall (part) |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1955 |
| Member of Parliament | Valerie Vaz (Labour) |
| Number of members | One |
| Created from | Walsall |
| Overlaps | |
| European Parliament constituency | West Midlands |
Walsall South is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Valerie Vaz, a member of the Labour Party.[n 2]
Boundaries
Walsall South is one of three constituencies for the borough and specifically covers Darlaston, Moxley, Pheasey and the southern part of Walsall.
The seat has wards: Bentley and Darlaston North, Darlaston South, Paddock, Palfrey, Pheasey Park Farm, Pleck, and St Matthew's in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.[2]
History
The constituency was first contested in 1955 largely from Walsall constituency, and won by its only Conservative MP to date, Major-General Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid.
Bruce George of the Labour Party won the seat when the Major-General stood down in the February 1974 general election, he too was an prominent supporter of the armed services and led Britain's NATO delegation to its Parliament, subsequently becoming its Vice-President. While never a prominent frontbencher, George held Walsall South until his retirement at the 2010 general election, when he was succeeded by Valerie Vaz (also of the Labour Party).
- Synopsis of results
The Conservative holding of the seat through the First Wilson Ministry reveals that in these early elections the seat was not a bellwether. On the 1974 transfer in power to Wilson again, here the result proved to be a watershed election. Labour's majorities since this, only in fairly good years for the Conservatives, such as during the Thatcher ministry as well as in 1992 and General Election 2010 have been marginal [n 3]. In terms of length of a party's representation, Labour will have represented this area for a total of 40 years in February 2014.
Constituency profile
The constituency is in the heart of an area traditionally focussed on manufacturing, see Walsall, which retains many mechanical and engineering jobs in its economy and this seat has good links to the cities of Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8% and regional average of 4.7%, at 7.7% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[3]
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member [4] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Sir Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid | Conservative | |
| Feb 1974 | Bruce George | Labour | |
| 2010 | Valerie Vaz | Labour | |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
| General Election 2010: Walsall South[5][6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Valerie Vaz | 16,211 | 39.7 | -9.5 | |
| Conservative | Richard Hunt | 14,456 | 35.4 | +6.9 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Murli Sinha | 5,880 | 14.4 | +4.6 | |
| UKIP | Derek Bennett | 3,449 | 8.4 | +3.6 | |
| Christian | Gulzaman Khan | 482 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
| Independent | Mohammed Mulia | 404 | 1.0 | +1.0 | |
| Majority | 1,755 | 4.3 | |||
| Turnout | 40,882 | 63.1 | +3.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −8.2 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| General Election 2005: Walsall South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Bruce George | 17,633 | 49.9 | −9.1 | |
| Conservative | Kabir Sabar | 9,687 | 27.4 | −3.1 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Mohamed Hanif Asmal | 3,240 | 9.2 | +2.4 | |
| UKIP | Derek Bennett | 1,833 | 5.2 | +2.4 | |
| BNP | Kevin Smith | 1,776 | 5.0 | N/A | |
| Respect | Nadia Fazal | 1,146 | 3.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 7,946 | 22.5 | |||
| Turnout | 35,365 | 58.5 | +2.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.0 | |||
| General Election 2001: Walsall South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Bruce George | 20,574 | 59.0 | +1.1 | |
| Conservative | Michael Bird | 10,643 | 30.5 | -1.2 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Bill Tomlinson | 2,365 | 6.8 | +0.5 | |
| UKIP | Derek Bennett | 974 | 2.8 | N/A | |
| Socialist Alliance | Peter Smith | 343 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 9,931 | 28.5 | |||
| Turnout | 34,899 | 55.7 | -11.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
| General Election 1992: Walsall South[7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Bruce George | 24,133 | 48.2 | +3.3 | |
| Conservative | LC Jones | 20,955 | 41.9 | −0.8 | |
| Liberal Democrat | GE Williams | 4,132 | 8.3 | −4.1 | |
| Green | RJ Clarke | 673 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | JD Oldbury | 167 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,178 | 6.3 | +4.1 | ||
| Turnout | 50,060 | 76.3 | +0.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +2.1 | |||
Notes and references
- 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.
- ^ 6.3% and 4.3% of the vote respectively in the specific election years given.
- References
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ 2010 post-revision map Greater London and metropolitan areas of England
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)[self-published source][better source needed]
- ^ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/walsallsouth
- ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Walsall South". BBC News.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
