Smethwick (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)
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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918–1974 and 2024 onwards
| Smethwick | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituencyfor the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 |
|
 Boundary of Smethwick in West Midlands region |
|
| County | West Midlands |
| Electorate | 71,195 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Smethwick, Brandhall, Langley Green, Blackheath |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Gurinder Josan (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Warley |
| 1918–1974 (1974) | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Handsworth |
| Replaced by | Warley East |
Smethwick is a parliamentary constituency, centred on the town of Smethwick in Staffordshire. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, abolished for the February 1974 general election, and re-established for the 2024 general election. It is formed from the abolished Warley constituency, with the addition of most of the Blackheath ward.[2]
The County Borough of Smethwick.
The established constituency is composed of the following wards (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of: Abbey; Blackheath (polling districts BLA, BLB, BLC, BLD, BLE, BLF and BLH); Bristnall; Langley; Old Warley; St. Pauls; Smethwick; Soho and Victoria.[3]
It comprises the whole of the current Warley constituency, with the addition of the bulk of the Blackheath ward from Halesowen and Rowley Regis, thus bringing its electorate within the permitted range.
The constituency gained national interest during the 1918 general election when the Suffragette leader Christabel Pankhurst decided to stand as a Woman's Party candidate supporting the Coalition. She was one of 17 women candidates standing for Parliament at the first opportunity. This was her one and only parliamentary campaign which she lost to the Labour candidate.[4]
In 1945 the constituency held the first post-war by-election when the winning Labour candidate, Alfred Dobbs, was killed in a road traffic accident less than twenty four hours after the count.[5] The constituency was the subject of national media coverage during the 1964 general election when Peter Griffiths, the Conservative Party candidate, gained the seat against the national trend, unseating the Labour Party sitting member, Patrick Gordon Walker, a front bench opposition spokesman in the previous Parliament, in a campaign with racial overtones.[6]
Members of Parliament
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| Election | Member | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | John Davison | |
| 1926 | Sir Oswald Mosley | |
| 1931 | New Party | |
| 1931 | Roy Wise | |
| 1945 | Alfred Dobbs | |
| 1945 | Patrick Gordon Walker | |
| 1964 | Peter Griffiths | |
| 1966 | Andrew Faulds | |
| Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see Warley East |
Warley prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Gurinder Josan |
Elections in the 2020s
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Elections in the 1970s
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Elections in the 1960s
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Elections in the 1950s
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Elections in the 1940s
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Elections in the 1930s
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Elections in the 1920s
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Elections in the 1910s
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Pankhurst
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county)
- List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)
- Smethwick (the town)
- 1926 Smethwick by-election
- 1945 Smethwick by-election
- Smethwick in the 1964 general election
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – West Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
- ^ Hallam, David J.A. Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918, Studley 2018, chapter two "Pankhurst in Smethwick".
- ^ Ibid page 24, footnote.
- ^ Jeffries, Stuart (15 October 2014). "Britain's most racist election: the story of Smethwick, 50 years on". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Smethwick
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig (1983). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
- Smethwick UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK