Sutton Coldfield (UK Parliament constituency)

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Template:Infobox UK constituency main Sutton Coldfield is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

1945–1955: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield, and the Rural Districts of Meriden and Tamworth.

1955–1974: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield, and the County Borough of Birmingham ward of Erdington.^[1]

1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield.

1983–2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton New Hall, and Sutton Vesey.

2010–2018: The City of Birmingham wards of Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton New Hall, Sutton Trinity, and Sutton Vesey.

2018–present: Following a local government boundary review,^[2] which did not effect the parliamentary boundaries, the contents of the constituency are as follows with effect from May 2018:

The City of Birmingham wards of Sutton Four Oaks; Sutton Mere Green; Sutton Reddicap; Sutton Roughley; Sutton Trinity; Sutton Vesey; Sutton Walmley & Minworth; Sutton Wylde Green.

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.^[3]

The constituency covers the northern part of the City of Birmingham. It corresponds to the former borough of Sutton Coldfield.

Constituency profile

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. At that date the regional average stood at 4.7%^[4]

Within Birmingham, the Conservatives have 11 councillors in this seat, with Labour's one councillor in the Sutton Vesey ward.

History

This area contributed to the old seat of North Warwickshire or the 'Tamworth' division of Warwickshire, which remains in a much narrower form as the largely suburban town to the north has developed.^[5]^[6]

Political history

All MPs elected since the constituency's creation in 1945 have been Conservative. Sutton Coldfield is, on the length of party representation measure combined with numerical majority, among the safest seats in the country for the party; they have received a majority of votes in the seat and its predecessors since 1885. The Conservative party's vote share of 68.9% in the constituency in 1979 would not be matched for 38 years, when the Conservatives received a higher share in South Holland and the Deepings, where they received 69.9%. Their lowest majority prior to the 2024 Labour landslide election was achieved in 2001, which still stood at a healthy 10,000 and a 50.4% share of the vote, and enabled Andrew Mitchell to make his return to Parliament. At the 2024 general election, Mitchell retained his seat on a much reduced majority of 5.3% over Labour and a vote share of 38.3%, the first time in the seat's existence that the Conservative vote had fallen below 50%.

Prominent frontbench members

Geoffrey Lloyd (later created a life peer as Baron Geoffrey-Lloyd) was for four years the Minister of Fuel and Power then Minister of Education for two years mostly under the Third Churchill ministry then Macmillan Ministry.

Former Cabinet minister Sir Norman Fowler served the seat from 1974 until retiring as an MP in 2001. Departments he led during the Thatcher ministry were transport, social services and then employment. Now Lord Fowler, he was Lord Speaker from September 2016 until April 2021.

Sir Andrew Mitchell, MP here since 2001 and previously MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1997, was Secretary of State for International Development then briefly Conservative Chief Whip while in Coalition Government 2010-2015, until standing down after swearing at police while attempting to take his bicycle through the main gates of Downing Street in 2012.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[7]	Party	Notes
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1945	Sir John Mellor	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1955	Geoffrey Lloyd	Conservative	Minister of Fuel and Power 1951–1955 Minister of Education 1957–1959
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	Feb 1974	Norman Fowler	Conservative	Minister of Transport 1979–1981 Secretary of State for Transport 1981 Secretary of State for Social Services 1981–1987 Secretary of State for Employment 1987–1990 Chairman of the Conservative Party 1992–1994
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	2001	Sir Andrew Mitchell	Conservative	Secretary of State for International Development 2010–2012 Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Government Chief Whip 2012 Minister of State for Development and Africa 2022–2024