A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Stourbridge | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of Stourbridge in West Midlands region | |
| County | West Midlands |
| Electorate | 70,225 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Amblecote, Cradley, Lye, Quarry Bank, Stourbridge |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1997 |
| Member of Parliament | Cat Eccles (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Halesowen & Stourbridge Dudley East Dudley West |
| 1918–1950 | |
| Seats | One |
| Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
| Created from | North Worcestershire |
| Replaced by | Oldbury and Halesowen and Dudley |
Stourbridge is a constituency[n 1] in West Midlands represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Cat Eccles from the Labour Party. Until then it was held since 2019 by Suzanne Webb, a member of the Conservative Party.[n 2] The seat was previously held by Margot James, a Conservative who lost the whip in September and October 2019 and did not run for re-election.[2]
Boundaries
1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Stourbridge, the Urban Districts of Lye and Wollescote, and Oldbury, and the Rural District of Halesowen.
1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Amblecote, Lye and Wollescote, Norton, Pedmore and Stourbridge East, Quarry Bank and Cradley, and Wollaston and Stourbridge West.
2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Amblecote, Cradley and Foxcote, Lye and Wollescote, Norton, Pedmore and Stourbridge East, Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood, and Wollaston and Stourbridge Town.
2024-present: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of: Amblecote; Brierley Hill; Lye and Stourbridge North; Netherton, Woodside and St. Andrews; Norton; Pedmore and Stourbridge East; Wollaston and Stourbridge Town.[3]
Changes for the 2024 general election brought by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and described as the following:
- The seat will be subject to significant boundary changes which will entail the loss of the areas of Cradley, Wollescote, Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood which will move to the new constituency of Halesowen, offset by the gain of Brierley Hill, Netherton and Woodside from the (to be abolished) constituency of Dudley South.[4]
Stourbridge is one of three constituencies principally in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley (alongside Dudley and Halesowen), covering the south-west of the borough.
Constituency profile
Much of the town consists of suburban streets, interspersed with green spaces, with the other settlements being contiguous. Stourbridge borders on green belt land, and is close to unspoiled countryside with rural Shropshire close by to the west. The Clent Hills, Kinver Edge and large areas of farmland lie to the south and west.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 4.8% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[5]
History
- 1918–1950
Stourbridge was one of just seventeen constituencies to have a woman candidate, Mary Macarthur, to contest the 1918 general election, the first occasion some women could vote and stand in Parliamentary elections. She stood as the Labour Party candidate. Macarthur was a trades union leader and well known in the area. However the returning officer insisted she should be listed under her married name, Mrs W. C. Anderson.[6]
During this period no ministerial roles happened to have been awarded to any of the members. Prominent members in social history include: Wilfred Wellock, who wrote 13 publications, and was an early Gandhian as well as a promoter of increased localism. At the end of this period, Lord Moyle (as he became) went on to serve Oldbury and Halesowen until 1964 and in the ballot for private member's bills achieved three to legislate in respect of:
- Humane Slaughter of Horses
- Air Pollution
- Children of the divorced (custody etc.) as recommended by the Royal Commission
The constituency was abolished in 1950, with the Stourbridge West and Stourbridge East wards being incorporated into the Dudley constituency. An Eastern section of the old constituency was included in the new Oldbury and Halesowen seat.
- 1997–date
Before recreation, in 1997, the seat's forerunner, Halesowen and Stourbridge, created in 1974, was held by a Conservative and both of its replacements, including this seat, were taken by Labour in 1997. The smaller remainder of the Eastern part of the predecessor forms part of Halesowen and Rowley Regis. To compensate for the loss of these areas, Amblecote ward was brought in from the Dudley West constituency, while the Quarry Bank & Cradley ward was brought in from Dudley East.
Labour retained the seat by just above a marginal majority at the general election in 2001, and retained it again in 2005, with a new candidate, Lynda Waltho, with a marginal majority of 1% of the vote.
Margot James regained the seat for the Conservatives at the 2010 election.
In 2015, Pete Lowe, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Stourbridge had his own beer brewed. 'Born Bred Believes' was brewed by Kinver Brewery in support of his candidacy.[7]
Members of Parliament
MPs 1918–1950
| Election | Member[8] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | John William Wilson | Liberal | |
| 1922 | Douglas Pielou | Unionist | |
| 1927 by-election | Wilfred Wellock | Labour | |
| 1931 | Robert Morgan | Conservative | |
| 1945 | Arthur Moyle | Labour | |
| 1950 | Constituency abolished | ||
MPs since 1997
Halesowen & Stourbridge, Dudley East and Dudley West prior to 1997
| Election | Member[8] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Debra Shipley | Labour | |
| 2005 | Lynda Waltho | Labour | |
| 2010 | Margot James | Conservative | |
| 2019 | Independent | ||
| 2019 | Suzanne Webb | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Cat Eccles | Labour | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
}}| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Cat Eccles | 15,338 | 38.5 | +9.4 | |
| Conservative | Suzanne Webb | 12,265 | 30.8 | -31 | |
| Reform UK | Richard Shaw | 7,869 | 19.7 | +19.7 | |
| Green | Stephen Price | 1,732 | 4.3 | +2.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Bramall | 1,607 | 4.0 | -1.8 | |
| Workers Party | Mohammed Ramzan | 1,067 | 2.7 | +2.7 | |
| Majority | 3,073 | ||||
| Turnout | 39,878 | 57.1 | -7.9 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Suzanne Webb | 27,534 | 60.3 |  5.8
| |
| Labour | Pete Lowe | 13,963 | 30.6 |  7.7
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Bramall | 2,523 | 5.5 | 3.2
| |
| Green | Andi Mohr | 1,048 | 2.3 | 1.3
| |
| Independent | Aaron Hudson | 621 | 1.4 | New | |
| Majority | 13,571 | 29.7 | 13.5
| ||
| Turnout | 45,689 | 65.4 | 1.8
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 6.7
|
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Margot James | 25,706 | 54.5 | 8.5
| |
| Labour | Pete Lowe | 18,052 | 38.3 | 6.8
| |
| UKIP | Glen Wilson | 1,801 | 3.8 | 13.1
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Bramall | 1,083 | 2.3 | 1.0
| |
| Green | Andi Mohr | 493 | 1.0 | 1.2
| |
| Majority | 7,654 | 16.2 | 1.7
| ||
| Turnout | 47,855 | 67.2 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 0.9
|
|||