Post by John Chanin on Oct 4, 2023 14:55:58 GMT
Bromsgrove constituency exactly matches the boundaries of Bromsgrove District and has consequently been entirely unchanged since a separate Redditch based constituency was created in 1983. This has continued following the latest boundary review. It can be divided into 3 sections. The largest is the town of Bromsgrove itself. Bromsgrove was an old market town, industrialised in the 1800s as a spillover from the nearby Black Country, and specialised in nail making. These days with the M5 running just to the west of the town , the M42 to the north, and a recently expanded station on the Birmingham-Worcester line, there is a lot of commuting to Birmingham. The town is very split - to the north and east it is solidly middle-class - high managerial occupations, over 70% owner-occupied, no social housing to speak of, and generally solidly Conservative, although the Liberal Democrats won 4 wards here at the 2023 local elections. The west side of the town on the other hand is quite working class, with as many routine employees as managerial, and a lot of council housing, particularly in Charford ward south of the centre. This side of the town votes Labour at local elections. Separated from Bromsgrove proper by the M42 is the satellite town of Catshill. This is socially intermediate between east and west Bromsgrove, with more social housing than you might expect, but politically it is safely Conservative. Taken together this urban section accounts for just under half the electorate.
Another third of the constituency consists of commuter villages. These are generally very similar to other villages to the east and west of the Birmingham conurbation included in the Meriden and South Staffordshire constituencies. In the east is the Hollywood/Wythall area, continuous with the Birmingham suburb of Highters Heath. West of here on either side of the M42 are Alvechurch and Barnt Green. The former is an attractive village with some fine old buildings, on the Birmingham-Worcster canal. The latter is mostly post-war development. Both have stations on the main Redditch-Lichfield commuter railway to take workers into Birmingham. Cofton Hackett adjoins the old Longbridge car plant on the edge of Birmingham, and there is a lot of new housing here. Further west and part of the Birmingham built-up area, albeit on the far outskirts, is Rubery. The small town is split between Bromsgrove and Birmingham, the larger and more up market half being in Bromsgrove, although curiously the Bromsgrove wards return Labour councillors, while the Birmingham ward returns a Conservative. In the far north-west corner of the District is Hagley, just south of Stourbridge. The commuter villages all have over 40% managerial workers, and most of them over 40% with degrees. Social housing is minimal, and owner-occupation generally over 80%. At local elections there are plenty of independents in this section, but at general elections the villages will all vote solidly Conservative, apart from Rubery.
The remaining fifth of the constituency is rural. It includes the Lickey Hills country park, with its spectacular outlook at Beacon Hill, curiously run by Birmingham City Council, and the Waseley Hills country park, which is the source of the river Rea. The Clent hills sit between Hagley and Bromsgrove, with their views over Shropshire and the Malverns. This is very pretty countryside. West and south of Bromsgrove are areas of rather more ordinary and very sparsely populated country, extending to the outskirts of Redditch. The most notable landmark here is the Tardebigge flight of locks on the Birmingham-Worcester canal, which takes it over the divide between the Trent and Severn drainage, and is the longest flight of locks in the country. Demographically the countryside is similarly up market to the commuter villages, and even more Conservative at a local level. The constituency as a whole has one of the top 20 percentages of owner-occupation in the country. The Conservatives no longer have a majority on Bromsgrove council, but continue to run the council in alliance with independents.
At General elections, the Labour vote in Bromsgrove town is easily outweighed by the Conservative vote in the rest of the constituency. Even in 1997 they had a comfortable 5000 majority. Current MP here is Sajid Javid, until recently a very senior figure in the government, who made a fortune as a banker before going into politics. He was first elected in 2010 in succession to Julie Kirkbride who was one of the casualties of the expenses scandal, and has announced his retirement at the next election.
Census data: Owner-occupied 79% (15/575 in England & Wales), private rented 11% (572nd), social rented 11% (491st).
: White 93%(238th), Black 1%(361st), South Asian 2%(299th), Mixed 2%(268th), Other 1%(411th)
: Managerial & professional 47% (110th), Routine & Semi-routine 21% (473rd)
: Degree level 37%(174th), Minimal qualifications 25%(403rd)
: Students 5% (343rd), Over 65: 23% (135th)
Boundaries : The seat is unchanged
Another third of the constituency consists of commuter villages. These are generally very similar to other villages to the east and west of the Birmingham conurbation included in the Meriden and South Staffordshire constituencies. In the east is the Hollywood/Wythall area, continuous with the Birmingham suburb of Highters Heath. West of here on either side of the M42 are Alvechurch and Barnt Green. The former is an attractive village with some fine old buildings, on the Birmingham-Worcster canal. The latter is mostly post-war development. Both have stations on the main Redditch-Lichfield commuter railway to take workers into Birmingham. Cofton Hackett adjoins the old Longbridge car plant on the edge of Birmingham, and there is a lot of new housing here. Further west and part of the Birmingham built-up area, albeit on the far outskirts, is Rubery. The small town is split between Bromsgrove and Birmingham, the larger and more up market half being in Bromsgrove, although curiously the Bromsgrove wards return Labour councillors, while the Birmingham ward returns a Conservative. In the far north-west corner of the District is Hagley, just south of Stourbridge. The commuter villages all have over 40% managerial workers, and most of them over 40% with degrees. Social housing is minimal, and owner-occupation generally over 80%. At local elections there are plenty of independents in this section, but at general elections the villages will all vote solidly Conservative, apart from Rubery.
The remaining fifth of the constituency is rural. It includes the Lickey Hills country park, with its spectacular outlook at Beacon Hill, curiously run by Birmingham City Council, and the Waseley Hills country park, which is the source of the river Rea. The Clent hills sit between Hagley and Bromsgrove, with their views over Shropshire and the Malverns. This is very pretty countryside. West and south of Bromsgrove are areas of rather more ordinary and very sparsely populated country, extending to the outskirts of Redditch. The most notable landmark here is the Tardebigge flight of locks on the Birmingham-Worcester canal, which takes it over the divide between the Trent and Severn drainage, and is the longest flight of locks in the country. Demographically the countryside is similarly up market to the commuter villages, and even more Conservative at a local level. The constituency as a whole has one of the top 20 percentages of owner-occupation in the country. The Conservatives no longer have a majority on Bromsgrove council, but continue to run the council in alliance with independents.
At General elections, the Labour vote in Bromsgrove town is easily outweighed by the Conservative vote in the rest of the constituency. Even in 1997 they had a comfortable 5000 majority. Current MP here is Sajid Javid, until recently a very senior figure in the government, who made a fortune as a banker before going into politics. He was first elected in 2010 in succession to Julie Kirkbride who was one of the casualties of the expenses scandal, and has announced his retirement at the next election.
Census data: Owner-occupied 79% (15/575 in England & Wales), private rented 11% (572nd), social rented 11% (491st).
: White 93%(238th), Black 1%(361st), South Asian 2%(299th), Mixed 2%(268th), Other 1%(411th)
: Managerial & professional 47% (110th), Routine & Semi-routine 21% (473rd)
: Degree level 37%(174th), Minimal qualifications 25%(403rd)
: Students 5% (343rd), Over 65: 23% (135th)
Boundaries : The seat is unchanged
2017 | % | 2019 | % | |
Conservative | 33,493 | 62.0 | 34,408 | 63.4 |
Labour | 16,920 | 31.3 | 11,302 | 20.8 |
Liberal Democrat | 2,488 | 4.6 | 6,779 | 12.5 |
Green | 1,139 | 2.1 | 1,783 | 3.3 |
| Majority | 16,573 | 30.7 | 23,106 | 42.6 |