Post by John Chanin on Feb 12, 2024 11:44:36 GMT
This is essentially greenchristian's original profile, with some extra demographic information from the 2021 census, and a few clarifications.
Coventry North West was first created in 1974, originally consisting of four of the city's eighteen council wards (Bablake, Holbrook, Radford, and Sherbourne). It gained two more wards (Whoberley and Woodlands) when the city went from four constituencies to three in 1997. There is no boundary change this time. Of the three Coventry constituencies this is the only one which doesn't contain anywhere particularly notable to non-residents (the most notable location being Hearsall Common, where Frank Whittle – inventor of the jet engine – first saw an aeroplane fly). It contains most of the city's greenbelt land (in the Bablake ward), including two villages (Allesley and Keresley).
For most of its existence the constituency was represented by a single MP – Labour millionaire Geoffrey Robinson - who held it from the 1976 by-election through to his retirement in 2019. Robinson is most notable for his brief stint as paymaster-general and his role in Peter Mandelson's first cabinet resignation. Towards the end of his time in office Robinson was something of an absentee MP - living in Surrey, rarely visiting the city, and becoming notoriously difficult to contact. Despite this, he had a substantial personal vote. Part of this was his historical association with major local employer Jaguar Land Rover, but it's mostly because of his association with Coventry City FC (based just outside the constituency), and a widespread perception that he once bailed the club out financially during a tight spot.
Demographically, the constituency contains both heavily deprived areas (Spon End in the city centre, Tile Hill on the outskirts with its council housing, parts of Holbrook and Radford) and more affluent ones (Allesley Park, Coundon, Eastern Green, Mount Nod). There are a substantial number of students in the Whoberley Ward (about a third of students at the University of Warwick live off-campus in Coventry, most of them in this area). There is a clear difference between the four western wards - more managerial than routine, and more with degrees than minimal qualifications - and the eastern wards of Holbrook and Radford. These latter two are also only 60% white, with substantial south asian communities, mostly Muslim in Radford close to the city centre, but a plurality Sikh in Holbrook. There are high levels of private renting, both from students and in the poorer areas, but relatively little social housing. This is reflected in local politics where the Conservatives win semi-rural Bablake and Woodlands, Labour win Sherbourne & Whoberley with a significant Conservative minority, and Radford and Holbrook normally being safe Labour. However the Greens have recently become a major challenger in Holbrook, winning in 2022 and 2023.
At Westminster level the seat has usually been seen as safe Labour, with Labour picking up a majority of the vote in 7 of its 14 elections (including 3 of the 7 fought on current boundaries), with their lowest vote share being 41% in 2015. Despite this dominance, the seat became ultra-marginal in 2019, with Labour's new candidate Taiwo Owatemi, a pharmacist from London, retaining the seat by only 208 votes. Labour's vote here dropped by more than the national average, perhaps because of the replacement of “local boy” Geoffrey Robinson with a candidate who was widely perceived as a parachute from London. Coventry also had a clear majority for Leave, which would have been reflected in this constituency.
Census data: Owner-occupied 64% (336/575 in England & Wales), private rented 24% (133rd), social rented 12% (416th).
: White 75%(441st), Black 6%(123rd), South Asian 10%(111st), Mixed 3%(200th), Other 6%(118th)
: Managerial & professional 35% (375th), Routine & Semi-routine 33% (167th)
: Degree level 30%(356th), Minimal qualifications 30%(211th)
: Students 9% (116th), Over 65: 17% (384th)
Boundaries : The seat is unchanged
Coventry North West was first created in 1974, originally consisting of four of the city's eighteen council wards (Bablake, Holbrook, Radford, and Sherbourne). It gained two more wards (Whoberley and Woodlands) when the city went from four constituencies to three in 1997. There is no boundary change this time. Of the three Coventry constituencies this is the only one which doesn't contain anywhere particularly notable to non-residents (the most notable location being Hearsall Common, where Frank Whittle – inventor of the jet engine – first saw an aeroplane fly). It contains most of the city's greenbelt land (in the Bablake ward), including two villages (Allesley and Keresley).
For most of its existence the constituency was represented by a single MP – Labour millionaire Geoffrey Robinson - who held it from the 1976 by-election through to his retirement in 2019. Robinson is most notable for his brief stint as paymaster-general and his role in Peter Mandelson's first cabinet resignation. Towards the end of his time in office Robinson was something of an absentee MP - living in Surrey, rarely visiting the city, and becoming notoriously difficult to contact. Despite this, he had a substantial personal vote. Part of this was his historical association with major local employer Jaguar Land Rover, but it's mostly because of his association with Coventry City FC (based just outside the constituency), and a widespread perception that he once bailed the club out financially during a tight spot.
Demographically, the constituency contains both heavily deprived areas (Spon End in the city centre, Tile Hill on the outskirts with its council housing, parts of Holbrook and Radford) and more affluent ones (Allesley Park, Coundon, Eastern Green, Mount Nod). There are a substantial number of students in the Whoberley Ward (about a third of students at the University of Warwick live off-campus in Coventry, most of them in this area). There is a clear difference between the four western wards - more managerial than routine, and more with degrees than minimal qualifications - and the eastern wards of Holbrook and Radford. These latter two are also only 60% white, with substantial south asian communities, mostly Muslim in Radford close to the city centre, but a plurality Sikh in Holbrook. There are high levels of private renting, both from students and in the poorer areas, but relatively little social housing. This is reflected in local politics where the Conservatives win semi-rural Bablake and Woodlands, Labour win Sherbourne & Whoberley with a significant Conservative minority, and Radford and Holbrook normally being safe Labour. However the Greens have recently become a major challenger in Holbrook, winning in 2022 and 2023.
At Westminster level the seat has usually been seen as safe Labour, with Labour picking up a majority of the vote in 7 of its 14 elections (including 3 of the 7 fought on current boundaries), with their lowest vote share being 41% in 2015. Despite this dominance, the seat became ultra-marginal in 2019, with Labour's new candidate Taiwo Owatemi, a pharmacist from London, retaining the seat by only 208 votes. Labour's vote here dropped by more than the national average, perhaps because of the replacement of “local boy” Geoffrey Robinson with a candidate who was widely perceived as a parachute from London. Coventry also had a clear majority for Leave, which would have been reflected in this constituency.
Census data: Owner-occupied 64% (336/575 in England & Wales), private rented 24% (133rd), social rented 12% (416th).
: White 75%(441st), Black 6%(123rd), South Asian 10%(111st), Mixed 3%(200th), Other 6%(118th)
: Managerial & professional 35% (375th), Routine & Semi-routine 33% (167th)
: Degree level 30%(356th), Minimal qualifications 30%(211th)
: Students 9% (116th), Over 65: 17% (384th)
Boundaries : The seat is unchanged
2017 | % | 2019 | % | |
Labour | 26,894 | 54.0 | 20,918 | 43.8 |
Conservative | 18,314 | 36.7 | 20,710 | 43.4 |
Liberal Democrat | 1,286 | 2.6 | 2,717 | 5.7 |
UKIP/Brexit | 1,525 | 3.1 | 1,956 | 4.1 |
Green | 666 | 1.3 | 1,443 | 3.0 |
Other | 1,164 | 2.3 | ||
| Majority | 8,580 | 17.2 | 208 | 0.4 |