Halesowen and Rowley Regis (UK Parliament constituency)

Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Halesowen and Rowley Regis in West Midlands.
Location of West Midlands within England.
County	West Midlands
Electorate	67,656 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Halesowen
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	James Morris (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Halesowen & Stourbridge, Warley West
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

Halesowen and Rowley Regis is a constituency in the West Midlands represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by James Morris, a Conservative.

Boundaries

1997-2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Belle Vale and Hasbury, Halesowen North, Halesowen South, and Hayley Green, and the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Rowley.

2010-present: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Belle Vale, Halesowen North, Halesowen South, and Hayley Green and Cradley South, and the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Rowley.

Halesowen and Rowley Regis straddles the borders of Dudley and Sandwell. It covers the south-east part of the Dudley borough.

History

The constituency was formed for the 1997 general election, taking in the eastern part of the former Halesowen and Stourbridge constituency and the western part of the former Warley West seat. Halesowen and Stourbridge had been held by a Conservative but Labour candidates took its two replacements in 1997.

The area formerly in the Halesowen and Stourbridge constituency is in the Dudley borough, while the area formerly in Warley West is within the Sandwell borough (which in turn had formed part of the boroughs of Warley and originally Rowley Regis).

From 1997 until she stood down before the 2010 general election, the seat's MP was Sylvia Heal of the Labour Party. Heal held Mid Staffordshire from a 1990 by-election until she was defeated by the Conservatives in 1992. On becoming the MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, she gained more than half of the votes in 1997 and 2001, before her popularity dipped slightly in 2005, still managing to hold on to the constituency.

James Morris of the Conservative Party was elected for the seat in the 2010 general election. With approximately half of the constituency situated within the Sandwell borough, it is the first time that any part of that borough has ever been represented by a Conservative MP since its creation.

Morris was voted by the local party as Conservative candidate for the seat after previous candidate Nigel Hastilow stepped down in November 2007 following a public outcry over his claims that Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech had been proven correct.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Sylvia Heal	Labour
	2010	James Morris	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Halesowen and Rowley Regis

General Election 2015: Halesowen and Rowley Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Morris	18,933	43.2	+2.0
	Labour	Stephanie Peacock	15,851	36.2	-0.4
	UKIP	Dean Perks	7,280	16.6	+10.2
	Liberal Democrat	Peter Tyzack	905	2.1	-12.7
	Green	John Payne	849	1.9	+1.9
Majority			3,082	7.0	2.4
Turnout			43,818	59.1	-9.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2%

General Election 2010: Halesowen and Rowley Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Morris	18,115	41.2	+4.6
	Labour	Sue Hayman	16,092	36.6	-9.7
	Liberal Democrat	Philip Tibbetts	6,515	14.8	+2.3
	UKIP	Derek Baddeley	2,824	6.4	+1.7
	Independent	Derek Thompson	433	1.0	+1.0
Majority			2,023	4.6
Turnout			43,979	69.0	+5.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+7.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Halesowen and Rowley Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sylvia Heal	19,243	46.6	-6.4
	Conservative	Leslie Jones	14,906	36.1	+1.9
	Liberal Democrat	Martin Turner	5,204	12.6	+2.2
	UKIP	Nikki Sinclaire	1,974	4.8	+2.4
Majority			4,337	10.5
Turnout			41,327	62.9	+3.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.2
Source BBC (2005)

General Election 2001: Halesowen and Rowley Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sylvia Heal	20,804	53.0	-1.1
	Conservative	Leslie Jones	13,445	34.2	+1.4
	Liberal Democrat	Patrick Harley	4,089	10.4	+1.9
	UKIP	Alan Sheath	936	2.4	N/A
Majority			7,359	18.8
Turnout			39,274	59.8	-13.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Halesowen and Rowley Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sylvia Heal	26,366	54.1	N/A
	Conservative	John Kennedy	16,029	32.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Elaine Todd	4,169	8.5	N/A
	Referendum	Alan Sheath	1,244	2.6	N/A
	National Democrats	K. Meads	592	1.2	N/A
	Green	Tim Weller	361	0.7	N/A
Majority			10,337		N/A
Turnout			48,761	73.6	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county)

Sources

• BBC (2005). Election 2005 - Halesowen & Rowley Regis. Retrieved May 9, 2005.