Halesowen and Rowley Regis (UK Parliament constituency)

Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Halesowen and Rowley Regis in West Midlands
Outline map
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)
Seats One
Created from Halesowen & Stourbridge, Warley West

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.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to boundary changes which will entail the loss of the town of Rowley Regis. Accordingly, it will be renamed Halesowen, to be first contested at the next general election.

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1997 Sylvia Heal Labour
2010 James Morris Conservative

Boundaries

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

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.

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.

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 comfortably.

James Morris of the Conservative Party won the seat in the 2010 general election. With approximately half of the constituency situated within Sandwell borough, it was the first time that any part of the borough had been represented by a Conservative MP since its creation in 1974. 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.

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Morris 25,607 60.5 Increase 8.6
Labour Ian Cooper 13,533 32.0 Decrease 8.0
Liberal Democrats Ryan Priest 1,738 4.1 Increase 2.2
Green James Windridge 934 2.2 Increase 1.2
Independent Jon Cross 232 0.5 New
Independent Ian Fleming 190 0.4 New
Independent Tim Weller 111 0.3 Decrease 0.1
Majority 12,074 28.5 Increase 16.6
Turnout 42,345 62.0 Decrease 2.5
Conservative hold Swing Increase 8.35
General election 2017: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Morris 23,012 51.9 Increase 8.7
Labour Ian Cooper 17,759 40.0 Increase 3.8
UKIP Stuart Henley 2,126 4.8 Decrease 11.8
Liberal Democrats Jamie Scott 859 1.9 Decrease 0.2
Green James Robertson 440 1.0 Decrease 0.9
Independent Tim Weller 183 0.4 New
Majority 5,253 11.9 Increase 4.9
Turnout 38,982 64.5 Increase 5.4
Conservative hold Swing Increase 2.4
General election 2015: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Morris 18,933 43.2 Increase 2.0
Labour Stephanie Peacock 15,851 36.2 Decrease 0.4
UKIP Dean Perks 7,280 16.6 Increase 10.2
Liberal Democrats Peter Tyzack 905 2.1 Decrease 12.7
Green John Payne 849 1.9 New
Majority 3,082 7.0 Increase 2.4
Turnout 43,818 59.1 Decrease 9.9
Conservative hold Swing Increase 1.2
General election 2010: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Morris 18,115 41.2 Increase 4.6
Labour Sue Hayman 16,092 36.6 Decrease 9.7
Liberal Democrats Philip Tibbetts 6,515 14.8 Increase 2.3
UKIP Derek Baddeley 2,824 6.4 Increase 1.7
Independent Derek Thompson 433 1.0 New
Majority 2,023 4.6 N/A
Turnout 43,979 69.0 Increase 5.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing Increase 7.1

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sylvia Heal 19,243 46.6 Decrease 6.4
Conservative Leslie Jones 14,906 36.1 Increase 1.9
Liberal Democrats Martin Turner 5,204 12.6 Increase 2.2
UKIP Nikki Sinclaire 1,974 4.8 Increase 2.4
Majority 4,337 10.5 Decrease10.3
Turnout 41,327 62.9 Increase 3.1
Labour hold Swing Decrease 4.2
General election 2001: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sylvia Heal 20,804 53.0 Decrease 1.1
Conservative Leslie Jones 13,445 34.2 Increase 1.3
Liberal Democrats Patrick Harley 4,089 10.4 Increase 1.9
UKIP Alan Sheath 936 2.4 New
Majority 7,359 18.8 Decrease2.4
Turnout 39,274 59.8 Decrease 13.8
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sylvia Heal 26,366 54.1
Conservative John Kennedy 16,029 32.9
Liberal Democrats Elaine Todd 4,169 8.5
Referendum Alan White 1,244 2.6
National Democrats Karen Meads 592 1.2
Green Tim Weller 361 0.7
Majority 10,337 21.2
Turnout 48,761 73.6
Labour win (new seat)

See also