# Coventry East (UK Parliament constituency)

Coventry East is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Coventry in the West Midlands. Having previously existed from 1945 to 1974, the seat was re-established for the 2024 general election in the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, formed primarily from the abolished constituency of Coventry North East. The current MP is Mary Creagh of the Labour Party; she previously represented Wakefield from 2005 to 2019.

## Boundaries
### 1945–1974

1945–1950: The County Borough of Coventry wards of All Saints, Foleshill, Hernall, Hillfields, Longford, Lower Stoke, St Mary's, St Paul's, Upper Stoke, and Walsgrave.
1950–1974: The County Borough of Coventry wards of Charterhouse and Binley, Longford, Lower Stoke, Upper Stoke, and Walsgrave.

### 2024–present

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the re-established constituency is composed of the City of Coventry wards of:
* Binley and Willenhall, Foleshill, Henley, Longford, Upper Stoke, and Wyken.
The seat comprises the previous Coventry North East seat, after transferring the Lower Stoke ward to Coventry South in exchange for the Binley and Willenhall ward.

## History

Until 1945, the city of Coventry was represented by a single Member. Population growth meant that it had grown to 89,001 electors at the time of the 1935 general election, and in the 1939 electoral register it had 87,487 electors. The County Borough of Coventry had also expanded its boundaries in the late 1930s, taking in an additional 66,425 electors. Two nearby divisions of Warwickshire had exceptionally large electorates: Nuneaton at 112,503 and Tamworth at 118,131. Accordingly, the area was included in the Schedule to the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 as abnormally large constituencies to be divided by the Boundary Commission before the first post-war general election.
The Boundary Commission proposed to create two divisions within the new boundaries of the County Borough, with Coventry East comprising ten wards and having a 1939 electorate of 76,860. On the new electoral register compiled for the 1945 general election, the constituency had 74,676 electors on the civilian residence register, 67 on the Business Premises register, and 5,166 on the service register.
A new Boundary Commission review began in 1965 by which time Coventry's electorate had increased and the city was allocated four seats; they were named after the ordinal points of the compass. The recommendations of the Commission came into effect at the February 1974 general election, at which point Coventry East ceased to exist as a Parliamentary constituency. This coincided with Richard Crossman's retirement from parliament; he died of liver cancer two months after the election.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1945–1974

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1945 | Richard Crossman | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | Feb 1974 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

### MPs since 2024

Coventry North East prior to 2024
| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 2024 | Mary Creagh | Labour |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mary Creagh | 18,308 | 49.5 | −2.6 |
| | Reform UK | Iddrisu Sufyan | 6,685 | 18.1 | +13.0 |
| | Conservative | Sarah Lesadd | 6,240 | 16.9 | −18.1 |
| | Green | Stephen Gray | 2,730 | 7.4 | +5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Massimi | 1,227 | 3.3 | −2.1 |
| | Workers Party | Paul Bedson | 1,027 | 2.8 | N/A |
| | TUSC | Dave Nellist | 797 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,623 | 31.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,014 | 48.8 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 75,801 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

## Election results 1945–1974
### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 34,379 | 60.51 | |
| | Conservative | Harry Weston | 15,630 | 27.51 | |
| | Communist | William Alexander | 3,986 | 7.02 | |
| | Liberal | Charles Payne | 2,820 | 4.96 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,479 | 32.50 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,815 | 71.15 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 79,853 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 30,456 | 59.29 | −1.22 |
| | Conservative | Timothy Berthier Meek | 17,003 | 33.10 | +5.59 |
| | Liberal | Samuel Henry Davis | 3,420 | 6.66 | +1.70 |
| | Communist | William Alexander | 487 | 0.95 | −6.07 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,453 | 26.19 | −6.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,366 | 88.18 | +17.03 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,254 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −3.41 | |
General election 1951: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 32,108 | 62.29 | +3.00 |
| | Conservative | Gavin Welby | 19,437 | 37.71 | +4.61 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,671 | 24.58 | −1.61 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,545 | 85.74 | −2.44 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,115 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.81 | |
General election 1955: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 27,712 | 56.19 | −6.10 |
| | Conservative | Michael Ayerst Hooker | 21,608 | 43.81 | +6.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,104 | 12.38 | −12.20 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,320 | 81.16 | −4.58 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,769 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −6.10 | |
General election 1959: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 32,744 | 56.72 | +0.53 |
| | Conservative | John Biffen | 24,982 | 43.28 | −0.53 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,762 | 13.44 | +1.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,726 | 81.66 | +0.50 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 70,689 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.53 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 36,246 | 59.82 | +3.10 |
| | Conservative | Ian Gow | 23,208 | 38.30 | −4.98 |
| | Communist | Harry Bourne | 1,138 | 1.88 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,038 | 21.52 | +8.08 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 60,592 | 77.86 | −3.80 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 77,821 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.04 | |
General election 1966: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 36,757 | 60.83 | +1.01 |
| | Conservative | John Wakeham | 18,061 | 29.89 | −8.41 |
| | Liberal | Jan Maria Mokrzycki | 4,235 | 7.01 | New |
| | Communist | Harry Bourne | 1,368 | 2.26 | +0.38 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,696 | 30.94 | +9.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 60,421 | 77.33 | −0.53 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 78,131 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.71 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Coventry East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 36,275 | 59.34 | −1.49 |
| | Conservative | Maurice Edward Jones | 24,010 | 39.27 | +9.38 |
| | Communist | John Hosey | 841 | 1.38 | −0.88 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,265 | 20.07 | −10.87 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,126 | 70.58 | −6.75 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 86,603 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.44 | |