# Dudley West (UK Parliament constituency)

Dudley West was a parliamentary constituency, centred on the town of Dudley in the West Midlands. It existed from 1974 to 1997, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system.

## History

The constituency was created for the February 1974 general election, from the old Dudley constituency (which was created following the Reform Act in 1832) along with the Brierley Hill constituency, and abolished for the 1997 general election. It was a 'bellwether' constituency where the winner of each general election throughout its existence matched the party which won the election.

## Boundaries

1974–1983: The County Borough of Dudley wards of Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Gornal, Kingswinford and Wall Heath, Quarry Bank, Sedgley, and Wordsley.
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley wards of Amblecote, Brierley Hill, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Gornal, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Sedgley, and Wordsley.
Dudley West was one of three constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, encompassing the western half of the town of Dudley. The constituency included Brierley Hill, Kingswinford, and parts of Sedgley. At abolition in 1997, both Dudley West and Dudley East were replaced by two new constituencies: Dudley North and Dudley South, with some constituents being transferred to the re-formed Stourbridge constituency.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| Feb 1974 | Dr. Colin Phipps | Labour |
| 1979 | Dr. John Blackburn | Conservative | Died in office 12 October 1994 |
| 1994 by-election | Dr. Ian Pearson | Labour | Elected in 15 December 1994 by-election |
| 1997 | constituency abolished: see Dudley South, Dudley North and Stourbridge | constituency abolished: see Dudley South, Dudley North and Stourbridge | constituency abolished: see Dudley South, Dudley North and Stourbridge |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1970s

General election February 1974: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Phipps | 29,143 | 48.9 | |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 24,474 | 41.1 | |
| | Independent Liberal | M Thirlby | 5,971 | 10.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,669 | 7.84 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,588 | 80.3 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election October 1974: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Phipps | 28,740 | 51.13 | |
| | Conservative | LE Smith | 20,215 | 35.96 | |
| | Liberal | A Martin | 7,259 | 12.91 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,525 | 15.17 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,214 | 75.21 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Blackburn | 30,158 | 50.96 | |
| | Labour | MJ Hartley-Brewer | 29,019 | 49.04 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,139 | 1.92 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,177 | 76.45 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Blackburn | 27,250 | 46.16 | |
| | Labour | William Price | 18,527 | 31.39 | |
| | Liberal | Gerald P.T. Lewis | 13,251 | 22.45 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,723 | 14.77 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,028 | 75.88 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Blackburn | 32,224 | 49.82 |
| | Labour | Gary Titley | 21,980 | 33.98 |
| | Liberal | Gerald P.T. Lewis | 10,477 | 16.20 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,244 | 15.84 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64,681 | 79.08 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Blackburn | 34,729 | 48.8 | −1.0 |
| | Labour | KJ Lomax | 28,940 | 40.7 | +6.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gerald P.T. Lewis | 7,446 | 10.5 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,789 | 8.1 | −7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 71,115 | 82.1 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.8 | |
1994 by-election: Dudley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ian Pearson | 28,400 | 68.8 | +28.1 |
| | Conservative | Graham Postles | 7,706 | 18.7 | −30.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Hadley | 3,154 | 7.6 | −2.8 |
| | UKIP | Malcolm Floyd | 590 | 1.4 | New |
| | National Front | Andy Carmichael | 561 | 1.4 | New |
| | Liberal | Mike Hyde | 548 | 1.3 | New |
| | New Britain | Mike Nattrass | 146 | 0.3 | New |
| | FOREST - Freedom of Choice for Smokers | Marjorie Nicholson | 77 | 0.2 | New |
| | Natural Law | John Oldbury | 70 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | 21st Century Conservatives Party | Colin Palmer | 55 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,694 | 50.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,307 | 47.0 | −35.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +29.1 | |