# Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)

Meriden was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was named after the village of Meriden, halfway between Solihull and Coventry.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to boundary changes, it was reformed as new Meriden and Solihull East constituency, first contested in the 2024 general election.

## Constituency profile

The constituency was one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It covered the rural area known as the Meriden Gap located between the West Midlands conurbation and Coventry, which contains villages such as Balsall Common, Hampton-in-Arden, and Meriden itself, with some suburban towns, particularly Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood (a large area of 1960s council housing on the eastern edge of Birmingham, some of which since acquired privately under the right to buy others of which being remaining social housing), higher than average national income and affluent areas particular examples being Hockley Heath, Bentley Heath, Temple Balsall, Catherine-de-Barnes, Dorridge and Knowle. Incidence of home ownership in this area is high, as opposed to the rented sector.

## History

Meriden was the largest geographical constituency in the West Midlands metropolitan area. It was created for the 1955 general election.
The 1983 boundary changes and landslide electoral success of Margaret Thatcher that year transformed the constituency into a Conservative safe seat, with the Labour-leaning areas becoming part of the new Warwickshire North constituency (which was also won by the Conservatives). Iain Mills held this seat until he died in office in January 1997, with the seat remaining vacant until the dissolution of Parliament that March (and therefore no by-election being held). Caroline Spelman was victorious in the 1997 general election, though on that occasion only by a marginal majority, and held the seat until her retirement in 2019, with the challenge from Labour becoming more distant.

## Boundaries

The constituency was created in 1955 following a review of parliamentary seats in Warwickshire by the Boundary Commission appointed under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. The constituency's area was transferred from the neighbouring constituencies of Nuneaton and Sutton Coldfield.
Tamworth Rural District was abolished in 1965, with most of its area redistributed between the two neighbouring rural districts. Accordingly, this resulted in only a minor boundary change to the constituency in 1974.
Until 1983 the seat was a Labour-Conservative marginal, covering the coal mining areas of northern Warwickshire and the more affluent area near Solihull. It changed hands between the two parties several times, including in a by-election in 1968, which was won by Keith Speed of the Conservatives.
In 1983, reflecting the major local government boundary changes effected by the Local Government Act 1972, a new Meriden County Constituency was created as part of the parliamentary county of West Midlands. There were no boundary changes in 1997. The Conservatives have generally achieved solid majorities in the constituency since 1983, although Labour came within 582 votes of gaining the seat in its 1997 landslide.
1955–1974: The Rural Districts of Atherstone, Meriden, and Tamworth.
1974–1983: The Rural Districts of Atherstone and Meriden.
1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Fordbridge, Kingshurst, Knowle, Meriden, Packwood, and Smith's Wood.
2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of Bickenhill, Blythe, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Dorridge and Hockley Heath, Kingshurst and Fordbridge, Knowle, Meriden, and Smith's Wood.

## Members of Parliament

The MP from 1997 to 2019 was the Conservative Caroline Spelman. Conservative Saqib Bhatti took over the position after the 2019 General Election.
| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1955 | Reg Moss | Labour |
| 1959 | Gordon Matthews | Conservative |
| 1964 | Christopher Rowland | Labour | Died November 1967 |
| 1968 by-election | Keith Speed | Conservative |
| February 1974 | John Tomlinson | Labour |
| 1979 | Iain Mills | Conservative | Died January 1997; no by-election held due to imminent general election |
| 1997 | Caroline Spelman | Conservative | Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2010–2012) Second Church Estates Commissioner (2015–2020) |
| 2019 | Saqib Bhatti | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1955: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reg Moss | 22,796 | 51.24 | |
| | Conservative | John Peel | 21,691 | 48.76 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,105 | 2.48 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,487 | 81.48 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1959: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gordon Matthews | 26,498 | 50.25 | |
| | Labour | Reg Moss | 26,235 | 49.75 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 263 | 0.50 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,733 | 84.44 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Christopher Rowland | 29,425 | 50.31 | |
| | Conservative | Gordon Matthews | 29,062 | 49.69 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 363 | 0.62 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,487 | 83.45 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Christopher Rowland | 33,831 | 53.6 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 29,250 | 46.4 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,581 | 7.2 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,081 | 85.7 | +2.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Meriden by-election, 1968 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Keith Speed | 33,344 | 64.8 | +18.4 |
| | Labour | Roderick MacFarquhar | 18,081 | 35.2 | −18.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,263 | 29.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,425 | 66.0 | −19.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +18.4 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Keith Speed | 40,077 | 53.13 |
| | Labour | Peter Lister | 35,353 | 46.87 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,724 | 6.26 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 75,430 | 75.59 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election February 1974: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Tomlinson | 40,541 | 52.93 | |
| | Conservative | Keith Speed | 36,056 | 47.07 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,485 | 5.86 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 76,597 | 79.47 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Tomlinson | 34,641 | 47.39 | |
| | Conservative | Christopher Horne | 25,675 | 35.12 | |
| | Liberal | Dennis Minnis | 12,782 | 17.49 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,966 | 12.27 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 73,098 | 75.08 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Iain Mills | 37,151 | 48.77 | |
| | Labour | John Tomlinson | 33,024 | 43.35 | |
| | Liberal | David Spurling | 4,976 | 6.53 | |
| | National Front | Alfred Parkes | 1,032 | 1.35 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,127 | 5.42 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 76,183 | 77.02 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Iain Mills | 28,474 | 53.7 |
| | Labour | John Sever | 13,456 | 25.4 |
| | SDP | Pamela Dunbar | 10,674 | 20.1 |
| | National Front | Cliff Collins | 460 | 0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,018 | 28.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,064 | 71.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1987: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Iain Mills | 31,935 | 55.1 | +1.4 |
| | Labour | Richard Burden | 15,115 | 26.1 | +0.7 |
| | SDP | Christine Parkinson | 10,896 | 18.8 | −1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,820 | 29.0 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,946 | 73.9 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.3 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Iain Mills | 33,462 | 55.1 | ±0.0 |
| | Labour Co-op | Nick Stephens | 18,763 | 30.9 | +4.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Judy A Morris | 8,489 | 14.0 | −4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,699 | 24.2 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 60,714 | 78.8 | +4.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.4 | |
General election 1997: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 22,997 | 42.0 | −13.1 |
| | Labour | Brian Seymour-Smith | 22,415 | 41.0 | +10.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tony Dupont | 7,098 | 13.0 | −1.0 |
| | Referendum | Paul Gilbert | 2,208 | 4.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 582 | 1.0 | −23.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,718 | 71.7 | −7.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −11.6 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 21,246 | 47.7 | +5.7 |
| | Labour | Christine Shawcroft | 17,462 | 39.2 | −1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nigel Hicks | 4,941 | 11.1 | −1.9 |
| | UKIP | Richard Adams | 910 | 2.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,784 | 8.5 | +7.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,559 | 60.4 | −11.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 | |
General election 2005: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 22,416 | 48.2 | +0.5 |
| | Labour | Jim Brown | 15,407 | 33.1 | −6.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | William Laitinen | 7,113 | 15.3 | +4.2 |
| | UKIP | Denis Brookes | 1,567 | 3.4 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,009 | 15.1 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,503 | 60.1 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 26,956 | 51.7 | +4.0 |
| | Labour | Ed Williams | 10,703 | 20.5 | −11.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Slater | 9,278 | 17.8 | +1.0 |
| | BNP | Frank O'Brien | 2,511 | 4.8 | New |
| | UKIP | Barry Allcock | 1,378 | 2.6 | −0.7 |
| | Green | Elly Stanton | 678 | 1.3 | New |
| | Solihull and Meriden Residents' Association | Nikki Sinclaire | 658 | 1.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,253 | 31.2 | +15.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,162 | 63.3 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.9 | |
General election 2015: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 28,791 | 54.7 | +3.0 |
| | Labour | Tom McNeil | 9,996 | 19.0 | −1.5 |
| | UKIP | Mick Gee | 8,908 | 16.9 | +14.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ade Adeyemo | 2,638 | 5.0 | −12.8 |
| | Green | Alison Gavin | 2,170 | 4.1 | +2.8 |
| | Independence from Europe | Chris Booth | 100 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,795 | 35.7 | +4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,603 | 64.9 | +1.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.3 | |
General election 2017: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Spelman | 33,873 | 62.0 | +7.3 |
| | Labour | Tom McNeil | 14,675 | 26.9 | +7.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Antony Rogers | 2,663 | 4.9 | −0.1 |
| | UKIP | Les Kaye | 2,016 | 3.7 | −13.2 |
| | Green | Alison Gavin | 1,416 | 2.6 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,198 | 35.1 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,643 | 67.6 | +2.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.3 | |
General election 2019: Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Saqib Bhatti | 34,358 | 63.4 | +1.4 |
| | Labour | Teresa Beddis | 11,522 | 21.3 | −5.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Laura McCarthy | 5,614 | 10.4 | +5.5 |
| | Green | Stephen Caudwell | 2,667 | 4.9 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,836 | 42.1 | +7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,161 | 64.9 | −2.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.5 | |