# Solihull (UK Parliament constituency)

Solihull was a constituency in West Midlands represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished and its area was split three ways. The bulk of the constituency was reformed as Solihull West and Shirley, first contested at the 2024 general election. Other parts of the constituency moved into the new seats of Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North and Meriden and Solihull East.

## Constituency profile

The Solihull area is home to some of the West Midlands's more affluent residents and includes a high proportion of Birmingham workers and the managerial classes in manufacturing, retail, industry and the public sector. There are smaller villages and undeveloped green belt areas in its peripheral countryside, though the seat was primarily suburban and middle-class, with low levels of deprivation throughout. Workless claimants stood at only 2% of the population in November 2012, below every regional average in the UK. In the study of that date, only three of the 59 West Midlands seats had a lower proportion of registered jobseekers.
Following boundary changes, the northernmost tip of the seat contained the point in England furthest from the coast in any direction.

## Boundaries

The constituency was one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It covered the town of Solihull itself, as well as Shirley and Olton. It is a largely well-off, residential area, in the south-east of the West Midlands conurbation.
1945–1950: The part of the County Borough of Birmingham in the present Tamworth constituency, and the urban district of Solihull.
1950–1974: The Urban District of Solihull.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Solihull.
1983–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of Elmdon, Lyndon, Olton, St Alphege, Shirley East, Shirley South, Shirley West, and Silhill.

## History

Conservative candidates won the seat from its outset in 1945 until a loss in 2005, the seat meanwhile seeing boundary changes covered above. In the 2005 general election Solihull was won by the Liberal Democrats, with Lorely Burt beating the incumbent John Taylor by a majority of 279 votes. Burt won the seat again at the 2010 general election, this time by just 175 votes following two recounts.
The seat was represented by Julian Knight since 2015, who won the seat from Burt with a majority of 12,902. At the 2017 election, Knight increased his majority to just over 20,000, with a similar result in 2019, making Solihull a safe Conservative seat.
However, following allegations of serious sexual assault made to the Metropolitan Police against Knight in December 2022, Knight sat as an independent MP, having had the Conservative whip suspended.

## Members of Parliament

Tamworth prior to 1945
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1945 | Sir Martin Lindsay | Conservative |
| 1964 | Percy Grieve | Conservative |
| 1983 | John Taylor | Conservative |
| 2005 | Lorely Burt | Liberal Democrats |
| 2015 | Julian Knight | Conservative |
| 2022 | Julian Knight | Independent |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Election results 1945–2024
### Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sir Martin Lindsay | 26,696 | 55.22 | |
| | Labour | Roy Jenkins | 21,647 | 44.78 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,049 | 10.44 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,343 | 71.79 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Martin Lindsay | 25,758 | 63.28 | |
| | Labour | W.N. Camp | 11,741 | 28.84 | |
| | Liberal | Ada M Hayes | 3,206 | 7.88 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,017 | 34.44 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,705 | 86.92 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Martin Lindsay | 27,871 | 70.35 |
| | Labour | John Johnson | 11,747 | 29.65 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,124 | 40.70 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,618 | 83.18 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Martin Lindsay | 29,323 | 72.18 |
| | Labour | Marion Large | 11,300 | 27.82 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,023 | 44.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,623 | 78.28 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1959: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Martin Lindsay | 35,862 | 73.88 |
| | Labour | Eric J Bowen | 12,682 | 26.12 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,180 | 47.76 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,544 | 80.60 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Percy Grieve | 32,355 | 59.45 | |
| | Labour | Thomas WK Scott | 11,969 | 21.99 | |
| | Liberal | Lionel Farell | 10,097 | 18.55 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,386 | 37.46 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,421 | 80.46 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Percy Grieve | 34,008 | 65.69 |
| | Labour | D.A. Forwood | 17,760 | 34.31 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,248 | 31.38 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,768 | 74.80 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Percy Grieve | 37,756 | 64.29 | |
| | Labour | Douglas Gray | 13,181 | 22.44 | |
| | Liberal | R. A. Davis | 7,795 | 13.27 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,575 | 41.85 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,732 | 72.14 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Percy Grieve | 35,049 | 54.47 |
| | Liberal | J.A. Windmill | 17,686 | 27.49 |
| | Labour | D.A. Norman | 11,608 | 18.04 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,363 | 26.98 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64,343 | 81.30 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election October 1974: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Percy Grieve | 31,707 | 52.67 |
| | Liberal | J.A. Windmill | 15,848 | 26.33 |
| | Labour | Denis MacShane | 12,640 | 21.00 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,859 | 26.34 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 60,195 | 75.25 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1979: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Percy Grieve | 43,027 | 66.16 | |
| | Labour | David Hallam | 10,820 | 16.64 | |
| | Liberal | Ian Gillett | 10,214 | 15.70 | |
| | National Front | D. Stevenson | 978 | 1.50 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 32,207 | 49.52 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,039 | 77.18 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 31,947 | 60.8 | 5.4 |
| | Liberal | Ian Gillett | 14,553 | 27.7 | 12.0 |
| | Labour | I. Jamieson | 6,075 | 11.6 | 5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,394 | 33.1 | 16.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,575 | 71.4 | 5.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 35,844 | 61.1 | 0.3 |
| | Liberal | Geoff E. Gadie | 14,058 | 24.0 | 3.7 |
| | Labour | Sue E. Knowles | 8,791 | 15.0 | 3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,786 | 37.1 | 4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,693 | 75.1 | 3.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 2.0 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 38,385 | 60.8 | 0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael J. Southcombe | 13,239 | 21.0 | 2.9 |
| | Labour | Nicola Kutapan | 10,544 | 16.7 | 1.7 |
| | Green | Clifford G. Hards | 925 | 1.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25,146 | 39.8 | 2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,093 | 81.6 | 6.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.4 | |
General election 1997: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 26,299 | 44.6 | 16.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael J. Southcombe | 14,902 | 25.3 | 4.3 |
| | Labour | Rachel N. Harris | 14,334 | 24.3 | 7.6 |
| | Referendum | Mike Nattrass | 2,748 | 4.7 | New |
| | ProLife Alliance | Jim Caffery | 623 | 1.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,397 | 19.3 | 20.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,906 | 74.6 | 7.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 10.3 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 21,935 | 45.4 | 0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jo Byron | 12,528 | 26.0 | 0.7 |
| | Labour | Brendan O’Brien | 12,373 | 25.6 | 1.3 |
| | UKIP | Andy Moore | 1,061 | 2.2 | New |
| | ProLife Alliance | Mary Pyne | 374 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,407 | 19.4 | 0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,271 | 63.3 | 11.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 2005: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lorely Burt | 20,896 | 39.9 | 13.9 |
| | Conservative | John Taylor | 20,617 | 39.4 | 6.0 |
| | Labour | Rory Vaughan | 8,058 | 15.4 | 10.2 |
| | BNP | Diane Carr | 1,752 | 3.3 | New |
| | UKIP | Andrew Moore | 990 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 279 | 0.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,313 | 63.1 | 0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | 10.0 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lorely Burt | 23,635 | 42.9 | 3.5 |
| | Conservative | Maggie Throup | 23,460 | 42.6 | 2.9 |
| | Labour | Sarah Merrill | 4,891 | 8.9 | 6.7 |
| | BNP | Andrew Terry | 1,624 | 2.9 | 0.5 |
| | UKIP | John Ison | 1,200 | 2.2 | 0.3 |
| | Solihull and Meriden Residents' Association | Neill Watts | 319 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 175 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,129 | 71.9 | 4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | 0.3 | |
Although its predecessor seat was won by the Liberal Democrats in 2005, intervening boundary changes made the constituency notionally Conservative prior to the 2010 general election, and it is therefore listed as a gain rather than a hold.
General election 2015: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julian Knight | 26,956 | 49.2 | 6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lorely Burt | 14,054 | 25.7 | 17.2 |
| | UKIP | Phil Henrick | 6,361 | 11.6 | 9.4 |
| | Labour | Nigel Knowles | 5,693 | 10.4 | 1.5 |
| | Green | Howard Allen | 1,632 | 3.0 | New |
| | An Independence from Europe | Mike Nattrass | 50 | 0.1 | New |
| | Democratic | Matthew Ward | 33 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,902 | 23.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,779 | 70.9 | 1.0 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 11.9 | |
General election 2017: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julian Knight | 32,985 | 58.1 | 8.9 |
| | Labour | Nigel Knowles | 12,414 | 21.9 | 11.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ade Adeyemo | 8,901 | 15.7 | 10.0 |
| | UKIP | Andrew Garcarz | 1,291 | 2.3 | 9.3 |
| | Green | Max McLoughlin | 1,157 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,571 | 36.2 | 12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,748 | 73.4 | 2.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.3 | |
General election 2019: Solihull :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julian Knight | 32,309 | 58.4 | 0.3 |
| | Labour Co-op | Nick Stephens | 11,036 | 19.9 | 2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ade Adeyemo | 9,977 | 18.0 | 2.3 |
| | Green | Rosi Sexton | 2,022 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,273 | 38.5 | 2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,344 | 70.3 | 3.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.2 | |