# Coventry North East (UK Parliament constituency)

Coventry North East was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to boundary changes. As a consequence, it will be renamed Coventry East, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.

## Constituency profile

In the seat is a wide demographic mix: across it is scattered an above UK average level of social housing and unemployment claimants. However, income is close to the UK average. The constituency has a large ethnic minority population, consisting mainly of Sikhs and Muslims; one ward, Foleshill, has a majority ethnic minority population.

## Boundaries

Based entirely within the borough of Coventry, the seat of Coventry North East includes the Stoke, Walsgrave-on-Sowe, Wyken, Longford, and Foleshill areas of the cathedral city.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Coventry wards of Foleshill, Henley, Longford, Upper Stoke, and Wyken.
1983–1997: The City of Coventry wards of Foleshill, Henley, Longford, Upper Stoke, and Wyken.
1997–2024: The City of Coventry wards of Foleshill, Henley, Longford, Lower Stoke, Upper Stoke, and Wyken.

## History

Since its 1974 creation, the area has been a Labour Party stronghold, with the Conservative Party finishing second. The Liberal Democrats (including their two predecessor parties) amassed their largest shares of the vote in 1983 and in 2010, on 16.6% of the vote. In 2010, between 2% and 5% of the vote went to British National Party, Socialist and UKIP candidates. Completing the choice of seven was a Christian party candidate, who attracted the fewest votes.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| Feb 1974 | George Park | Labour |
| 1987 | John Hughes | Labour |
| 1992 | Bob Ainsworth | Labour |
| 2015 | Colleen Fletcher | Labour |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Election results 1974–2024
### Elections in the 1970s

February 1974 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Park | 30,496 | 63.9 | |
| | Conservative | Nigel Forman | 15,069 | 31.6 | |
| | PEOPLE | Alan Pickard | 1,332 | 2.8 | |
| | Communist | John Hosey | 838 | 1.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,427 | 32.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,735 | 75.5 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
October 1974 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Park | 26,489 | 59.5 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | Ian Clarke | 10,520 | 23.6 | −8.0 |
| | Liberal | Roy Dredge | 6,846 | 15.4 | New |
| | Workers Revolutionary | Alan Wilkins | 352 | 0.8 | New |
| | Communist | John Hosey | 309 | 0.7 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,969 | 35.9 | +3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,516 | 70.0 | −5.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.8 | |
1979 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Park | 27,010 | 57.3 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative | Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice | 16,487 | 35.0 | +11.4 |
| | Liberal | Raj-Mal Singh | 2,291 | 4.9 | −10.5 |
| | National Front | H. Robbins | 546 | 1.2 | New |
| | Communist | Paul Corrigan | 390 | 0.8 | +0.1 |
| | Workers Revolutionary | S. Perkin | 378 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,523 | 22.3 | −13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,062 | 72.7 | +2.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −6.8 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

1983 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Park | 22,190 | 47.8 | −9.5 |
| | Conservative | David Weeks | 13,415 | 28.9 | −6.1 |
| | SDP | David Simmons | 10,251 | 22.1 | +18.1 |
| | Workers Revolutionary | Robert Prince | 342 | 0.7 | −0.1 |
| | Communist | John Meacham | 193 | 0.4 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,775 | 18.9 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,389 | 69.2 | +1.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
1987 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Hughes | 25,832 | 54.3 | +6.5 |
| | Conservative | Charles Prior | 13,965 | 29.3 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal | Stephen Woods | 7,502 | 15.8 | −6.3 |
| | Communist | Michael McNally | 310 | 0.7 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,867 | 25.0 | +6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,573 | 70.5 | +1.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

1992 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Ainsworth | 24,896 | 52.5 | −1.8 |
| | Conservative | Keith R. Perrin | 13,220 | 27.9 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Vincent J. McKee | 5,306 | 11.2 | −4.6 |
| | Independent Labour | John Hughes | 4,008 | 8.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,676 | 24.6 | −0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,430 | 73.2 | +2.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.2 | |
1997 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Ainsworth | 31,856 | 66.3 | +16.6 |
| | Conservative | Michael Burnett | 9,287 | 19.3 | −8.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Geoffrey Sewards | 3,866 | 8.0 | −2.5 |
| | Liberal | Nick Brown | 1,181 | 2.5 | New |
| | Referendum | Ron Hurrell | 1,125 | 2.3 | New |
| | Socialist Labour | Hanna Khamis | 597 | 1.2 | New |
| | Rainbow Dream Ticket | Christopher Sidwell | 173 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,569 | 47.0 | +25.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,085 | 64.8 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 2000s

2001 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Ainsworth | 22,739 | 61.0 | −5.3 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Bell | 6,988 | 18.8 | −0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Geoffrey Sewards | 4,163 | 11.2 | +3.2 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Dave Nellist | 2,638 | 7.1 | New |
| | BNP | Edward Sheppard | 737 | 2.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,751 | 42.2 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,265 | 50.3 | −14.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
2005 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Ainsworth | 21,178 | 56.94 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative | Jaswant Singh Birdi | 6,956 | 18.70 | −0.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Russell Field | 6,123 | 16.46 | +5.3 |
| | Socialist Alternative | Dave Nellist | 1,874 | 5.04 | −2.1 |
| | UKIP | Paul Sootheran | 1,064 | 2.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,222 | 38.24 | +4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,195 | 52.97 | +2.61 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.0 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

2010 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Ainsworth | 21,384 | 49.3 | −7.6 |
| | Conservative | Hazel Noonan | 9,609 | 22.1 | +3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Russell Field | 7,210 | 16.6 | +0.1 |
| | BNP | Tom Gower | 1,863 | 4.3 | New |
| | Socialist Alternative | Dave Nellist | 1,592 | 3.7 | −1.2 |
| | UKIP | Chris Forbes | 1,291 | 3.0 | −0.1 |
| | Christian Movement for Great Britain | Ron Lebar | 434 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,775 | 27.2 | −11.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,383 | 59.4 | +6.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.5 | |
2015 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colleen Fletcher | 22,025 | 52.2 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative | Michelle Lowe | 9,751 | 23.1 | +1.0 |
| | UKIP | Avtar Taggar | 6,278 | 14.9 | +11.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Russell Field | 2,007 | 4.8 | −11.8 |
| | Green | Matthew Handley | 1,245 | 2.9 | New |
| | TUSC | Nicky Downes | 633 | 1.5 | New |
| | Christian Movement for Great Britain | William Sidhu | 292 | 0.7 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,274 | 29.1 | +1.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,231 | 55.3 | −4.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
2017 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colleen Fletcher | 29,499 | 63.4 | +11.2 |
| | Conservative | Timothy Mayer | 13,919 | 29.9 | +6.8 |
| | UKIP | Avtar Taggar | 1,350 | 2.9 | −12.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Russell Field | 1,157 | 2.5 | −2.3 |
| | Green | Matthew Handley | 502 | 1.1 | −1.8 |
| | Independent | Afzal Mahmood | 81 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,580 | 33.5 | +4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,508 | 61.4 | +6.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.25 | |
2019 general election: Coventry North East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colleen Fletcher | 23,412 | 52.7 | −10.7 |
| | Conservative | Sophie Richards | 15,720 | 35.4 | +5.5 |
| | Brexit Party | Iddrisu Sufyan | 2,110 | 4.7 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nukey Proctor | 2,061 | 4.6 | +2.1 |
| | Green | Matthew Handley | 1,141 | 2.6 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,692 | 17.3 | −16.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,444 | 58.5 | −2.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |