# West Bromwich West (UK Parliament constituency)

West Bromwich West was a constituency in the West Midlands in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented from 1974 until 2019 by members of the Labour Party, and by the Conservatives from 2019 until 2024.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished at the 2024 general election, with most of the seat becoming part of the new Tipton and Wednesbury constituency, with the Oldbury and Tividale wards being transferred to the revived West Bromwich constituency, which is largely the successor to the abolished West Bromwich East.
In exchange the Friar Park and Hateley Heath wards from West Bromwich East, and the Coseley East ward from Wolverhampton South East, were transferred to the new Tipton and Wednesbury.

## Constituency profile

Wednesbury and Tipton are economic centres and historic towns with considerable suburbs, although overshadowed in the service sector by nearby Birmingham. Since the early recessions of the 1970s and early 1980s, West Bromwich West has suffered from an acute, stubbornly great minority of unemployment, and as a result of the Great Recession of 2008, unemployment peaked at 14.3%. Only Birmingham, Ladywood nearby had higher unemployment rates in all of Britain.
Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were, in November 2012, higher than the national average of 3.8%, standing at 8.1% of the local population. Based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian, this also exceeded the regional average of 4.7% of those of working age in receipt of this benefit, which is seen as the lower gauge of the breadth of unemployment.

## Boundaries

West Bromwich West was one of four constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, covering its west and north-west. Its main settlements were the towns of Tipton and Wednesbury, alongside the villages or suburbs of Great Bridge, Princes End and Tividale.
1974–1983: The County Borough of West Bromwich wards of Greets Green, Hill Top, Horseley Heath, Lyng, Market, Tibbington, Tipton Green, and Wood Green.
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of Great Bridge, Greets Green and Lyng, Princes End, Tipton Green, Wednesbury North, and Wednesbury South.
1997–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell wards of Great Bridge, Oldbury, Princes End, Tipton Green, Tividale, Wednesbury North, and Wednesbury South.

## Political history

The seat was held by either the Labour Party or one of its members as the Speaker of the House of Commons from its creation until December 2019.
From 1974 until 2000, this was the constituency of Betty Boothroyd, who was first elected for the former West Bromwich in its by-election in 1973 and became the first woman to be Speaker of the House of Commons in 1992. She retired as Speaker in 2000. The ensuing by-election was won by the Labour Co-operative candidate Adrian Bailey, who held the seat until 2019. Shaun Bailey, the Conservative Party candidate in the 2019 general election, took the seat from Labour with a 50.5% vote share on an 11.7% swing. He became the first-ever Conservative member for the constituency.
At local level, Labour held most of the wards of the constituency. From 2008 until 2012, it was followed by the controversial British National Party, which had four councillors, ahead of the Conservatives with three. This came after a fairly strong BNP showing in the 2005 general election, when it received nearly 10% of the vote.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| Feb 1974 | Betty Boothroyd | Labour |
| 1992 | Betty Boothroyd | Speaker |
| 2000 by-election | Adrian Bailey | Labour Co-op |
| 2019 | Shaun Bailey | Conservative |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Shaun Bailey | 17,419 | 50.5 | +10.8 |
| | Labour | James Cunningham | 13,620 | 39.5 | –12.6 |
| | Brexit Party | Franco D'Aulerio | 1,841 | 5.3 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Flo Clucas | 915 | 2.7 | +1.8 |
| | Green | Keir Williams | 664 | 1.9 | +1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,799 | 11.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,459 | 53.4 | –1.3 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +11.7 | |
General election 2017: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Adrian Bailey | 18,789 | 52.1 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Hardie | 14,329 | 39.7 | +15.8 |
| | UKIP | Star Anderton | 2,320 | 6.4 | –18.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Flo Clucas | 333 | 0.9 | –0.7 |
| | Green | Robert Buckman | 323 | 0.9 | –1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,460 | 12.4 | –9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,094 | 54.7 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | –5.6 | |
General election 2015: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Adrian Bailey | 16,578 | 47.3 | +2.3 |
| | UKIP | Graham Eardley | 8,836 | 25.2 | +20.9 |
| | Conservative | Paul Ratner | 8,365 | 23.9 | –5.4 |
| | Green | Mark Redding | 697 | 2.0 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Karen Trench | 550 | 1.6 | –10.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,742 | 22.1 | +5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,026 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | –9.3 | |
General election 2010: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Adrian Bailey | 16,263 | 45.0 | –8.7 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Hardie | 10,612 | 29.3 | +6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sadie Smith | 4,336 | 12.0 | +1.8 |
| | BNP | Russ Green | 3,394 | 9.4 | –0.5 |
| | UKIP | Malcolm Ford | 1,566 | 4.3 | +1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,651 | 15.7 | –15.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,171 | 55.6 | +4.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | –7.6 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Adrian Bailey | 18,951 | 54.3 | –6.5 |
| | Conservative | Mimi Harker | 8,057 | 23.1 | –2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martyn Smith | 3,583 | 10.3 | +3.5 |
| | BNP | James Lloyd | 3,456 | 9.9 | +5.4 |
| | UKIP | Kevin Walker | 870 | 2.5 | +0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,894 | 31.2 | –4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,917 | 52.3 | +4.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | –2.3 | |
General election 2001: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Adrian Bailey | 19,352 | 60.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Karen Bissell | 7,997 | 25.1 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sadie Smith | 2,168 | 6.8 | N/A |
| | BNP | John Salvage | 1,428 | 4.5 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Kevin Walker | 499 | 1.6 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Baghwant Singh | 396 | 1.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,355 | 35.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,840 | 47.7 | –6.7 |
| | Labour gain from Speaker | Labour gain from Speaker | Swing | | |
2000 West Bromwich West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Adrian Bailey | 9,460 | 50.6 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Karen Bissell | 6,408 | 34.3 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sadie Smith | 1,791 | 9.6 | New |
| | BNP | Nick Griffin | 794 | 4.2 | New |
| | UKIP | Jonathan Oakton | 246 | 1.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,052 | 16.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,599 | 27.3 | −27.1 |
| | Labour gain from Speaker | Labour gain from Speaker | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Speaker | Betty Boothroyd$^1$ | 23,969 | 65.3 | +10.5 |
| | Independent Labour | Richard Silvester | 8,546 | 23.3 | New |
| | National Democrats | Steven Edwards | 4,181 | 11.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,423 | 42.0 | +22.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,696 | 54.4 | −16.0 |
| | Speaker hold | Speaker hold | Swing | | |
$^1$Boothroyd stood as "The Speaker seeking re-election."
General election 1992: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 22,251 | 54.8 | +4.3 |
| | Conservative | Desmond Swayne | 14,421 | 35.5 | –1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarah Broadbent | 3,925 | 9.7 | –2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,830 | 19.3 | +6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,597 | 70.4 | +3.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.0 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 19,925 | 50.5 | −0.2 |
| | Conservative | Francis Betteridge | 14,672 | 37.2 | +4.3 |
| | SDP | Anthony Collingbourne | 4,877 | 12.4 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,253 | 13.3 | −4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,474 | 67.0 | +3.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.2 | |
General election 1983: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 18,896 | 50.7 | −9.6 |
| | Conservative | David Harman | 12,257 | 32.9 | −3.4 |
| | SDP | Anthony Collingbourne | 6,094 | 16.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,639 | 17.8 | −6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,247 | 63.8 | −3.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.1 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 23,791 | 60.3 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative | D Harrison | 14,323 | 36.3 | +13.5 |
| | National Front | R Churms | 1,351 | 3.4 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,468 | 24.0 | −15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,465 | 67.1 | +4.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.7 | |
General election October 1974: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 23,336 | 62.2 | −0.7 |
| | Conservative | N Bridges-Adams | 8,537 | 22.8 | −6.5 |
| | Liberal | DJ Corney | 3,619 | 9.7 | New |
| | National Front | R Churms | 2,022 | 5.4 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,799 | 39.4 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,514 | 62.8 | −4.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.9 | |
General election February 1974: West Bromwich West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 25,112 | 62.9 | |
| | Conservative | PM Smith | 11,681 | 29.3 | |
| | National Front | G Bowen | 3,107 | 7.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,431 | 33.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,900 | 67.5 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |