# Birmingham West (UK Parliament constituency)

Birmingham West was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.
It was created upon the abolition of the 3-seat Birmingham constituency in 1885 and abolished in 1950.

## Boundaries

Before 1885 the city of Birmingham had been a three-member constituency (see Birmingham (UK Parliament constituency) for further details). Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the parliamentary borough of Birmingham was split into seven single-member divisions, one of which was Birmingham West. It consisted of All Saints' and St Paul's wards and part of Rotton Park ward.
In the 1918 redistribution of parliamentary seats, the Representation of the People Act 1918 provided for twelve Birmingham divisions - one of which was designated as the Birmingham West constituency. In 1945 one of the other Birmingham seats was split in two, as it had over 100,000 electors, but that change did not affect the other divisions. The Birmingham West constituency in 1918 consisted of the County Borough of Birmingham ward of St Paul's and parts of All Saints' and Lozells wards.
In the redistribution which took effect in the 1950 United Kingdom general election, the Representation of the People Act 1948 redivided Birmingham into thirteen constituencies. The West division was abolished. St Paul's and Lozells wards became part of Birmingham Aston. All Saints' ward became part of Birmingham Ladywood.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | Joseph Chamberlain | Liberal |
| 1886 | Joseph Chamberlain | Liberal Unionist |
| 1912 | Joseph Chamberlain | Conservative |
| 1914 by-election | Sir Austen Chamberlain | Conservative |
| 1918 | Sir Austen Chamberlain | Coalition Conservative |
| 1922 | Sir Austen Chamberlain | Conservative |
| 1937 by-election | Walter Higgs | Conservative |
| 1945 | Charles Simmons | Labour |
| 1950 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Chamberlain | 5,419 | 67.1 | |
| | Conservative | John Dumphreys | 2,655 | 32.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,764 | 34.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,074 | 78.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,329 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
Chamberlain was appointed President of the Local Government Board, requiring a by-election.
Birmingham, West: by-election, 9 February 1886 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1886: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,329 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | 6,297 | 76.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Corrie Grant | 1,879 | 22.9 | New |
| | Independent Labour | J.W. Mahony | 31 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,418 | 53.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,207 | 71.0 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,554 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
Birmingham, West: by-election, 1 July 1895 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold |
General election 1895: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | 5,537 | 81.5 | +4.8 |
| | Liberal | Bernard O'Connor | 1,259 | 18.5 | −4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,278 | 63.0 | +9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,796 | 58.3 | −12.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,647 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | +4.6 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,035 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold |
General election 1906: Birmingham, West Electorate :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | 7,173 | 77.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal | R. L. Outhwaite | 2,094 | 22.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,079 | 54.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,267 | 74.2 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,483 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold |
General election December 1910: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Joseph Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold |
Birmingham, West: by-election, 14 July 1914 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold |
Birmingham, West: by-election, 25 April 1918 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1918: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

By-election, 1921: Birmingham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Unionist hold |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
General election 1922: Birmingham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | 15,405 | 61.6 | N/A |
| | Labour | Frank Smith | 9,599 | 38.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,806 | 23.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,004 | 67.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,263 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1923: Birmingham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | 13,940 | 58.3 | −3.3 |
| | Labour | Frank Smith | 9,983 | 41.7 | +3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,957 | 16.6 | −6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,923 | 63.9 | −3.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,433 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −3.3 | |
General election 1924: Birmingham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | 14,801 | 67.4 | +9.1 |
| | Communist | Robert Dunstan | 7,158 | 32.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,643 | 34.8 | +18.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,959 | 58.2 | −5.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,754 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Birmingham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Austen Chamberlain | 16,862 | 50.1 | −17.3 |
| | Labour | George Willey | 16,819 | 49.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 43 | 0.2 | −34.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,681 | 73.9 | +15.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 45,593 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Austen Chamberlain | 22,448 | 68.12 |
| | Labour | George Willey | 10,507 | 31.88 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,941 | 36.24 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,955 | 75.86 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1935: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Austen Chamberlain | 16,530 | 64.35 |
| | Labour | George Willey | 9,159 | 35.65 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,371 | 28.70 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,689 | 63.59 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
1937 Birmingham West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Walter Higgs | 12,552 | 56.58 |
| | Labour | Richard Crossman | 9,632 | 43.42 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,920 | 13.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,184 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections 1940s

General election 1945: Birmingham, West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charles Simmons | 12,639 | 63.54 | |
| | Conservative | Walter Higgs | 7,253 | 36.46 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,386 | 27.08 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,892 | 66.94 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |