Meriden and Solihull East
| Meriden and Solihull East | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of Meriden and Solihull East in West Midlands region | |
| County | West Midlands county |
| Electorate | 74,211 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Solihull (part), Dorridge, Meriden, Chelmsley Wood |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Saqib Bhatti (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | |
Meriden and Solihull East is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested in the 2024 general election.[2] It is represented by Conservative Party member Saqib Bhatti, who was MP for the predecessor seat of Meriden from 2019 to 2024.
The constituency name refers to the village of Meriden and the eastern areas of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.[3] This is part of a boundary review that resulted in the Meriden constituency being split into three.[4]
Constituency profile
Meriden and Solihull East is a constituency in the West Midlands county. It covers the eastern parts of the Borough of Solihull and the Meriden Gap; the rural area between Solihull and the city of Coventry. Settlements in the constituency include the Solihull neighbourhood of Elmdon Heath, the town of Chelmsley Wood, the connected villages of Dorridge, Bentley Heath and Knowle, and the villages of Balsall Common and Meriden.
This is a mostly suburban and rural constituency, and its position close to the cities of Birmingham and Coventry makes it popular with retirees and middle-class commuters. It contains Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. The constituency is generally wealthy and affluent, especially in the villages in the south. However, Chelmsley Wood is highly-deprived; it is a large council estate that was built in the late 1960s to rehouse people from Birmingham.[5] The average house price in the constituency is higher than the national average and considerably higher than the West Midlands regional average.[6]
In general, residents of Meriden and Solihull East are older and have high rates of homeownership. They have average levels of education, but household income is high and a large proportion of residents work in the business administration and transport sectors.[6][7] Rates of unemployment and child poverty in the constituency are average.[8] White people made up 86% of the population at the 2021 census.[9]
At the local borough council, Elmdon Heath and Chelmsley Wood are mostly represented by Reform UK, whilst the rural areas in the Meriden Gap elected primarily Conservatives. An estimated 57% of voters in Meriden and Solihull East supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the nationwide figure of 52%.[6]
Boundaries
2024–present
The constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull wards of: Bickenhill; Chelmsley Wood; Dorridge and Hockley Heath; Elmdon; Kingshurst and Fordbridge; Knowle; Meriden; Silhill.[10]
It was created from the following areas:[11]
- The majority (74.5%) of the previous Meriden constituency (abolished)
- Elmdon and Silhill wards (25.5%) from the previous Solihull constituency (abolished)
In addition to Meriden, the constituency also contains Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), which are in the Bickenhill ward.
Members of Parliament
Meriden prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Saqib Bhatti | Conservative | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Saqib Bhatti | 16,792 | 38.1 |  24.3 | |
| Labour | Sarah Alan | 12,208 | 27.7 |  6.9 | |
| Reform | Malcolm Sedgley | 8,753 | 19.9 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sunny Virk | 3,353 | 7.6 | 6.0 | |
| Green | Shesh Sheshabhatter | 2,929 | 6.7 | 3.5 | |
| Majority | 4,584 | 10.4 | 31.2 | ||
| Turnout | 44,035 | 59.8 | 4.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 15.6 |
|||
Changes are from the notional results of the 2019 election on the new boundaries.[13]
- Saqib Bhatti (Conservative) was previously MP for Meriden
See also
References
- ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – West Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ↑ Walker, Jonathan (2021-06-08). "The political map of the West Midlands will change". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ "Solihull to get three MP seats according to final map". Solihull Observer. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Seat Details - Meriden and Solihull East". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Constituency dashboard". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
- ↑ "New Seat Details - Meriden and Solihull East". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ "Meriden and Solihull Election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ↑ "Notional election for the constituency of Meriden and Solihull East". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
External links
- Meriden and Solihull East UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK