Aldridge-Brownhills (UK Parliament constituency)

"Aldridge-Brownhills" redirects here. For the former urban district, see Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District.

Aldridge-Brownhills (/ˈɔːldrɪdʒ ˈbraʊnhɪlz/ AWL-drij BROWN-hilz) is a constituency^{[n 1]} in the West Midlands, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.^{[n 2]} It has been represented since 2015 by Wendy Morton, a Conservative.^[3]

Aldridge-Brownhills
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Aldridge-Brownhills in West Midlands region
County	West Midlands
Population	76,974 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	73,122 (2023)[2]
Borough	Walsall
Major settlements	Aldridge, Brownhills, Pelsall
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Wendy Morton (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Walsall North and Walsall South

Constituency profile

The constituency covers Aldridge and Brownhills as well as a patchwork of smaller towns and villages within Walsall, West Midlands. The seat is described as a safe seat for the Conservative party.^[4] Residents are around average in terms of wealth for the UK.^[5]

Demographics

Ethnicity 2021 Census^{[citation needed]}

White – 85.3%

Asian – 8.6%

Black – 2.0%

Mixed – 2.4%

Other – 1.6%

Religion 2021 Census^{[citation needed]}

Christian – 53.6%

Muslim – 2.2%

Hindu – 1.3%

Sikh – 5.2%

Other or non-religious – 37.7%

History

Aldridge-Brownhills constituency was created in 1974 from parts of the former seats of Walsall North and Walsall South. It is one of four constituencies covering the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.^[6] It covers the north-east and east of the borough. It was initially held by the Labour Party at the two 1974 general elections, when the constituency included most of Pheasey, a ward of the same name, then a stronger area for Labour than much of the rest,^{[citation needed]} which was moved into Walsall South in 1983 to account for population expansion in the seat. Pheasey was moved back into the constituency for the 2024 general election.

The constituency has had just three different MPs since its formation in February 1974. Geoff Edge of the Labour Party served the constituency from February 1974 until 1979, when it was gained by Richard Shepherd of the Conservative Party; who was to represent the constituency for thirty-six years, even withstanding the 1997 Labour landslide on a below average Conservative-to-Labour swing. In 2014 Sir Richard Shepherd announced he would not stand for re-election at the 2015 general election. Wendy Morton, was selected to replace him as the Conservative candidate, and secured the seat with a safe majority of 11,723 votes. This was increased over the next two elections and, in 2019, the majority was over 50%. Morton held onto the seat in the 2024 Labour landslide, but her majority was drastically reduced to 10.3%.

Boundaries

Map of 2010–2024 boundaries

1974–1983: The Urban District of Aldridge-Brownhills.

1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall wards of Aldridge Central and South, Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, Brownhills, Hatherton Rushall, Pelsall, and Streetly.

2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall wards of Aldridge Central and South, Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, Brownhills, Pelsall, Rushall-Shelfield, and Streetly.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The Borough of Walsall wards of: Aldridge Central and South; Aldridge North and Walsall Wood; Brownhills; Paddock (polling districts UE and UF); Pelsall; Pheasey Park Farm; Rushall-Shelfield; Streetly^[7]

To bring the electorate within the permitted range, the seat was expanded to the south by transferring in the Pheasey Park Farm ward and part of the Paddock ward from the former constituency of Walsall South which was abolished in 2024.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[8]	Party
	Feb 1974	Geoff Edge	Labour
	1979	Richard Shepherd	Conservative
	2015	Wendy Morton

Elections

Aldridge-Brownhills election results

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Aldridge-Brownhills^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wendy Morton	15,901	38.8	30.7
	Labour	Luke Davies	11,670	28.5	6.9
	Reform UK	Graham Eardley	9,903	24.2	23.5
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Garrett	1,755	4.3	1.3
	Green	Clare Nash	1,746	4.3	2.5
Majority			4,231	10.3	N/A
Turnout			40,975	57.8	7.0
Registered electors			70,867
	Conservative hold		Swing	18.9

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[11]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	32,941	69.6
	Labour	10,183	21.5
	Liberal Democrats	2,654	5.6
	Green Party	873	1.8
	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	336	0.7
	Brexit Party	334	0.7
Turnout		47,321
Electorate		73,122

General election 2019: Aldridge-Brownhills^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wendy Morton	27,850	70.8	5.4
	Labour	David Morgan	8,014	20.4	9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Garrett	2,371	6.0	2.7
	Green	Bill McComish	771	2.0	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Mark Beech	336	0.9	0.5
Majority			19,836	50.4	14.8
Turnout			39,342	65.4	2.1
Registered electors			60,138
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.4

General election 2017: Aldridge-Brownhills^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wendy Morton	26,317	65.4	13.4
	Labour	John Fisher	12,010	29.8	7.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Garrett	1,343	3.3	0.1
	Monster Raving Loony	Mark Beech	565	1.4	0.9
Majority			14,307	35.6	6.0
Turnout			40,235	67.5	1.7
Registered electors			60,363
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.0

Wendy Morton was elected for the seat in 2015.

General election 2015: Aldridge-Brownhills^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wendy Morton	20,558	52.0	7.3
	Labour	John Fisher	8,835	22.4	2.6
	UKIP	Anthony Thompson	7,751	19.6	New
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Garrett	1,330	3.4	14.3
	Green	Martyn Curzey	826	2.1	0.1
	Monster Raving Loony	Mark Beech	197	0.5	New
Majority			11,723	29.6	9.9
Turnout			39,497	65.8	0.7
Registered electors			60,215
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.9

General election 2010: Aldridge-Brownhills^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	22,913	59.3	11.1
	Labour	Ashiq Hussain	7,647	19.8	12.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Jenkins	6,833	17.7	5.8
	Green	Karl Macnaughton	847	2.2	New
	Christian	Sue Gray	394	1.0	New
Majority			15,256	39.5	25.6
Turnout			38,644	65.1	1.6
Registered electors			58,909
	Conservative hold		Swing	12.0

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Aldridge-Brownhills^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	18,744	47.4	2.8
	Labour	John D. Phillips	13,237	33.5	6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Roy M. Sheward	4,862	12.3	3.7
	BNP	William R. Vaughan	1,620	4.1	New
	UKIP	Graham Eardley	1,093	2.8	New
Majority			5,507	13.9	3.9
Turnout			39,556	64.0	3.4
Registered electors			61,289
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.0

General election 2001: Aldridge-Brownhills^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	18,974	50.2	3.1
	Labour	Ian D. Geary	15,206	40.2	1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Monica Howes	3,251	8.6	2.6
	Socialist Alliance	John D. Rothery	379	1.0	New
Majority			3,768	10.0	4.6
Turnout			37,810	60.6	13.7
Registered electors			62,361
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Aldridge-Brownhills^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	21,856	47.1	7.2
	Labour	Janos Toth	19,330	41.7	8.4
	Liberal Democrats	Celia M. Downie	5,184	11.2	1.2
Majority			2,526	5.4	15.6
Turnout			46,370	74.3	8.3
Registered electors			62,441
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.8

General election 1992: Aldridge-Brownhills^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	28,431	54.3	0.9
	Labour	Neil E. Fawcett	17,407	33.3	5.0
	Liberal Democrats	Stewart Reynolds	6,503	12.4	5.9
Majority			11,024	21.0	3.9
Turnout			52,341	82.6	2.8
Registered electors			63,404
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.0

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Aldridge-Brownhills^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	26,434	53.4	2.7
	Labour	Clive Duncan	14,038	28.3	3.4
	SDP	Glynn Betteridge	9,084	18.3	6.1
Majority			12,936	25.1	0.7
Turnout			49,556	79.8	1.5
Registered electors			62,129
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.4

General election 1983: Aldridge-Brownhills^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	24,148	50.7	0.4
	Labour	Ray Burford[23]	11,864	24.9	14.5
	SDP	Peter Gunn[23]	11,599	24.4	New
Majority			12,284	25.8	14.9
Turnout			47,611	78.3	4.2
Registered electors			60,803
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.45

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Aldridge-Brownhills

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Shepherd	26,289	50.3	11.9
	Labour	Geoff Edge	20,621	39.4	4.1
	Liberal	John Aldridge	5,398	10.3	7.4
Majority			5,668	10.9	5.8
Turnout			52,308	82.5	2.8
Registered electors			63,377
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	8.0

General election October 1974: Aldridge-Brownhills

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoff Edge	21,403	43.5	4.8
	Conservative	A.J.M. Teacher	18,884	38.4	0.5
	Liberal	Dr John A. Crofton[24]	8,693	17.7	5.7
	More Prosperous Britain	Tom Keen	210	0.4	New
Majority			2,519	5.1	4.3
Turnout			49,190	79.7	3.5
Registered electors			61,731
	Labour hold		Swing	2.2

General election February 1974: Aldridge-Brownhills

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoff Edge	19,642	38.7	N/A
	Conservative	Patricia Hornsby-Smith	19,276	37.9	N/A
	Liberal	Dr John A. Crofton[24]	11,883	23.4	N/A
Majority			366	0.8	N/A
Turnout			50,801	83.2	N/A
Registered electors			61,028
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county)
• List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.