Bromsgrove is a constituency in Worcestershire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Bradley Thomas of the Conservative Party.

Constituency profile

The Bromsgrove constituency is located in Worcestershire and is coterminous with the Bromsgrove local government district. It includes the town of Bromsgrove, with a population of around 35,000, and the rural areas to its north and east. Other settlements in the constituency include the villages of Wythall, Catshill, Hagley, Alvechurch and other smaller villages. Bromsgrove grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution as a centre for nail production. Today many of the town's residents work in nearby Birmingham. Most of the constituency is affluent, with many parts falling within the top 10% least-deprived areas in the country.

Compared to national averages, residents of the constituency are older, wealthier, more religious and more likely to work in professional jobs. White people make up 93% of the population. At the local council level (district and county), the town of Bromsgrove is mostly represented by Labour Party and Liberal Democrat councillors, whilst the rural areas elected mostly Conservative councillors with some Reform UK and independent representation. Most voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, with an estimated 55% voting in favour of Brexit.

The constituency covers the same area as Bromsgrove District Council in north Worcestershire, with twenty civil parishes, although the town of Bromsgrove itself is unparished. It includes the villages of Alvechurch, Barnt Green, Belbroughton, Blackwell, Clent, Cofton Hackett, Hagley, Hollywood, Lickey, Marlbrook, Rubery, Tardebigge, and Wythall.

History

The borough of Bromsgrove returned two members (Thomas Rassall and Thomas Barneford) to the original Model Parliament in 1295. However, borough status appeared lost when no other member was sent to any subsequent parliament under that status.

Since its split from the neighbouring Redditch Constituency in 1983, it has returned a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP).

The MP from 1997 to 2010, Julie Kirkbride, announced on 28 May 2009 that she would be standing down as an MP at the next General Election in light of the expenses scandal. Her resignation was confirmed in December 2009, after an attempt to withdraw it.

The winner of the 2010 election, Sajid Javid (formerly the youngest Vice President of Chase Manhattan Bank and a Deutsche Bank board director) held ministerial roles in Treasury as Economic Secretary and Financial Secretary,as well as Cabinet posts as Culture Secretary, Business Secretary, Communities Secretary, Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and most recently as Health Secretary. He stood down from Parliament at the 2024 dissolution having announced this intent in December 2022. His place was taken by fellow Conservative Bradley Thomas.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1950–1974

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!colspan="2"|Election!!Member

!Party

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| 1950

| Michael Higgs

| Conservative

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1955

| James Dance

| Conservative

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1971 by-election

| Terry Davis

| Labour

|-

|

|Feb 1974

|colspan="2"| constituency abolished: see Bromsgrove & Redditch

|}

MPs since 1983

{| class="wikitable"

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!colspan="2"|Election!!Member

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

See also

  • parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire and Worcestershire

Notes

References

  • nomis Constituency Profile for Bromsgrove — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
  • Bromsgrove UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
  • Bromsgrove UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
  • Bromsgrove UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK