Tamworth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, based on the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. The seat is currently represented by Sarah Edwards of the Labour Party, re-elected in the UK 2024 general election.
Minor adjustments to the boundary with Lichfield.
History
The present Tamworth Constituency, a county constituency, replaced the old South East Staffordshire constituency for the 1997 general election.
A previous Tamworth constituency existed from 1563 until it was abolished for the 1945 general election. It was a borough constituency that elected two MPs until the 1885 general election, when it was reincarnated as a single-MP constituency in the county of Warwickshire by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
Political history
Since its 1997 recreation the seat has been a bellwether, reflecting the largest party in terms of seats in the House of Commons with the largest share of the vote for the candidate locally. However, the seat has heavily trended towards the Conservatives in the general elections up to 2019, with majorities in excess of 10,000 in both 2015 and 2017 and almost 20,000 in 2019.
In the October 2023 by-election caused by the resignation of Chris Pincher (Conservative), Sarah Edwards (Labour) was elected. The results were videoed. Whilst it was a 24% swing to Labour, the turnout was a comparatively low 35%.
In the 2024 general election, Eddie Hughes stood as the Conservative candidate; he was the incumbent MP for Walsall North, which had been abolished as a result of the 2023 boundary review. Edwards retained the seat with a slightly increased margin in numerical terms, but a lower percentage margin (3.1% versus 5.1%) due to the higher turnout.
The constituency is convenient for all of the West Midlands conurbation and has considerable local employment. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.
Members of Parliament
MPs before 1660
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Parliament!!First member!!Second member
|-
|1275–1559||colspan = "2"| No representation or records
|-
|1563–1567|| Michael Harcourt||Robert Harcourt
|-
|1571|| Edward Lewknor||John Bullock
|-
|1572–1583|| Lancelot Bostock||John Nuttall
|-
|1584–1585|| John Breton || Clement Fisher
|-
|1586–1587|| Walter Bagot || John Ferrers
|-
|1588–1589|| Sir Edward Devereux || Robert Wright
|-
|1593|| John Ferrers || Thomas Smith
|-
|1597–1598|| William Temple || George Hyde
|-
|1601|| George Egeock || Robert Burdett
|-
|1604|| Sir Percival Willoughby <br /> Chose to sit for Nottinghamshire, replaced by Sir Thomas Beaumont || John Ferrers
|-
|1614|| Sir Thomas Roe || Sir Percival Willoughby
|-
|1621|| Sir Thomas Puckering || John Ferrar
|-
|1624–1625|| John Woodford || John Wightwick
|-
|1625|| Sir Thomas Puckering || Sir Richard Skeffington
|-
|1626|| Sir Thomas Puckering || Sir Walter Devereux
|-
|1628–1629|| Sir Thomas Puckering || Sir Walter Devereux
|-
|1629–1640|| colspan = "2"|No Parliaments summoned
|-
|1640 (Apr) || Sir Simon Archer||George Abbot
|-
|1640 (Nov) || Ferdinando Stanhope (Royalist), killed 1643 || Henry Wilmot (Royalist), expelled 1641.
|-
|1645|| George Abbot (Parliamentarian)||Sir Peter Wentworth (Parliamentarian)
|-
|1648||George Abbot (Parliamentarian)||Sir Peter Wentworth (Parliamentarian)
|-
|1653|| colspan = "2"| Tamworth not represented in Barebone's Parliament
|-
|1654|| colspan = "2"| Tamworth not represented in 1st Protectorate Parliament
|-
|1656|| colspan = "2"| Tamworth not represented in 2nd Protectorate Parliament
|-
|1659|| Maj. Gen. Tobias Bridge ||Edward Keeling
|}
MPs 1660–1885
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
!Year!!colspan="2"|First member!!First party!!colspan="2"|Second member!!Second party
|-
|1660
|
|Richard Newdigate <!-- 17 Sep 1602 – 14 Oct 1678 -->
|
|
| Thomas Fox <!-- 4 Mar 1622-1666 -->
|
|-
|1661
|
||Amos Walrond <!-- c 1623 11 Nov 1668 -->
|
| rowspan="4" |
| rowspan="4"|John Swinfen <!-- 19 Mar 1613 12 Apr 1694 -->
|rowspan="4"|
|-
|1669
|
|John Ferrers <!-- 26 Jul 1629 – 14 Aug 1680 -->
|
|-
|1670
|
|John Boyle, Lord Clifford <!-- 17 Nov 1639-12 Oct 1694 Should this be Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, who was summoned as Lord Clifford in 1689? -->
|
|-
|Feb 1679
|rowspan="3" |
|rowspan="3" | Sir Thomas Thynne, Bt <!-- 8 Sep 1640 – 28 Jul 1714 -->
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|Aug 1679
|
|Sir Andrew Hacket <!-- c 1632 19 Mar 1709 -->
|
|-
|1681
|
|John Swinfen <!-- 19 Mar 1613 12 Apr 1694 -->
|
|-
|1685
|
|Richard Howe
|
|rowspan="5"|
|rowspan="5" | Sir Henry Gough <!-- 3 Jan 1650 24 Jan 1725 -->
|rowspan="5"|
|-
|Jan 1689
|
|Henry Sidney
|
|-
|May 1689
|
|Henry Boyle
|
|-
|1690
|
|Michael Biddulph <!-- Rayment says 19 Nov 1661 – 26 Jul 1697 -->
|
|-
|1695
|rowspan="5" |
|rowspan="5" |Thomas Guy <!-- c 1644 27 Dec 1724 -->
|rowspan="5" |
|-
|1698
|
|John Chetwynd <!-- 1643-9 Dec 1702 -->
|
|-
|1699
|
|Sir Henry Gough <!-- 3 Jan 1650 – 24 Jan 1725 -->
|
|-
|1701
|
|Henry Thynne <!-- 8 Feb 1675 20 Dec 1708 -->
|
|-
|1702
|rowspan="3"|
|rowspan="3"| Joseph Girdler <!-- (to 1715) 15 May 1642 16 Nov 1724 -->
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|1708
|
|Richard Swinfen <!-- 11 Apr 1677 22 Jul 1726 -->
|
|-
|1710
|rowspan="3"|
|rowspan="3"| Samuel Bracebridge <!-- (to 1723) 4 Apr 1673 11 Nov 1735 -->
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|1715
|
|William Inge <!-- 28 Sep 1669 3 Jul 1731 -->
|
|-
|1722
|rowspan="3"|
|rowspan="3" | Francis Willoughby <!-- 29 Sep 1692 31 Jul 1758 -->
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|1723
|
|Richard Swinfen <!-- 11 Apr 1677 22 Jul 1726 -->
|
|-
|Jan 1727
|
|Hon. George Compton<!-- 1692-6 Dec 1758 -->
|
|-
|Aug 1727
|style="color:inherit;background-color:" |
|William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin <!-- c 1700-18 Jul 1777 -->
| Whig
| style="color:inherit;background-color:" |
|Hon. Thomas Willoughby <!-- 11 Jun 1694 – 2 Dec 1742 -->
| Tory
|-
| 1734
|rowspan="4"|
|rowspan="4"|Lord John Sackville <!-- (to 1747) 22 Jun 1713 3 Dec 1765 son of 1st Duke of Dorset and father of 3rd Duke-->
|rowspan="4"|
|
| Hon. George Compton <!-- 1692-6 Dec 1758 -->
|
|-
|1735
|
|Charles Cotes <!-- c 1703 21 Mar 1748 -->
|
|-
|1741
|
|John Floyer <!-- c 1681 4 Jun 1762 -->
|
|-
|1742
|
|Charles Cotes <!-- c 1703 21 Mar 1748 -->
|
|-
|1747
|rowspan="4"|
|rowspan="4" | Hon. Thomas Villiers <!-- (to 1756) 1709-11 Dec 1786 -->
|rowspan="4"|
|
|Sir Henry Harpur <!-- c 1708-7 Jun 1748 -->
|
|-
|1748
|
|Sir Robert Burdett <!-- (to 1768) 28 May 1716 – 13 Feb 1797 -->
|
|-
|1756
|
|Viscount Villiers <!-- 9 Jun 1735 – 22 Aug 1805 -->
|
|-
|1765
|rowspan="4"|
|rowspan="4" | Edward Thurlow <!-- (to 1778) 9 Dec 1731 – 12 Sep 1806 -->
|rowspan="4"|
|-
|Mar 1768
|
|William de Grey <!-- 7 Jul 1719 – 9 May 1781 -->
|
|-
|Nov 1768
|
|Charles Vernon <!-- 1719-3 Aug 1810 -->
|
|-
|1774
|rowspan="2"|
|rowspan="2"| Thomas de Grey <!-- (to 1780) 14 Jul 1748 – 16 Jan 1818 -->
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|1778
|rowspan="2"|
|rowspan="2"|Anthony Chamier <!-- (to Nov 1780) 6 Oct 1725 – 12 Oct 1780 -->
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|Sep 1780
|rowspan="4"|
|rowspan="4"| John Courtenay <!-- (to 1796) 22 Aug 1738 – 24 Mar 1816 -->
|rowspan="4"|
|-
|Nov 1780
|
| John Calvert <!-- 6 May 1726 – 22 Feb 1804 -->
|
|-
|1784
|
|John Calvert II <!-- c 1758-2 Jun 1844 -->
|
|-
|1790
|rowspan="5" style="color:inherit;background-color:" |
|rowspan="5"|Sir Robert Peel <!-- 25 Apr 1750 – 3 May 1830 -->
|rowspan="5"| Tory
|-
|1796
|
|Thomas Carter <!-- c 1761 10 Jun 1835 -->
|
|-
|1802
|
|William Loftus <!-- 1752 15 Jun 1831 -->
|
|-
|1812
| style="color:inherit;background-color:" |
|Lord Charles Townshend <!-- 2nd son of 2nd Marquess Townsend 16 Sep 1785 5 Nov 1853 -->
| Whig
|-
|Jul 1847
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|William Yates Peel <!-- 3 Aug 1789 – 1 Jun 1858 -->
| Conservative
|-
|1850
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="8"| Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Bt <!--(to 1880) 4 May 1822 – 9 May 1895 -->
|rowspan="2"| Peelite
|-
|1856
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="2" | John Townshend <!-- 10 Apr 1831 – 26 Oct 1899 -->
|Whig
|-
|1859
|rowspan="6" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| rowspan="6" | Liberal
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Liberal
|-
|1863
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|John Peel<!-- 4 Feb 1804 2 Apr 1872 -->
| Liberal
|-
|1868
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|Sir Henry Bulwer <!-- 13 Feb 1801 23 May 1872 -->
| Liberal
|-
|1871
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|John Peel<!-- 4 Feb 1804 2 Apr 1872 -->
| Liberal
|-
|1872
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|Robert William Hanbury <!-- 24 Feb 1845 28 Apr 1903 -->
| Conservative
|-
|1878
|rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: "|
|rowspan="2"|Hamar Bass <!-- (to 1885) 30 Jul 1842 8 Apr 1898 -->
|rowspan="2"| Liberal
|-
|1880
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|Jabez Balfour <!-- 4 Sep 1843 23 Feb 1916 -->
| Liberal
|}
MPs 1885–1945
Tamworth was reduced to having one member in 1885.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Year!!Member!!Whip
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1885
|Philip Muntz <!-- 5 Jan 1839 – 21 Dec 1908 --> ||Conservative
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1909
|Sir Francis Newdegate <!-- 31 Dec 1862 – 2 Jan 1936 --> ||Conservative
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1917
|Henry Wilson-Fox <!-- 18 Aug 1863 – 22 Nov 1921 --> ||Unionist
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1922
|Sir Percy Newson <!-- 4 Apr 1874 17 May 1950 --> ||Unionist
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1923
|Sir Edward Iliffe ||Unionist
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1929
|Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland <!-- 5 Jul 1876 30 Mar 1935 --> ||Unionist
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1935
|Sir John Mellor <!-- 6 Jul 1893 15 Jul 1986 --> ||Conservative
|}
The seat was abolished in 1945.
MPs since 1997
South East Staffordshire prior to 1997
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member
|Independent
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 2023 by-election
| |Sarah Edwards
| Labour
|}
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
- Changes in vote share are based on the 2019 general election result, not the 2023 by-election result.
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections 1918–1945
Elections in the 1930s
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected:
- Conservative: John Mellor
- Labour: Michael Patrick Fogarty
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections 1868–1885
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1870s
- Caused by John Peel's death.
Caused by Townshend's succession to the peerage, becoming 5th Marquess Townshend.