History
The constituency was formed for the 1997 general election, taking in the eastern part of the former Halesowen and Stourbridge constituency (the remainder forming the Stourbridge constituency), and the western part of the former Warley West constituency. Halesowen and Stourbridge had been held by the Conservatives, but both of its replacements were taken by Labour in 1997. Warley West had been held by Labour.
Unusually for a parliamentary constituency, Halesowen and Rowley Regis incorporates parts of two different boroughs. The area formerly in the Halesowen and Stourbridge constituency is within the Dudley borough, while the area formerly in Warley West is within the Sandwell borough (which in turned had previously formed part of the boroughs of Warley, and originally Rowley Regis).
From 1997 until she stood down at the 2010 general election, the seat's MP was Sylvia Heal of the Labour Party. She previously held Mid Staffordshire from a 1990 by-election until she was defeated by the Conservatives in 1992. On becoming the MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, she gained more than half of the votes in 1997 and 2001, before her popularity dipped slightly in 2005, but she still managed to hold onto the seat.
James Morris of the Conservative Party was elected for the seat in the 2010 General Election. With approximately half of the constituency situated within the Sandwell borough, it is the first time that any part of that borough has ever been represented by a Conservative MP since its creation.
Morris had taken over as Conservative candidate for the seat after previous candidate Nigel Hastilow stepped down in November 2007, following a public backlash over his claims that Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech had been proven correct.
Read more about this topic: Halesowen And Rowley Regis (UK Parliament Constituency)
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