Politics
Bartley Green has been part of the Edgbaston Constituency of Birmingham since 1997, having previously been in the neighbouring Birmingham Northfield Constituency. Since its inclusion, the Labour Party have finished first in every General Election, even defying the national trend in 2010, when the party clung on with a majority of 1,274. It is represented by Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who has held the seat since 1997, replacing Conservative Dame Jill Knight in the year of Tony Blair's landslide victory. Unlike any other UK constituency, Edgbaston has had a female Member of Parliament since 1953.
In the 2005 General Election, Gisela held her seat with a decreased majority of 2,349: a -5.3% swing, winning ahead of the Conservative candidate Deirdre Alden, Mike Dixon of the Liberal Democrats, Peter Green of the Green Party and Stephen White of United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).
Like other wards within the Edgbaston constituency such as Harborne and the Edgbaston ward itself, Bartley Green is a safe Conservative ward at Birmingham City Council level, with all three serving councillors - John Lines, Vivienne Barton and Bruce Lines (son of John) - representing the party.
The ward has adopted a Ward Support Officer, with the current holder of the status being Tina Willetts.
Read more about this topic: Bartley Green
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“I believe you to be a brave and a skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“The differences between revolution in art and revolution in politics are enormous.... Revolution in art lies not in the will to destroy but in the revelation of what has already been destroyed. Art kills only the dead.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)
“From the beginning, the placement of [Clarence] Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation raises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important, about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth—and those who tell it—are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way to winning.”
—Jane Mayer, U.S. journalist, and Jill Abramson b. 1954, U.S. journalist. Strange Justice, p. 8, Houghton Mifflin (1994)