2023 Review: Staffordshire & The Black Country

Theoretical entitlements:

• Staffordshire 11.35
• Walsall 2.69
• Wolverhampton 2.35
• Dudley 3.27
• Sandwell 2.98

Staffordshire could be paired with Walsall for 14 seats, but that leaves the other boroughs with a total of approximately eight and a half seats. In order to solve this conundrum (without bringing other counties into the equation), I’m going to deal with this whole area as a unit.

It’s possible to have just one seat crossing the Staffordshire border, but I currently prefer to have two: one including Wombourne with part of Wolverhampton, and one including Burntwood in Aldridge-Brownhills.

In order to bring the South Staffs seat up to size I’ve included Cannock North ward and also a rural area near Kinver. It’d be better to simply add Norton Canes ward instead, but that would leave the Cannock seat 158 voters short.

Local authority boundaries are shown in red outline; my proposed seats are shown in blocks of colour.

• Newcastle 70,025
• Stoke North 69,738
• Stoke Central 70,633 – includes Fenton
• Stoke South 71,292 – includes Blythe Bridge
• Moorlands 72,482 – includes Cheadle and Rocester
• Stafford 72,984 – includes Eccleshall
• Mid Staffs (Lichfield & Stone) 73,496
• Burton 71,630
• Cannock 70,232
• Tamworth 74,742
• South Staffs 70,994 – includes Penkridge and the North ward from Cannock

• Aldridge-Brownhills 76,048 – includes Burntwood
• Walsall North 75,837
• Walsall South 69,869
• Wolverhampton NE 75,782
• Wolverhampton SW 72,797 – includes Wombourne & Kinver
• Bilston & Coseley 73,044
• Dudley 69,981**
• Kingswinford & Stourbridge West 70,874
• Halesowen & Stourbridge East 69,848**
• West Bromwich West 74,260
• West Bromwich East 72,499 – includes Wednesbury
• Warley 71,780

** estimate – includes part of split ward