Protected: 2018 Review: Birmingham & Black Country – full submission

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2018 Review – West Midlands v2.0

The Commission has published its revised recommendations, and there are many improvements. Warwickshire will now have the sensible arrangement of seats that had been obvious to everyone except the Commission. And they have accepted my proposals for Stoke and Newcastle, which is nice.

The map of Birmingham and the Black Country is looking a bit better, but there are still the following (main) problems:

1. Pleck removed from Walsall*
2. Oscott ward in a Walsall seat*
3. Handsworth Wood in a Sandwell seat
4. Handsworth split between seats
5. Oddly shaped Erdington seat going up to the Scott Arms*
6. Smethwick split between three constituencies*
7. East Smethwick in a Birmingham seat*
8. Nechells in a sinuous Yardley seat*
9. Yardley split between seats
10. Rubery in a Birmingham seat
11. Netherton in the Halesowen & Rowley Regis seat*
12. Dudley town split between seats*
13. East Dudley town in a Sandwell seat*
14. Friar Park ward not in the Wednesbury seat*
15. Greets Green in the Tipton seat*

My counter-proposal (interactive map) solves 11 of those 15 problems (shown by stars), but creates five new ones:

1. Perry Barr in a Sandwell seat
2. Yew Tree in a Walsall seat
3. Castle Vale in the Hodge Hill seat
4. Bearwood and part of Oldbury in a Birmingham seat
5. Rowley Regis split between seats

But I think that reducing the overall number of problems from 15 to 9 is quite good going. Also, I’d say we go from having eight bad constituencies (out of 20) to just one (can you guess which one?!) so I think that’s definitely an improvement. Excluding the seats in Wolverhampton and Sutton (which have general support), my proposed seats are:

1. Aldridge, Brownhills & Bloxwich 76572
   18. Walsall 73255
   14. Sandwell Valley 76523
   4. Erdington 73557*
   6. Hodge Hill 77643* (includes Castle Vale DLC DLG DLH)
   3. Birmingham Central* 77926
   9. Small Heath 77267* (includes Bordesley Green CTH CTI CTJ CTK)
   5. Hall Green 72658*
   7. Kings Norton 71831* (includes Swanshurst Park DEG)
   8. Northfield 75118
   11. Edgbaston & Warley South 76863
   19. Warley North 71590
   20. Wednesbury, Tipton & Darlaston 72803
   10. Dudley 78270*
   16. Stourbridge 72591* (includes Brockmoor J05 J06 J07)
   12. Halesowen & Cradley Heath 78132

The stars indicate seats that include parts of split wards. (I have 4 split wards compared to the Commission’s 3.) Seats in bold include wards from two boroughs. (I have 8 compared with the Commission’s 9. Not a big difference there, but this counter-proposal doesn’t make wholesale changes. In an ideal world we’d be looking at something like my original plan, which only had 3 cross-border seats.)

Map of seats listed above:

If you prefer all or part of this plan to the Commission’s proposals, email them by 11/12/17 at information@boundarycommissionengland.gov.uk

West Midlands (county) counter-proposal

Here goes… My review areas are as follows: Birmingham-Solihull-Warwickshire 17 seats; Walsall-Wolverhampton-Dudley 8 seats; Sandwell 3 seats; Coventry 3 seats. Coventry is unchanged.

Where I’ve split wards (shown in grey on the map), the electorates are estimated.

part of Oscott 5,705
Aston 19,353
Perry Barr 16,746
Handsworth Wood 18,448
Lozells and East Handsworth 18,493
BIRMINGHAM PERRY BARR 78,745

Erdington 16,461
Kingstanding 17,227
Stockland Green 16,670
Tyburn 17,240
most of Oscott 12,402
BIRMINGHAM ERDINGTON 80,000

Bournville 19,298
Brandwood 18,567
Kings Norton 16,935
Selly Oak 18,605
BIRMINGHAM KINGS NORTON 73,405

Edgbaston 17,490
Harborne 16,473
Ladywood 18,021
Soho 16,918
most of Quinton 11,098
BIRMINGHAM FIVE WAYS 80,000

part of Quinton 6,287
Weoley 17,664
Longbridge 18,397
Bartley Green 17,691
Northfield 19,194
BIRMINGHAM NORTHFIELD 79,233

Hall Green 19,122
Acocks Green 19,365
South Yardley 19,784
Stechford and Yardley North 18,037
BIRMINGHAM ACOCKS GREEN 76,308

Hodge Hill 17,778
Bordesley Green 19,861
Washwood Heath 19,767
Nechells 19,716
BIRMINGHAM HEARTLANDS 77,122

Moseley and Kings Heath 18,617
Sparkbrook 19,407
Springfield 20,011
Billesley 19,198
BIRMINGHAM MOSELEY 77,233

Sutton Four Oaks 19,103
Sutton New Hall 17,582
Sutton Trinity 19,777
Sutton Vesey 18,569
SUTTON COLDFIELD 75,031

Cradley and Foxcote 9,953
Halesowen North 9,573
Halesowen South 10,008
Hayley Green and Cradley South 9,419
Norton 9,743
Pedmore and Stourbridge East 10,008
Wollaston and Stourbridge Town 10,148
Belle Vale 10,227
HALESOWEN AND STOURBRIDGE 79,079

Brockmoor from B&P 3,500
Kingswinford North and Wall Heath 10,259
Kingswinford South 10,423
Lye and Wollescote 9,597
Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood 10,311
Amblecote 10,465
Brierley Hill 10,105
Wordsley 10,114
BRIERLEY HILL 74,774

St James’s 10,019
St Thomas’s 10,163
Sedgley 9,850
Upper Gornal and Woodsetton 10,410
Netherton, Woodside and St Andrews 10,636
Castle and Priory 10,692
Gornal 10,580
(Brockmoor and) Pensnett 6,271
DUDLEY CASTLE 78,621

Abbey 8,431
Blackheath 9,276
Bristnall 9,123
Cradley Heath and Old Hill 9,989
Langley 9,137
Old Warley 9,141
Tividale 9,226
Rowley 9,164
ROWLEY REGIS 73,487

Charlemont with Grove Vale 9,309
Great Barr with Yew Tree 9,708
Hateley Heath 9,476
Newton 8,813
St Pauls 9,163
Smethwick 9,409
Soho and Victoria 8,620
West Bromwich Central 8,915
WEST BROMWICH 73,413

Princes End 9,109
Great Bridge 9,517
Friar Park 9,085
Tipton Green 9,738
Wednesbury North 9,176
Wednesbury South 9,265
Oldbury 9,218
Greets Green and Lyng 7,702
SANDWELL NORTH WEST 72,810

Castle Bromwich 9,271
Chelmsley Wood 9,236
Kingshurst and Fordbridge 9,455
Smith’s Wood 8,966
Shard End 18,579
Sheldon 16,075
Bickenhill (north) 6,527
CASTLE BROMWICH 78,109

Knowle 8,412
Dorridge and Hockley Heath 8,823
Meriden 9,499
Blythe 10,239
Bickenhill (south) 3,000
to Warwickshire 39,973

Elmdon 9,424
Lyndon 10,097
Olton 9,809
St Alphege 10,510
Shirley East 8,906
Shirley South 10,015
Shirley West 9,315
Silhill 9,278
SOLIHULL 77,354

Aldridge Central and South 10,907
Aldridge North and Walsall Wood 10,134
Brownhills 9,537
Pheasey Park Farm 8,728
Pelsall 9,061
Streetly 10,901
Rushall-Shelfield 8,966
Paddock 9,563
ALDRIDGE-BROWNHILLS 77,797

Bentley and Darlaston North 9,099
Birchills Leamore 9,361
Blakenall 8,402
Bloxwich East 8,563
Bloxwich West 9,709
Palfrey 10,272
Pleck 9,376
St Matthew’s 9,706
WALSALL TOWN 74,488

Darlaston South 9,338
Short Heath 9,086
Willenhall North 9,578
Willenhall South 10,769
Wednesfield North 8,839
Wednesfield South 8,413
Bilston East 9,038
Bilston North 8,790
BILSTON AND WILLENHALL 73,851

Tettenhall Regis 9,257
Tettenhall Wightwick 9,123
Heath Town 7,386
Fallings Park 8,979
Bushbury North 9,071
Bushbury South and Low Hill 8,864
St Peter’s 6,407
Oxley 8,802
Park less Merridale 5,725
WOLVERHAMPTON NORTH 73,614

Merridale from Park 2,000
Blakenhall 8,160
East Park 8,677
Ettingshall 8,694
Graiseley 7,994
Merry Hill 9,361
Penn 9,979
Spring Vale 8,735
Coseley East 9,657
WOLVERHAMPTON SOUTH 73,257