Mid Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
| Mid Staffordshire | |
|---|---|
|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
| County | Staffordshire |
| Major settlements | Lichfield, Rugeley, Stone |
| 1983–1997 | |
| Number of members | one |
| Replaced by | Lichfield, Stone, Cannock Chase, Stafford |
| Created from | Lichfield & Tamworth, Stafford & Stone and Cannock[1] |
Mid Staffordshire was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997.
It covered a swathe of territory across the centre of Staffordshire, stretching from Lichfield and Rugeley in the south to Stone in the north.
At the 1983 general election, the seat was won by John Heddle of the Conservative Party, who had previously represented the Lichfield and Tamworth constituency. Heddle held the seat at the 1987 general election.
Following Heddle's suicide in December 1989, a by-election followed on 22 March 1990. The by-election attracted a blaze of publicity, and a large number of candidates (14), as it took place at the height of the public dissatisfaction with the Conservative government over the Community Charge or Poll Tax (indeed, the notorious Poll Tax Riots took place only days after the by-election). Sylvia Heal of the Labour Party was victorious in the by-election; however she failed to retain the seat at the 1992 general election, losing to the Conservatives' Michael Fabricant.
In 1997, a review by the Boundary Commission reorganised the constituencies in Staffordshire, and Mid Staffordshire was abolished. It was replaced by parts of four constituencies: mostly by the Lichfield and Stone constituencies, apart from Rugeley which was included in Cannock Chase, and the area around the village of Great Haywood which was covered by the Stafford constituency.
Boundaries
The District of Lichfield wards of Armitage with Handsacre, Central, Chadsmead, Colton and Ridwares, Curborough, King's Bromley, Longdon, Leomansley, St John's, and Stowe, the Borough of Stafford wards of Barlaston, Chartley, Fulford, Haywood, Milwich, Oulton, St Michael's, and Stonefield and Christchurch, and the District of Cannock Chase wards of Brereton and Ravenhill, Brindley Heath, Etching Hill, Hagley, and Western Springs.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member [2] | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | John Heddle | Conservative | Previously MP for Lichfield and Tamworth from 1979; committed suicide December 1989 | |
| 1990 by-election | Sylvia Heal | Labour | Subsequently MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis 1997-2010, and a Deputy Speaker 2000–2010 | |
| 1992 | Michael Fabricant | Conservative | Subsequently MP for Lichfield since 1997 | |
| 1997 | constituency abolished | |||
Elections
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Michael Fabricant | 31,227 | 49.7 | −0.9 | |
| Labour | Sylvia Heal | 24,991 | 39.8 | +15.0 | |
| Liberal Democrat | BJ Stamp | 6,402 | 10.2 | −13.0 | |
| Natural Law | Ms. D Grice | 239 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,236 | 9.9 | −16.0 | ||
| Turnout | 62,859 | 85.6 | +6.2 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | −8.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Sylvia Heal | 27,649 | 49.1 | 24.3 | |
| Conservative | Charles Prior | 18,200 | 32.3 | -18.3 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Timothy Jones | 6,315 | 11.2 | -12.0 | |
| Social Democratic | Ian Wood | 1,422 | 2.5 | ||
| Green | Robert Saunders | 1,215 | 2.2 | ||
| Anti-Thatcher Conservative | James Bazeley | 547 | 1.0 | ||
| Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 336 | 0.6 | ||
| National Front | John Hill[5] | 311 | 0.5 | ||
| NHS Supporters Party | Dr Christopher Abell | 102 | 0.2 | ||
| Against Immigration Conservative Green | Nicholas Parker-Jervis | 71 | 0.1 | ||
| Raving Loony Green Giant Supercalafragalistic Party | Stuart Hughes | 59 | 0.1 | ||
| National Independent Correct Edification | Lindi St. Claire | 51 | 0.1 | ||
| Independent 'Save the 2CV' | Bernard Mildwater | 42 | 0.1 | ||
| Christian Patriotic Alliance - Save Britain Campaign | David Black | 39 | 0.1 | ||
| Majority | 9,449 | 16.8 | |||
| Turnout | 56,359 | 77.5 | -1.9 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +21% | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Heddle | 28,644 | 50.6 | -1.5 | |
| Labour | C.R. St. Hill | 13,990 | 24.7 | +2.3 | |
| Liberal | Timothy A. Jones | 13,114 | 23.2 | -2.3 | |
| Independent Conservative | J.G. Bazeley | 836 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 14,654 | 25.9 | -0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 56,584 | 79.4 | +1.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Heddle | 27,210 | 52.1 | ||
| Liberal | T.A. Jones | 13,330 | 25.5 | ||
| Labour | P.W. Lane | 11,720 | 22.4 | ||
| Majority | 13,880 | 26.6 | |||
| Turnout | 52,260 | 77.5 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Notes and references
- ↑ "'Staffordshire Mid', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 4)
- ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ↑ http://www.by-elections.co.uk/staffordshire90.html
- ↑ http://by-elections.co.uk/staffsmid90/hill.html