Birmingham Northfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Birmingham Northfield is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Laurence Turner, a Labour politician.^{[n 2]} It represents the southernmost part of the city of Birmingham.

Birmingham Northfield
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Birmingham Northfield in West Midlands region
County	West Midlands
Population	101,422 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	73,483 (2023)[2]
Major settlements	Longbridge, Northfield
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Laurence Turner (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Birmingham King's Norton

Boundaries

1950–1955: The County Borough of Birmingham Wards of Northfield, Selly Oak, and Weoley.^[3]

1955–1974: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of King's Norton, Northfield, and Weoley.^[4]

1974–1983: As above less King's Norton, plus Longbridge

1983–1997: The City of Birmingham wards of Bartley Green, Longbridge, Northfield, and Weoley.

1997–2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Longbridge, Northfield, and Weoley (as they existed on 1 June 1994).

2010–2018: The City of Birmingham wards of King's Norton, Longbridge, Northfield, and Weoley (as they existed on 12 April 2005).

2018–2024: Following a local government boundary review,^[5] which did not effect the parliamentary boundaries, the contents of the constituency were as follows with effect from May 2018:

• The City of Birmingham wards of Allens Cross, Frankley Great Park, King’s Norton North, King’s Norton South, Longbridge & West Heath, Northfield, Rubery & Rednal, a majority of Weoley & Selly Oak, and a small part of Bourneville & Cotteridge.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency comprises:

• The City of Birmingham wards of: Allens Cross; Frankley Great Park; King’s Norton North; King’s Norton South; Longbridge & West Heath; Northfield; Rubery & Rednal; Weoley & Selly Oak (excluding a small area included in Birmingham Selly Oak).^[6]

Minor changes reflecting the new ward structure.

Constituency profile

Among the area's largest features is the Longbridge Town shopping area built on the site of the now demolished MG Rover Group factory which for decades had been a major employer in the constituency but which was closed down in the run up to the 2005 general election, two hospitals, Northfield Shopping Centre and the now also closed North Worcestershire Golf Course.^[7]

History

Summary of results

From its creation in 1950 until 2019, Labour Party MPs were elected and served the seat, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1992, which was whilst the Conservative Party were in government, with a one-year gap caused by a Labour win at a 1982 by-election. From 1979 to 1982, the MP was Jocelyn Cadbury, a member of the influential and large Cadbury family.

Despite the closure of the Longbridge Motor works the Labour MP at the time, Richard Burden was returned in the 2005 general election with his majority reduced by 5.6%. He was re-elected with his majority further reduced by 14.1% in 2010. In 2015, Burden was re-elected with a majority of 2,509 votes and a vote share of 41.6%, which made Northfield the most marginal seat in Birmingham and gave the seat the 26th-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.^[8] Two years later at the 2017 snap election, Burden increased his majority to 4,667 votes and his vote share to 53.2% on an overall turnout of 44,348 voters.

At the 2019 general election, the seat was won by the Conservative candidate Gary Sambrook with a majority of 1,640 votes. The Conservatives therefore held the Birmingham Northfield seat for the first time in 27 years. This result was reversed when Laurence Turner of the Labour Party recaptured the seat at the 2024 general election with a majority of 14.3%.

Opposition parties

The Conservative candidate for 2015, MacLean, came within 5.9% of winning the seat. UKIP's swing nationally was +9.5% in 2015; here it was 13.5%, enabling a third place, having been fifth-placed in the previous election. The other two candidates, standing for parties other than Labour on the left, narrowly forfeited their deposits. In 2024, Reform UK came third with 21.0% of the vote.

Turnout

Turnout has ranged between 84.7% in 1950 and 50.8% in 2024 (which was below the percentage of the 1982 by-election).

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[9]	Party
	1950	Raymond Blackburn	Labour
	1951	Donald Chapman	Labour
	1970	Ray Carter	Labour
	1979	Jocelyn Cadbury	Conservative
	1982 by-election	John Spellar	Labour
	1983	Roger King	Conservative
	1992	Richard Burden	Labour
	2019	Gary Sambrook	Conservative
	2024	Laurence Turner	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Birmingham Northfield^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Laurence Turner	14,929	39.6	−3.1
	Conservative	Gary Sambrook	9,540	25.3	−20.8
	Reform UK	Stephen Peters	7,895	21.0	+17.2
	Green	Rob Grant	2,809	7.5	+5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jerry Evans	1,791	4.8	+0.2
	Independent	Altaf Hussain	310	0.8	N/A
	Common Good	Dick Rodgers	215	0.6	N/A
	Independent	Dean Gwilliam	163	0.4	N/A
Majority			5,389	14.3
Turnout			37,652
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.8

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Birmingham Northfield^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gary Sambrook	19,957	46.3	3.6
	Labour	Richard Burden	18,317	42.5	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Scott	1,961	4.6	2.4
	Brexit Party	Keith Rowe	1,655	3.8	New
	Green	Eleanor Masters	954	2.2	0.3
	UKIP	Kenneth Lowry	254	0.6	New
Majority			1,640	3.8	N/A
Turnout			43,238	58.7	2.6
Registered electors			73,694
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	7.2

General election 2017: Birmingham Northfield^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	23,596	53.2	11.6
	Conservative	Meg Powell-Chandler	18,929	42.7	7.0
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Harmer	959	2.2	1.0
	Green	Eleanor Masters	864	1.9	0.9
Majority			4,667	10.5	4.6
Turnout			44,348	61.3	1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	2.3

General election 2015: Birmingham Northfield^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	17,673	41.6	1.3
	Conservative	Rachel Maclean	15,164	35.7	2.1
	UKIP	Keith Rowe	7,106	16.7	13.4
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Haynes	1,349	3.2	12.5
	Green	Anna Masters[15]	1,169	2.8	1.8
Majority			2,509	5.9	0.8
Turnout			42,461	59.4	0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	0.4

Going into the 2015 general election, this was the 121st most marginal constituency in Great Britain, the Conservatives requiring a swing from Labour of 3.3% to take the seat (based on the result of the 2010 general election).^[16]

General election 2010: Birmingham Northfield^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	16,841	40.3	10.1
	Conservative	Keely Huxtable	14,059	33.6	3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Dixon	6,550	15.7	3.3
	BNP	Les Orton	2,290	5.5	2.2
	UKIP	John Borthwick	1,363	3.3	1.0
	Green	Susan Pearce	406	1.0	New
	Common Good	Dick Rodgers	305	0.7	0.4
Majority			2,782	6.7	14.1
Turnout			41,814	58.6	3.4
	Labour hold		Swing	6.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Birmingham Northfield^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	15,419	49.6	6.4
	Conservative	Vicky Ford	8,965	28.9	0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Sword	4,171	13.4	2.2
	BNP	Mark Cattell	1,278	4.1	New
	UKIP	Gillian Chant	641	2.1	0.2
	Common Good	Richard Rogers	428	1.4	New
	Socialist Alternative	Louise Houdley	120	0.4	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Frank Sweeney	34	0.1	New
Majority			6,454	20.7	5.7
Turnout			31,056	56.6	3.8
	Labour hold		Swing	2.8

General election 2001: Birmingham, Northfield^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	16,528	56.0	1.4
	Conservative	Nils Purser	8,730	29.6	1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Sword	3,322	11.2	0.8
	UKIP	Stephen Rogers	550	1.9	New
	Socialist Alliance	Clive Walder	193	0.7	New
	Socialist Labour	Zane Carpenter	151	0.5	New
	Communist	Andrew Chaffer	60	0.2	New
Majority			7,798	26.4	3.0
Turnout			29,534	52.8	15.5
	Labour hold		Swing	1.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Birmingham Northfield^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	22,316	57.4	11.9
	Conservative	Alan C. Blumenthal	10,873	28.0	14.4
	Liberal Democrats	Michael R. Ashell	4,078	10.5	0.4
	Referendum	David Gent	1,243	3.2	New
	BNP	Keith A. Axon	337	0.9	New
Majority			11,443	29.4	28.3
Turnout			38,847	68.3	7.8
	Labour hold		Swing	13.1

General election 1992: Birmingham Northfield^[22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Burden	24,433	45.5	6.3
	Conservative	Roger King	23,803	44.4	0.7
	Liberal Democrats	David L. Cropp	5,431	10.1	5.5
Majority			630	1.1	4.8
Turnout			53,667	76.1	4.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	3.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Birmingham Northfield^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger King	24,024	45.1	2.4
	Labour	John Spellar	20,889	39.2	1.7
	SDP	John Gordon	8,319	15.6	3.6
Majority			3,135	5.9	0.7
Turnout			53,232	72.6	1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.0

General election 1983: Birmingham Northfield^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger King	22,596	42.7	2.7
	Labour	John Spellar	19,836	37.5	7.6
	Liberal	David Webb	10,045	19.0	10.8
	Communist	Peter Sheppard	420	0.8	N/A
Majority			2,760	5.2	N/A
Turnout			52,897	71.2	0.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	5.1

By-election 1982: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Spellar	15,904	36.3	8.8
	Conservative	Roger Gale	15,615	35.6	9.8
	Liberal	Stephen Ridley	11,453	26.1	18.0
	National Front	Ian Anderson	411	0.9	0.2
	Communist	Peter Sheppard	349	0.8	New
	People's Progressive Party	Ronald Taylor	63	0.2	New
	Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident	Bill Boaks	60	0.1	New
Majority			289	0.7	N/A
Turnout			43,855	55.0	15.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	0.5

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jocelyn Cadbury	25,304	45.4	13.4
	Labour	Raymond Carter	25,100	45.1	7.0
	Liberal	Roy Lewthwaite	4,538	8.2	6.7
	National Front	R.A. Newman	614	1.1	New
	Workers Revolutionary	J.E. Beale	144	0.3	New
Majority			204	0.3	N/A
Turnout			55,700	70.6	2.7
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	10.2

General election October 1974: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Raymond Carter	27,435	52.1	4.0
	Conservative	Jocelyn Cadbury	16,838	32.0	9.0
	Liberal	Richard Hains	7,851	14.9	New
	PEOPLE	Elizabeth A. Davenport	359	0.7	New
	Communist	Derek Robinson	180	0.3	0.4
Majority			10,597	20.1	5.0
Turnout			52,663	67.9	5.6
	Labour hold		Swing	2.5

General election February 1974: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Raymond Carter	31,704	56.1	5.6
	Conservative	John Butcher	23,175	41.0	7.6
	Independent	M. Newman	1,237	2.2	New
	Communist	Derek Robinson	368	0.7	0.2
Majority			8,529	15.1	13.2
Turnout			56,484	73.5	5.2
	Labour hold		Swing	1.0

General election 1970: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Raymond Carter	33,364	50.5	8.2
	Conservative	David W. Bell	32,148	48.6	8.9
	Communist	Derek Robinson	605	0.9	0.7
Majority			1,216	1.9	17.1
Turnout			66,117	68.3	6.8
	Labour hold		Swing	8.6

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donald Chapman	36,801	58.7	11.5
	Conservative	Christopher Cromwell Chalker	24,899	39.7	0.7
	Communist	Derek Robinson	1,029	1.6	New
Majority			11,902	19.0	12.2
Turnout			62,729	75.1	2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	6.1

General election 1964: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donald Chapman	29,301	47.2	3.6
	Conservative	Herbert Banner Adkins	25,063	40.4	8.8
	Liberal	Roy Lewthwaite	7,682	12.4	New
Majority			4,238	6.8	5.2
Turnout			62,046	77.2	1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	2.6

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donald Chapman	29,587	50.8	2.0
	Conservative	Reginald Eyre	28,647	49.2	2.0
Majority			940	1.6	4.0
Turnout			58,234	78.5	0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	2.0

General election 1955: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donald Chapman	27,072	52.8
	Conservative	Clement Sweet	24,188	47.2
Majority			2,884	5.6
Turnout			51,260	78.6	4.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Birmingham Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donald Chapman	26,580	52.8	0.2
	Conservative	Maurice Chandler	23,730	47.2	7.6
Majority			2,850	5.6	7.8
Turnout			50,310	83.4	1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	3.9

General election 1950: Birmingham, Northfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Raymond Blackburn	26,714	53.0
	Conservative	Tom Iremonger	19,974	39.6
	Liberal	Evan Laurence Frederick Richards	3,280	6.5
	Communist	Richard Albert Etheridge	479	1.0
Majority			6,740	13.4
Turnout			50,447	84.7
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county)
• List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.