Turbulent election for both parties in the West Midlands
A turbulent night in the West Midlands saw several shocks for both the Conservatives and Labour.
In a dramatic coup, Matt Western overcame a large Conservative majority to snatch Warwick and Leamington for Labour with a 7.6% swing to claim a majority of 1,206. The performance was startling as the seat was only 68th on Labour’s hitlist.
However, in Walsall North 83-year-old David Winnick – the West Midlands’ longest serving MP – lost a seat he had held for Labour since 1979. Conservative Eddie Hughes claiming a majority of 2,601.
The Tories also gained Stoke-on-Trent South from Labour, with Jack Brereton ousting Rob Flello, who had held the seat since 2005.
But in the Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency, Gareth Snell – who only won the seat in a by-election in February following the resignation of sitting MP Tristram Hunt (defeating UKIP leader Paul Nuttall along the way) – got back in with a larger majority (3,897).
History was made in Birmingham Edgbaston where Sandwell councillor Preet Gill retained the seat for Labour to become the first female Sikh MP.
The seat had been held by Gisela Stuart since 1997 but the politician who became one of the region’s most high profile Brexiteers opted not to fight the seat.
Elsewhere in the city, the Conservatives had said that Erdington would be a ‘Portillo moment’ but it failed to live up to the hype; Jack Dromey retaining the seat.
He said: “What we saw today was a decisive rejection of our Prime Minister who has engaged in a cut and run general election where things could only get worse.
“The campaign has been catastrophic and has caused pain to pensioners and anxiety to parents and a campaign characterised by vilification. But the people of Erdington have seen through that.”
Arguably the region’s most high profile politician, Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid retained his Bromsgrove seat for the Conservatives with a 16,533 majority, while former Trade Minister Mark Garnier retained Wyre Forest for the Tories, with near neighbour and former Small Business Minister Margot James also retaining Stourbridge for the party.
The Liberal Democrats’ hopes of winning back Solihull – which it lost in 2015 when Lorely Burt was ousted by Julian Knight – were dashed when the party was beaten into third place behind Labour.
The result suggested that the strong Conservative vote evidenced just a month ago when Andy Street galvanised support in the borough so effectively to win the race to become the first West Midlands Mayor, held up strongly.
Former Treasury Minister Liam Byrne easily retained Birmingham Hodge Hill for Labour, claiming biggest ever majority.
“The people of our constituency know how futures are built, and they are built by the Labour Party, with care, ambition and determination. We are the party of working people and the party of social justice,” he said.
Emma Reynolds, who might have been expecting to be on maternity leave rather than fighting an election, vindicated her decision to campaign with new son Theo – born just days after Theresa May announced the election – by winning Wolverhampton North East for Labour with a majority of 4,587.
