The present Tamworth Constituency, a
county constituency, replaced the old
South East Staffordshire constituency for the
1997 general election. A previous Tamworth constituency existed from 1563 until it was abolished for the
1945 general election. It was a borough constituency that elected two MPs until the
1885 general election, when it was reincarnated as a single-MP constituency in the county of Warwickshire by the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
Political history Since its 1997 recreation the seat has been a
bellwether, reflecting the largest party in terms of seats in the House of Commons with the largest share of the vote for the candidate locally. However, the seat has heavily trended towards the Conservatives in the general elections up to 2019, with majorities in excess of 10,000 in both
2015 and
2017 and almost 20,000 in
2019. In the
October 2023 by-election caused by the resignation of
Chris Pincher (Conservative),
Sarah Edwards (Labour) was elected. The results were videoed. Whilst it was a 24% swing to Labour, the turnout was a comparatively low 35%. In the 2024 general election,
Eddie Hughes stood as the Conservative candidate; he was the incumbent MP for
Walsall North, which had been abolished as a result of the 2023 boundary review. Edwards retained the seat with a slightly increased margin in numerical terms, but a lower percentage margin (3.1% versus 5.1%) due to the higher turnout.
Prominent members The Prime Minister and leader of the breakaway
Tory group, the
Peelites, Sir
Robert Peel, represented the area for a long period 1830–1850, as did his father, brother and son at different periods. His father and son, also named Robert, also shared the
baronetcy gained by his father, which gave them the automatic right to the style "Sir". ==Constituency profile==