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UK Parliament - Birmingham Hodge Hill

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > West Midlands > West Midlands > Birmingham Hodge Hill

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 19, 2005 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

May 05, 2005 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 05, 2005 - 05:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2005 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2010 - 11:00am

Contributor

Wishful Thinking

Last Modified

Wishful Thinking May 28, 2005 05:02pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

Labour came within a whisker of losing the seat to the Liberal Democrats. (On the same day the Lib Dems won Leicester South.) The seat has a habit of losing its MPs to Europe. Originally called Stetchford, this was the fiefdom of former Labour chancellor, the late Roy Jenkins, from 1950 to 1977 when he resigned to become European Commission President. That by-election resulted in a Conservative victory but Terry Davis won in it back for Labour in 1979. Hodge Hill sits on the eastern side of Birmingham in a wedge shape running from the city centre out towards Solihull and consists of the wards of Washwood Heath, Shard End and Hodge Hill. It is ethnically diverse: according to the 2001 Census, more than 20% of the population are Asian and a further 4% are black. The Census also shows that there are high levels of long-term unemployment. However, in recent years two large local manufacturers, LDV vans and Alstom (train stock) have undergone something of a renaissance.