Election 97

Tamworth

Current MP Brian Jenkins (Lab)
Conservative 97 18,312
Labour 97 25,808
LibDem 97 4,025
Nationalist 97 0
Other 97 546
Elected party
Tamworth

Robert Waller wrote
Old constituency Staffordshire South East
Conservative 92 26,209
Labour 92 20,804
LibDem 92 5,275
Nationalist 92 0
Other 92 825
Elected party Conservative

The seat of Tamworth, though renamed, is in fact a very close successor to the South East Staffordshire seat, which gave the Conservative Government one of its many savage mid-term blows in 1996, when the by-election caused by the death of Sir David Lightbown resulted in a heavy win for Labour's Brian Jenkins.

There are minor boundary changes which slightly reduce the rural element of the seat that tops up the electorate; Tamworth itself has grown from 25,000 in 1951 to 69,000 in 1991, but it is not quite big enough yet to sustain a whole constituency - although its renaming acknowledges its greater size and greater influence.

Brian Jenkins is probably a narrow favourite to retain Tamworth in the general election.


Super Profiles

2,830 8.11 9.03 90
2,133 6.11 11.17 55
2,589 7.42 11.25 66
10,884 31.17 14.70 212
606 1.74 10.45 17
450 1.29 2.81 46
1,258 3.60 8.01 45
7,748 22.19 15.25 146
4,653 13.33 7.13 187
1,565 4.48 10.17 44