Coventry East (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1945–1974 and 2024 onwards

Coventry East

Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Interactive map of boundaries from 2024

Boundary of Coventry East in West Midlands region

County| West Midlands county
Electorate| 73,389 (2023)[1]
Major settlements| Coventry
Current constituency
Created| 2024
Member of Parliament| Mary Creagh (Labour)
Seats| One
Created from| Coventry North East
1945–1974 (1974)
Seats| One
Created from| Coventry
Replaced by| Coventry North East,
Coventry South East

Coventry East is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Coventry in the West Midlands. Having previously existed from 1945 to 1974, the seat was re-established for the 2024 general election in the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, formed primarily from the abolished constituency of Coventry North East.[2] The current MP is Mary Creagh of the Labour Party; she previously represented Wakefield from 2005 to 2019.

## Boundaries

[edit]

### 1945–1974

[edit]

1945–1950: The County Borough of Coventry wards of All Saints, Foleshill, Hernall, Hillfields, Longford, Lower Stoke, St Mary's, St Paul's, Upper Stoke, and Walsgrave.

1950–1974: The County Borough of Coventry wards of Charterhouse and Binley, Longford, Lower Stoke, Upper Stoke, and Walsgrave.

### 2024–present

[edit]

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the re-established constituency is composed of the City of Coventry wards of:

* Binley and Willenhall, Foleshill, Henley, Longford, Upper Stoke, and Wyken.[3]

The seat comprises the previous Coventry North East seat, after transferring the Lower Stoke ward to Coventry South in exchange for the Binley and Willenhall ward.

## History

[edit]

Until 1945, the city of Coventry was represented by a single Member. Population growth meant that it had grown to 89,001 electors at the time of the 1935 general election, and in the 1939 electoral register it had 87,487 electors.[4] The County Borough of Coventry had also expanded its boundaries in the late 1930s, taking in an additional 66,425 electors. Two nearby divisions of Warwickshire had exceptionally large electorates: Nuneaton at 112,503 and Tamworth at 118,131. Accordingly, the area was included in the Schedule to the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 as abnormally large constituencies to be divided by the Boundary Commission before the first post-war general election.

The Boundary Commission proposed to create two divisions within the new boundaries of the County Borough, with Coventry East comprising ten wards and having a 1939 electorate of 76,860.[5] On the new electoral register compiled for the 1945 general election, the constituency had 74,676 electors on the civilian residence register, 67 on the Business Premises register, and 5,166 on the service register.[6]

A new Boundary Commission review began in 1965 by which time Coventry's electorate had increased and the city was allocated four seats; they were named after the ordinal points of the compass. The recommendations of the Commission came into effect at the February 1974 general election, at which point Coventry East ceased to exist as a Parliamentary constituency. This coincided with Richard Crossman's retirement from parliament; he died of liver cancer two months after the election.

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

### MPs 1945–1974

[edit]

Election | Member | Party

|
|

| 1945 | Richard Crossman | Labour
Feb 1974 | Constituency abolished

### MPs since 2024

[edit]

Coventry North East prior to 2024

Election | Member | Party

|
|

| 2024 | Mary Creagh | Labour

## Election results

[edit]

### Elections in the 2020s

[edit]

General election 2024: Coventry East [7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Mary Creagh | 18,308  | 49.5  | −2.6
| Reform UK | Iddrisu Sufyan  | 6,685  | 18.1  | +13.0
| Conservative | Sarah Lesadd  | 6,240  | 16.9  | −18.1
| Green | Stephen Gray  | 2,730  | 7.4  | +5.1
| Liberal Democrats | Mike Massimi  | 1,227  | 3.3  | −2.1
| Workers Party | Paul Bedson  | 1,027  | 2.8  | N/A
| TUSC | Dave Nellist | 797  | 2.2  | N/A
Majority | 11,623  | 31.3  |
Turnout | 37,014  | 48.8  |
Registered electors | 75,801  |  |
| Labour win (new seat)

## Election results 1945–1974

[edit]

### Elections in the 1940s

[edit]

General election 1945: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 34,379  | 60.51  |
| Conservative | Harry Weston  | 15,630  | 27.51  |
| Communist | William Alexander  | 3,986  | 7.02  |
| Liberal | Charles Payne  | 2,820  | 4.96  |
Majority | 18,479  | 32.50  |
Turnout | 56,815  | 71.15  |
Registered electors | 79,853  |  |
| Labour win (new seat)

### Elections in the 1950s

[edit]

General election 1950: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 30,456  | 59.29  | −1.22
| Conservative | Timothy Berthier Meek  | 17,003  | 33.10  | +5.59
| Liberal | Samuel Henry Davis  | 3,420  | 6.66  | +1.70
| Communist | William Alexander  | 487  | 0.95  | −6.07
Majority | 13,453  | 26.19  | −6.31
Turnout | 51,366  | 88.18  | +17.03
Registered electors | 58,254  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.41  |
General election 1951: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 32,108  | 62.29  | +3.00
| Conservative | Gavin Welby  | 19,437  | 37.71  | +4.61
Majority | 12,671  | 24.58  | −1.61
Turnout | 51,545  | 85.74  | −2.44
Registered electors | 60,115  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | −0.81  |
General election 1955: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 27,712  | 56.19  | −6.10
| Conservative | Michael Ayerst Hooker  | 21,608  | 43.81  | +6.10
Majority | 6,104  | 12.38  | −12.20
Turnout | 49,320  | 81.16  | −4.58
Registered electors | 60,769  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | −6.10  |
General election 1959: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 32,744  | 56.72  | +0.53
| Conservative | John Biffen | 24,982  | 43.28  | −0.53
Majority | 7,762  | 13.44  | +1.06
Turnout | 57,726  | 81.66  | +0.50
Registered electors | 70,689  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.53  |

### Elections in the 1960s

[edit]

General election 1964: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 36,246  | 59.82  | +3.10
| Conservative | Ian Gow | 23,208  | 38.30  | −4.98
| Communist | Harry Bourne  | 1,138  | 1.88  | New
Majority | 13,038  | 21.52  | +8.08
Turnout | 60,592  | 77.86  | −3.80
Registered electors | 77,821  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | +4.04  |
General election 1966: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 36,757  | 60.83  | +1.01
| Conservative | John Wakeham | 18,061  | 29.89  | −8.41
| Liberal | Jan Maria Mokrzycki  | 4,235  | 7.01  | New
| Communist | Harry Bourne  | 1,368  | 2.26  | +0.38
Majority | 18,696  | 30.94  | +9.42
Turnout | 60,421  | 77.33  | −0.53
Registered electors | 78,131  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | +4.71  |

### Elections in the 1970s

[edit]

General election 1970: Coventry East  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Richard Crossman | 36,275  | 59.34  | −1.49
| Conservative | Maurice Edward Jones  | 24,010  | 39.27  | +9.38
| Communist | John Hosey  | 841  | 1.38  | −0.88
Majority | 12,265  | 20.07  | −10.87
Turnout | 61,126  | 70.58  | −6.75
Registered electors | 86,603  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | −5.44  |

## See also

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

* Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)

1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – West Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
2. ^ "West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
3. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
4. ^ "Return showing, with regard to each Parliamentary Constituency in England and Wales, the total number of Electors on the register now in force", HCP 10 of session 1943–44, p. 3.
5. ^ "Report of the Boundary Commission for England", Cmd. 6634, p. 36.
6. ^ "Return showing, with regard to each Parliamentary Constituency in England and Wales, the total number of Electors on the register now in force", HCP 107 of session 1944–45, p. 5.
7. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll – Coventry East". Coventry Council. Retrieved 22 June 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Coventry East UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

* v
* t
* e

Constituencies in the West Midlands (57)

Labour (37)|

* Birmingham Edgbaston
* Birmingham Erdington
* Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley
* Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
* Birmingham Ladywood
* Birmingham Northfield
* Birmingham Selly Oak
* Birmingham Yardley
* Burton and Uttoxeter
* Cannock Chase
* Coventry East
* Coventry North West
* Dudley
* Halesowen
* Lichfield
* Newcastle-under-Lyme
* North Warwickshire and Bedworth
* Nuneaton
* Redditch
* Rugby
* Shrewsbury
* Smethwick
* Stafford
* Stoke-on-Trent Central
* Stoke-on-Trent North
* Stoke-on-Trent South
* Stourbridge
* Tamworth
* Telford
* Tipton and Wednesbury
* Walsall and Bloxwich
* Warwick and Leamington
* West Bromwich
* Wolverhampton North East
* Wolverhampton South East
* Wolverhampton West
* Worcester

Conservative (15)|

* Aldridge-Brownhills
* Bromsgrove
* Droitwich and Evesham
* Hereford and South Herefordshire
* Kenilworth and Southam
* Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
* Meriden and Solihull East
* Solihull West and Shirley
* South Shropshire
* Staffordshire Moorlands
* Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge
* Sutton Coldfield
* The Wrekin
* West Worcestershire
* Wyre Forest

Liberal Democrats (2)|

* North Shropshire
* Stratford-on-Avon

Independent (2)|

* Birmingham Perry Barr
* Coventry South

Green Party (1)|

* North Herefordshire

52°25′30″N 1°27′36″W﻿ / ﻿52.425°N 1.46°W﻿ / 52.425; -1.46
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