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Birmingham Erdington constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 27.0% ( 26.3 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Erdington was held on 3 March 2022. It was triggered by the death of the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Jack Dromey on 7 January.[1][2] The winner was Paulette Hamilton, standing for Labour, who won 55.5% of the votes on a turnout of 27% of the electorate.
This was the first by-election in a parliamentary constituency in Birmingham since the 2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election.
Labour has held Birmingham Erdington since the seat was re-established in 1974.[2] Dromey had been the MP for the constituency since 2010, being re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He died suddenly in his Birmingham flat on the Friday morning of 7 January 2022, according to a family statement. He had spoken in a House of Commons afternoon debate on the UK resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees the day before.[3][4]
The writ was issued on 31 January. The deadline to register to vote was 00:00 GMT on 15 February, with applications for postal votes due by 17:00 GMT on 16 February.[5]
The Labour Party candidate was Paulette Hamilton, who is Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for Health and Social Care. She was selected in a virtual hustings against Ashley Bertie, the former West Midlands deputy police and crime commissioner, receiving 82 votes to Bertie's 32.[6]
The Conservative Party selected Robert Alden, who had contested the seat in the previous four general elections.[7]
Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party) selected Birmingham postman Jack Brookes.[5]
The Liberal Democrats selected Lee Dargue, who works in the rail sector, occupational health and safety and environmental management.[5]
The Green Party selected local businesswoman Siobhan Harper-Nunes as its candidate.[8]
Michael Lutwyche stood as an independent. Lutwyche is a Justice-4-the-21 campaigner, supporting the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings.[9]
Dave Nellist stood for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). He was the Labour MP for Coventry South East from 1983 to 1992.[10][11] Nellist received support from the Breakthrough Party, the Northern Independence Party and Left Unity, who joined the TUSC on 20 January 2022 in the PAL - People's Alliance of the Left.[12]
David Bishop was a satirical candidate. He said he was standing for serious policies, such as scrapping HS2 and saving public lavatories, as well as less serious ones, like legalising brothels with a 20% discount for pensioners.[13][14] This would be the last by election contested by David Bishop before his death in December 2022.[15]
Near the end of the campaign, remarks made by Paulette Hamilton in 2015 were uncovered by GB News where she suggested she was torn between a democratic vote and an uprising to enable black people to get what "we really deserve in this country".[16] The comments led to calls from some Conservative MPs for her to be suspended by the Labour Party, who responded saying the remarks were taken out of context.[17]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paulette Hamilton | 9,413 | 55.5 | +5.2 | |
Conservative | Robert Alden | 6,147 | 36.3 | –3.8 | |
TUSC | Dave Nellist | 360 | 2.1 | N/A | |
Reform UK | Jack Brookes | 293 | 1.7 | –2.4 | |
Green | Siobhan Harper-Nunes | 236 | 1.4 | –0.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Lee Dargue | 173 | 1.0 | –2.7 | |
Independent | Michael Lutwyche | 109 | 0.6 | N/A | |
CPA | Mel Mbondiah | 79 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Independent | Thomas O'Rourke | 76 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Monster Raving Loony | The Good Knight Sir NosDa | 49 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Independent | Clifton Holmes | 14 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Church of the Militant Elvis | David Bishop | 8 | 0.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,266 | 19.2 | +9.0 | ||
Turnout | 17,016 | 27.0 | –26.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +4.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jack Dromey | 17,720 | 50.3 | –7.7 | |
Conservative | Robert Alden | 14,119 | 40.1 | +1.7 | |
Brexit Party | Wendy Garcarz | 1,441 | 4.1 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Ann Holtom | 1,301 | 3.7 | +1.7 | |
Green | Rob Grant | 648 | 1.8 | +0.2 | |
Majority | 3,601 | 10.2 | –9.4 | ||
Turnout | 35,229 | 53.3 | –3.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –4.7 |