Birmingham Aston (UK Parliament constituency)

For the 1885–1918 constituency, see Aston Manor (UK Parliament constituency).

Birmingham Aston
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	West Midlands
Major settlements	Aston
1918–1974 (1974)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Birmingham Handsworth and Birmingham Erdington
Created from	Aston Manor

Birmingham Aston was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1918 to 1974 it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

History

The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, when the boundaries of the city of Birmingham had been expanded. One of the areas included in the city's expansion was the Aston area, which had formerly been part of Warwickshire. From 1885 to 1918, Aston Manor was a borough constituency in Warwickshire.

Boundaries

1918–1950: Parts of the County Borough of Birmingham wards of All Saints, Aston, Lozells, and St Mary's. The newly created seat was smaller and more the northern part of central Birmingham than Aston Manor had been.

1950–1955: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Aston, Lozells, and St Paul's.

1955–1974: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Aston, Gravelley Hill, and Stockland Green. The latter two wards had formerly been part of Birmingham Erdington. St Paul's ward became part of Birmingham Ladywood. Lozells ward was transferred to Birmingham Handsworth.

In the 1974 redistribution, this constituency disappeared. Aston ward became part of Birmingham Handsworth, while Gravelley Hill and Stockland Green wards returned to Birmingham Erdington.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1918	Sir Evelyn Cecil	Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1929	John Strachey	Labour
	February 1931		New
	June 1931		Independent
	October 1931	Arthur Hope	Conservative
	1939 by-election	Edward Orlando Kellett	Conservative
	1943 by-election	Redvers Michael Prior	Conservative
	1945	Woodrow Wyatt	Labour
	1955	Julius Silverman	Labour
Feb 1974		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1923: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rt Hon. Sir Evelyn Cecil	13,291	56.2
	Labour	P. Bower	7,541	31.8
	Liberal	Joseph Conyers Tillotson	2,846	12.0
Majority			5,750	24.4	+2.8
Turnout				65.0
	Unionist hold		Swing	+1.4

General Election 1929: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Evelyn John St Loe Strachey	18,672	52.2	+6.8
	Unionist	John Percival Whiteley	17,114	47.8	-6.8
Majority			1,558	4.4	13.6
Turnout				78.3	+6.6
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+6.8

General election 1970: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julius Silverman	15,456	55.1
	Conservative	Arthur A Hill	11,894	42.4
	British Movement	C. Jordan	704	2.5
Majority			3,562	12.7
Turnout				58.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1966: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julius Silverman	20,716	60.9
	Conservative	Joe R Kinsey	13,316	39.1
Majority			7,400	21.7
Turnout				64.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julius Silverman	19,512	54.7
	Conservative	Anthony Michael Beaumont-Dark	16,146	45.3
Majority			3,366	9.4
Turnout				65.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julius Silverman	21,518	53.1
	Conservative	Anthony Michael Beaumont-Dark	18,894	46.8
Majority			2,534	6.3
Turnout				70.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julius Silverman	25,546	59.7
	Conservative	F Vale	17,284	40.4
Majority			8,262	19.3
Turnout				71.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Woodrow Lyle Wyatt	27,899	62.6
	Conservative	C Sweet	16,136	36.2
	Independent	SW Keatley	545	1.2
Majority			11,763	26.4
Turnout				74.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Woodrow Lyle Wyatt	28,867	60.8
	Conservative	Charles John Joseph Addison Doughty	16,826	35.4
	Liberal	Arthur Embrey	1,487	3.1
	Independent	SW Keatley	338	0.7
Majority			12,041	25.3
Turnout				78.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1945: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Woodrow Wyatt	15,031	61,9
	Conservative	FB Normansell	9,264	38.1
Majority			5,767	23.7
Turnout				67.75

General election 1935: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Hope	18,933	68.8
	Labour	R Messel	8,578	31.2
Majority			10,355	37.6
Turnout				64.5

General election 1931: Birmingham Aston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Hope	22,959	70.9
	Labour	T May	6,212	19.2
	Independent	Evelyn John St Loe Strachey	3,236	10.0
Majority			16,747	51.7
Turnout				73.5

See also

• List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies

References

• Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)