Midland Tory MPs could face wipeout at election
POLLSTERS YouGov have predicted a massive Midland landslide for Labour if a general election was called now.
At least a dozen West Midlands Conservative MPs are predicted to lose their seats.
The YouGov findings predict Labour’s ‘red wall’ that once circled Birmingham – partly demolished in the post-Brexit election of 2019 – will be rebuilt.
Among those set to lose under current predictions would be Birmingham Northfield MP Gary Sambrook, Wolverhampton North East’s Jane Stevenson, and Shaun Bailey, currently MP for Wolverhampton South West.
The seat of Marco Longhi in Dudley, currently named Dudley North, will be lost, along with Stourbridge, held by Suzanne Webb, Halesowen, the seat of James Morris, and Redditch, where Rachel Maclean is MP.
But one of the Tory seats deemed ‘safe’ is Sutton Coldfield, where MP and government minister Andrew Mitchell has held a commanding majority since 2001.
Currently in Africa on government business, he told the Post that members in his area remained in “bullish mood” and high spirits despite the challenges facing the Conservatives and the recent polling outcomes.
“You’ll see we are still way ahead in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield,” he declared. “Rather than fearing Labour, I am expecting my majority to increase, because if you see how bad and financially inept a Labour council has been for Birmingham, imagine how awful a Labour government will be.”
With constituency borders redrawn, some newly created seats taking in formerly Conservative areas are also predicted to go red.
The new Wolverhampton West and Tipton and Wednesbury seats are both expected to be Labour gains. And the newly created seat of Walsall and Bloxwich is predicted to go to Labour (it largely replaces the existing Walsall North, held by Conservative Eddie Hughes, and Walsall South, seat of Labour’s Valerie Vaz.)
The current Warley seat, held by Labour, has been redrawn and renamed Smethwick and is predicted to stay red.
The Tories will narrowly hold on to Wyre Forest, Bromsgrove, and the new Solihull East, and Solihull West and Shirley, seats.
Lichfield, home to MP Michael Fabricant, will also stay blue. Cannock Chase and North Warwickshire and Bedford will be Labour gains. In Shropshire, Telford (Lucy Allan) and Shrewsbury (Daniel Kawczynski) would go red under the YouGov polling. The Worcestershire capital of Worcester would also go Labour.