Labour's Paulette Hamilton elected new MP for Erdington in by-election
She becomes Birmingham's first ever Black MP
Last updated 4th Mar 2022
Paulette Hamilton has been elected the new member of parliament for Erdington.
The by-election had been called following the death of Labour's Jack Dromey who had held the seat since 2010. The 73-year-old died suddenly on January 7th.
Hamilton was elected with a majority of 3266 votes taking 55% of the vote with Conservative candidate Robert Alden taking second place with 36%.
In the 2019 election Labour and Jack Dromey held the seat with a majority of 3601, just over 50% of the vote. Just over 35,000 people voted in Erdington in that election compared to just over 17,000 for this by-election.
Erdington has been a safe seat for decades with the party successful in every election there since the seat was recreated in 1974.
However, the Conservatives did come close during Margaret Thatcher's election wins in 1979 and 1983 with Labour majorities brought down to just three figures.
The Erdington seat also voted Leave by the biggest margin of Birmingham's 10 constituencies during the EU referendum in 2016.