Birmingham, Perry Barr
Labour hold

Though still not yet 60 years of age, Jeff Rooker, Labour's respected Perry Barr MP, has announced that he is standing down from the Commons, if not from politics, at the forthcoming election. He bequeaths a safe seat. This could not always be said of the north west Birmingham division named Perry Barr, but boundary changes have radically changed its nature. Back in the 1960s and 1970s Perry Barr changed hands several times, the Conservatives gaining it in 1964 and 1970. Then, however, it was an almost all white suburban seat on the edge of the city. In 1983 the Handsworth ward was added as the seat of that name was abolished. This was situated much closer to the city centre, and contained a high proportion of the non-white population which has come to make Birmingham so cosmopolitan. At the 1997 election further boundary changes strengthened this element as Sandwell ward arrived too, and the Perry Barr seat is now over a third non-white and has distinct inner city characteristics. It is a microcosm of the social changes that have been so influential in Birmingham as a whole.

After a long-delayed process, Labour have replaced retiring Jeff Rooker with Birmingham City Councillor Khalid Mahmood, despite allegations of ballot-rigging which the proximity of the election and the sensitivity of intra-Asian community rivalries made it impossible to challenge. Mahmood, who beat a London-based Indian aspirant, will become only the third Asian Labour MP in a seat with a high Asian population, and only the second (after Glasgow's Mohammed Sarwar) Muslim MP.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 0.00% 14.99% 0.00 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.00% 2.49% 0.00 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 0.00% 4.43% 0.00 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 0.88% 7.27% 12.09 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.13% 2.56% 4.88 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 4.41% 3.94% 111.88 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 9.55% 13.04% 73.21 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 26.31% 12.70% 207.11 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 5.43% 8.14% 66.73 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 13.20% 4.02% 328.32 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 2.22% 3.19% 69.84 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 13.29% 11.31% 117.53 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 1.06% 3.06% 34.58 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.29% 2.52% 11.37 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 23.23% 2.10% 1,106.13 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 11.49% 9.41% 122.02 £5-10K 19.97% 16.63% 120.05 £10-15K 19.10% 16.58% 115.19 £15-20K 14.71% 13.58% 108.29 £20-25K 10.45% 10.39% 100.52 £25-30K 7.21% 7.77% 92.72 £30-35K 4.94% 5.79% 85.33 £35-40K 3.40% 4.33% 78.57 £40-45K 2.37% 3.27% 72.49 £45-50K 1.67% 2.48% 67.09 £50-55K 1.19% 1.90% 62.30 £55-60K 0.86% 1.47% 58.07 £60-65K 0.63% 1.15% 54.34 £65-70K 0.46% 0.91% 51.02 £70-75K 0.35% 0.72% 48.08 £75-80K 0.26% 0.57% 45.46 £80-85K 0.20% 0.46% 43.12 £85-90K 0.15% 0.37% 41.02 £90-95K 0.12% 0.31% 39.13 £95-100K 0.09% 0.25% 37.41 £100K + 0.40% 1.34% 29.87