Meriden and Solihull East: MP, 2024 result and local figures
The MP for Meriden and Solihull East is Saqib Bhatti (Conservative), returned on 4 July 2024. On 4 July 2024 Saqib Bhatti (Conservative) won 16,792 votes, 38.1% of the valid vote; Sarah Alan (Labour) came second with 12,208. 44,035 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 73,659, 59.8% of those registered. The majority was 4,584.
Key figures
What the figures show
Full-time employees living in Meriden and Solihull East had median pay of £46,624 a year in April 2025; for jobs based in the constituency the median was £36,966. In April 2024 the residents' figure was £39,935. The residents' figure ranks 74th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 100,784; the estimate for 2014 was 97,383. Children under 16 numbered 19,902; people aged 65 and over, 21,744.
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £348,000 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £260,000. The highest March-year median in the series was £350,000, in the year to March 2025. It ranks 190th highest of 575 constituencies. 1,049 sales were registered in the period, against 1,279 in the year to March 2025.
Meriden and Solihull East counted 41,437 households on Census day 2021; 26.1% of adults were retired and 35.6% of those in work were mostly working from home.
74.3% of residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, on the Annual Population Survey estimate (95% confidence interval ±5.8 points). 21.6% were economically inactive.
In 2024/25, 22.6% of children under 16 in Meriden and Solihull East (4,498) lived in relative low income families once housing costs are taken off, says the DWP; the UK figure is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 15.0% in 2021/22 to 17.3% in 2024/25.
Workplaces in Meriden and Solihull East accounted for 85,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 4,840 local units for March 2026.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 2,365 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 4.0%. That is up from 2,325 twelve months before.
MP
Saqib Bhatti, Conservative
- MP for Meriden and Solihull East since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 12 December 2019
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Saqib Bhatti on this site
In Parliament
The 5 most recent spoken contributions by Saqib Bhatti in Hansard, from 12 October 2026 to 20 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 245 spoken contributions by Saqib Bhatti since 4 July 2024.
I recently met pharmacists in my constituency, who expressed concern about the resilience of the supply chain, and specifically about wholesale suppliers spreading rumours, with the result that medicines are stockpiled, forcing up prices.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
No, I am going to carry on. When met with reality, the Government’s plans in this space fall far too short. The Government have made lots of noise about recruiting targets. I just noticed that the Government announced 40,000 new construction placements every single year.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I reject the framing of the question. [Laughter.] No one finds youth unemployment funny. Many business owners talk to me about what happens when a young apprentice is interviewed.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I start by paying tribute to all the excellent speakers who have shared their story with the utmost bravery. This debate is one I have attended since I was first elected, and it is the only debate I know during which the Doorkeepers, quite rightly, distribute tissues.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The hon. Gentleman is incredibly generous in giving way and is making an excellent speech. When there is a gap with therapeutic care, there are charities, such as the Lily Mae Foundation in my constituency, that fill it.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 28 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saqib Bhatti | Conservative | 16,792 | 38.1% | −24.3 |
| Sarah Alan | Labour | 12,208 | 27.7% | +6.9 |
| Malcolm Sedgley | Reform UK | 8,753 | 19.9% | |
| Sunny Virk | Liberal Democrat | 3,353 | 7.6% | −5.9 |
| Shesh Sheshabhatter | Green Party | 2,929 | 6.7% | +3.5 |
Result summary as published: Con hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Conservative 38.1% | Labour 27.7% | 4,584 | 59.8% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 62.4% | Labour 20.9% | 20,270 | 64.8% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Meriden and Solihull East lies within Solihull.
- Solihull E08000029
Who has power over Meriden and Solihull East
Every body that makes decisions for Meriden and Solihull East, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Meriden and Solihull East this page: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | mid-2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median house price | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Homes sold | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Households | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents per square kilometre | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Workers mainly working from home | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents aged 16+ who are retired | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Meriden and Solihull East?
Saqib Bhatti (Conservative), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Meriden and Solihull East?
The House of Commons Library records 16,792 votes for Saqib Bhatti of Conservative and a majority of 4,584; 59.8% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Meriden and Solihull East?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 2,365, 4.0% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Meriden and Solihull East?
£348,000: the middle price of homes sold in the year to March 2026, published by the ONS from Land Registry records.
What is the average salary in Meriden and Solihull East?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £46,624 (April 2025).
How many children in Meriden and Solihull East live in low income families?
4,498 children under 16, 22.6%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Meriden and Solihull East?
100,784 in mid-2024, the latest ONS estimate.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.