[2] Wolverhampton South West was represented by the Conservative Party for 47 years after its formation, with Labour winning it for the first time in its 1997 landslide victory.

This, in the 21st century, repeatedly marginal seat contains a mix of different areas; St Peter's, Graiseley and Park are relatively deprived inner city wards, with significant ethnic minority populations, mainly of Asian origin and are Labour voting-areas.

Penn and Merry Hill are more mixed and suburban with mostly Conservative voters in times of economic prosperity.

1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Wolverhampton wards as named above 2010–2024: The City of Wolverhampton wards as named above The unit is heavily associated with the controversial Conservative politician Enoch Powell who was MP for the seat from 1950 until 1974, when he departed to the Ulster Unionist Party.

It was during this time that he served in Edward Heath's shadow cabinet, from which he was dismissed in 1968 after his controversial Rivers of Blood speech in which he predicted severe civil unrest if mass immigration from the Commonwealth continued.

This speech was reportedly the result of Powell's meeting with a woman in the constituency who was the last white person living in her street.