St. Michael's, Coventry
Encyclopedia
St. Michael's is an electoral ward in Coventry
, West Midlands
, England
. Its population is 19,863 (2006 estimate). In 2001, its population was 56% white British and 23% Asian or Asian British, many of whom Bangladeshi. The ward includes many students, and 20- to 24-year-olds make up over 20% of the population.
According to the city's 2007 Index of Deprivation, St. Michael's is the second most deprived ward of the city. While the average household income in Coventry was £31,697 in 2008, it was £25,372 in St. Michael's, making it the second poorest ward. But it grew by 24.5% since 2005, which is a more rapid pace of growth than that of the Coventry average (14.5%). Similarly, the crime rate in St. Michael's was slightly over three times as high as that of Coventry as a whole in 2007, but it had fallen by 34% since 2004/'05, when it was over four times as high. The unemployment rate in the ward was 4.6% in September 2008, when that of Coventry as a whole was 3.6%, but in 2001 unemployment in St. Michael's was still twice as high as in Coventry overall (6.2% vs. 3.0%). That change may however also be due to boundary changes in 2004.
Currently, the ward contains the city centre of Coventry, including St. Michael's Cathedral
and the neighbourhoods of Charterhouse and Hillfields
. Hillfields is undergoing large-scale changes, which encompass the demolition of Coventry City's Highfield Road stadium and what the Coventry City Council describes as "the biggest single regeneration project in Coventry".
The three city councillors representing St. Michael's are Dave Nellist
(term of office: 2008–12), Jim O'Boyle (2007–11) and David Welsh (2010–14). O'Boyle and Welsh belong to the Labour Party
. Nellist, who was reelected with an increased vote in the 2008 elections, is one of only two councillors in the UK for the Socialist Party
, a Trotskyist party which succeeded the former Militant tendency
. He represented the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East as Member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, when he was narrowly defeated as independent candidate after having been suspended from the Labour Party. He was first elected as local councillor in 1998.
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Its population is 19,863 (2006 estimate). In 2001, its population was 56% white British and 23% Asian or Asian British, many of whom Bangladeshi. The ward includes many students, and 20- to 24-year-olds make up over 20% of the population.
According to the city's 2007 Index of Deprivation, St. Michael's is the second most deprived ward of the city. While the average household income in Coventry was £31,697 in 2008, it was £25,372 in St. Michael's, making it the second poorest ward. But it grew by 24.5% since 2005, which is a more rapid pace of growth than that of the Coventry average (14.5%). Similarly, the crime rate in St. Michael's was slightly over three times as high as that of Coventry as a whole in 2007, but it had fallen by 34% since 2004/'05, when it was over four times as high. The unemployment rate in the ward was 4.6% in September 2008, when that of Coventry as a whole was 3.6%, but in 2001 unemployment in St. Michael's was still twice as high as in Coventry overall (6.2% vs. 3.0%). That change may however also be due to boundary changes in 2004.
Currently, the ward contains the city centre of Coventry, including St. Michael's Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
and the neighbourhoods of Charterhouse and Hillfields
Hillfields
Hillfields is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. It is situated north of Coventry city centre, and has undergone a series of name changes throughout its history which has seen it change from a village, to a remote suburb, to a large postwar redevelopment zone.- History...
. Hillfields is undergoing large-scale changes, which encompass the demolition of Coventry City's Highfield Road stadium and what the Coventry City Council describes as "the biggest single regeneration project in Coventry".
The three city councillors representing St. Michael's are Dave Nellist
Dave Nellist
David John Nellist is a British Trotskyist activist and former Labour Member of Parliament for the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East...
(term of office: 2008–12), Jim O'Boyle (2007–11) and David Welsh (2010–14). O'Boyle and Welsh belong to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Nellist, who was reelected with an increased vote in the 2008 elections, is one of only two councillors in the UK for the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (England and Wales)
The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist party active in England and Wales.It publishes the weekly newspaper The Socialist and the monthly magazine Socialism Today...
, a Trotskyist party which succeeded the former Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
. He represented the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East as Member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, when he was narrowly defeated as independent candidate after having been suspended from the Labour Party. He was first elected as local councillor in 1998.