Birmingham Ladywood is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham, represented in the House of Commons since 2010 by Shabana Mahmood of the Labour Party. Members of Parliament Clare Short, elected as a Labour MP from the 1983 general election onwards, resigned the Labour whip on 20 October 2006 and wished it to be known that she would continue to sit in the Commons as an independent MP. Constituency profile Birmingham Ladywood includes Birmingham City Centre along with the areas of Aston, Ladywood, Nechells and Soho. The area is one of the most multicultural in Birmingham and the whole of the United Kingdom; in the 1991 census, 55.6% of the constituency population were ethnic minorities, the highest in England at the time. In the recession of 2008–09, it was the first place in the UK where the unemployment claimant count rate exceeded 10%, breaching that level in January 2009. In July 2008, Ladywood had the highest unemployment rate in the whole of the West Midlands (by the international standardised measure, which is usually higher than the claimant count) at just over 18%, compared with neighbouring Birmingham seats Perry Barr (8.1%), Sparkbrook and Small Heath (13.9%), and Yardley (7%). For the year ending September 2014, the unemployment rate was 12.4%, although the employment rate had increased only slightly, from 46.1% to 46.6% (compared with 69.7% for the West Midlands as a whole). The average house price in Ladywood is just under £155,000; making it much lower than the national average of just over £288,000. Boundaries 2010–present: As 1997 but with redrawn boundaries. 1997–2010: The City of Birmingham wards of Aston, Ladywood, Nechells, and Soho. 1983–1997: The City of Birmingham wards of Ladywood, Sandwell, and Soho. 1974–1983: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of All Saints', Ladywood, Rotton Park, and Soho. 1955–1974: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Duddeston, Ladywood, and St Paul's. 1950–1955: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of All Saints', Ladywood, and Rotton Park. 1918–1950: The County Borough of Birmingham wards of Ladywood and Rotton Park. The constituency includes the entirety of Birmingham City Centre (Ladywood ward), as well as Aston, Nechells and Soho which (based on the indices of Multiple Deprivation) are the city wards of highest deprivation. Aston University is within the seat, as are Birmingham's two league football clubs, Aston Villa and Birmingham City. History Summary of results The constituency has undergone several