Sutton Coldfield has been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1945, often with large majorities. The Liberal Democrats have regularly taken second place, but they have never yet been a serious threat and in fact lost votes to both Labour and the Conservatives last time.
At local government level the Conservatives dominate - they currently hold all nine Birmingham City Council seats in this constituency.
Sutton Coldfield is one of the most middle class areas in the UK. It has little industry and few large businesses, its economic landscape being dominated instead by small companies.
At least one touchstone Conservative issue is currently very controversial in Sutton Coldfield: grammar schools. This constituency has two, and the Labour-run city council wants to close them.
While the seat contains the largest urban park in Europe in the 2,500-acre Sutton Park, the hottest political potatoes are two major construction schemes on green belt land. That with greatest national significance is the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, which will pass through the green belt to the north of the seat.