MP Andrew Mitchell has urged the Boundary Commission to add ‘Royal’ to the name of the parliamentary constituency.

Sutton was granted royal status in 1528, during the reign of King Henry VIII, and the fact it is a Royal Town was reiterated in Parliament by the government in an Adjournment Debate in 2014.

Now Mr. Mitchell has written to Tim Bowden, the Secretary of the Boundary Commission for England, to include the prefix moving forward.  Mr. Mitchell said:

“There is very strong feeling in Sutton Coldfield which I wish to reiterate to the Commission.  There are four Royal Towns in Britain.  One, Royal Tunbridge Wells, had the royal prefix as part of its Parliamentary constituency boundary until such time as the boundary was no longer contiguous with the boundary of that ancient Royal Town.

“The boundary of Royal Sutton Coldfield exactly matches the ancient boundary of the Royal Town.  And we are, therefore, hopeful that the same logic which previously granted the title in the case of Tunbridge Wells can apply in respect of Royal Sutton Coldfield.

“Google maps all around the world refer to the constituency as Royal Sutton Coldfield.”

The town MP confirmed he would be attending a Boundary Commission public hearing in March to reiterate his point.