MPs in the West Midlands have been a strange mix of rising stars, former frontbenchers, and those who look destined to stay in frontline political life.

Clare Short resigned as international development secretary in protest against the war in Iraq.  Geoffrey Robinson was forced to resign from the frontbench after it was revealed that he had given a loan to fellow minister Peter Mandelson to buy a house in West London – he was paymaster general for the first year of Labour’s first term. Former health minister Gisela Stuart and former solicitor general Ross Cranston both left frontbench politics in considerably quieter fashion.

There are also those  who left ministerial positions quickly, only to make a rapid return. Estelle Morris rose quickly through the ranks during Labour’s first term, eventually being appointed education secretary to replace David Blunkett. But she resigned after just a year, admitting that she had been “second best” in the role. “If I’m really honest with myself I have not enjoyed it as much and I just do not think I’m as good as I was at my other job,” she said at the time. But after just eight months on the backbenches, she was back as arts minister. She is bowing out of the Commons.

Another is Mike O’Brien. As a junior Home Office minister, he recalled having a conversation with Peter Mandelson about the applications for a British passport from the Hinduja brothers. Mandelson was later cleared of any wrongdoing, but not before he resigned as Northern Ireland secretary. O’Brien followed him to the backbenches shortly afterwards, but after a year he was back as Foreign Office minister. He has continued to rise through the ranks, now serving as foreign trade minister at the Department of Trade and Industry.

Then there are the quieter frontbenchers from the West Midlands. John Spellar has represented Warley since 1992, and served as a minister in the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions under then-secretary of state Stephen Byers, before reaching the Northern Ireland Office in 2003, where he is joined by Ian Pearson, who has represented Dudley constituencies since 1994.

Bob Ainsworth has been on the frontbench since he was appointed opposition whip in 1995. After a two-year spell in the Home Office, he is now deputy chief whip. But this record is broken by Richard Caborn, who was first promoted in 1988, to opposition trade spokesman, and has continued on the frontbenches ever since. He is now minister for sport. But let’s not forget the rising stars, who include Rob Marris and Tom Watson.

The region has been dominated in Parliament by the Labour Party, but that is not to say there has not been a significant minority of Conservative politicians. From 2001, these have included shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman in Meriden, home affairs spokesman Andrew Mitchell in Sutton Coldfield, and shadow trade minister Michael Fabricant.

But of all the opposition MPs in Birmingham and the West Midlands in the last Parliament, perhaps the most interesting is Dr Richard Taylor in Wyre Forest, the only independent MP in the Commons after the last general election.

Standing for Parliament against the closure of Kidderminster Hospital in the constituency, he overturned a Labour majority of nearly 7,000 to be elected with a majority of over 17,000. He plans to stand again this time around, and while Labour and the Conservatives are fielding candidates against him, the Liberal Democrats have yet to make up their minds. It appears possible that they may choose to repeat their performance in 2001 and not stand in the constituency.

The Liberal Democrats as yet have no MPs representing Birmingham and the West Midlands, but it’s not for the want of trying. Last year, the resignation of Birmingham Hodge Hill MP Terry Davis prompted a by-election.

While Liberal Democrat candidate Nicola Davies didn’t win the seat for the party, there was a swing of more than a quarter from Labour, slashing the majority from more than 11,000 to just 460, and pushing the Conservatives into third place. While there may be no ‘yellow’ constituencies in Birmingham and the West Midlands yet, the situation could change dramatically when voters next go to the polls.