1885–1918

• Part of the Sessional Division of Bishop Auckland.^[5]

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as one of eight new single-member divisions of the county of Durham, replacing the two 2-member seats of North Durham and South Durham. See map on Vision of Britain website.^[6]

1918–1950

• The Urban Districts of Bishop Auckland and Shildon; and
• part of the Rural District of Auckland.^[7][8]

Gained parts of Barnard Castle, offset by losses to the new constituencies of Sedgefield and Spennymoor.

1950–1955

• The Urban Districts of Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, and Shildon; and
• the Rural District of Barnard Castle.^[9]

The urban and rural districts of Barnard Castle transferred from the abolished constituency thereof.

1955–1974

As above, except the part of the Middridge ward transferred to the Rural District of Darlington by the County of Durham (Parish of Great Aycliffe) Confirmation Order 1952 (Statutory Instrument 1953/741).^[9]

1974–1983

• The Urban Districts of Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, and Shildon; and
• the Rural Districts of Barnard Castle and Darlington.^[10]

Gained the rural district of Darlington (which contained the new town of Newton Aycliffe) from the abolished constituency of Sedgefield.

1983–1997

• The District of Wear Valley wards of Bishop Auckland Town, Cockton Hill, Coundon, Coundon Grange, Escomb, Henknowle, St Helen's, West Auckland, and Woodhouse Close;
• the District of Teesdale; and
• the District of Sedgefield wards of Byerley, Middridge, Neville, Shafto, Simpasture, Sunnydale, Thickley, West, and Woodham.^[11]

Rural areas around Darlington returned to the re-established Sedgefield constituency.

1997-present

• The District of Wear Valley wards of Bishop Auckland Town, Cockton Hill, Coundon, Coundon Grange, Escomb, Henknowle, St Helen's, West Auckland, and Woodhouse Close;
• the District of Teesdale; and
• the District of Sedgefield wards of Byerley, Low Spennymoor and Tudhoe Grange, Middlestone, Spennymoor, Sunnydale, Thickley, and Tudhoe.^[12][13]

Gained Spennymoor from Sedgefield in exchange for Newton Aycliffe.

2007 Boundary review

Following a review of parliamentary representation in County Durham in 2007, the Boundary Commission for England made no changes to the Bishop Auckland constituency. In the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, the local authority districts in Durham were abolished and replaced with a single unitary authority; however, this has not affected the boundaries of the constituency.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following electoral divisions of the County of Durham (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

Barnard Castle East; Barnard Castle West; Bishop Auckland Town; Coundon; Crook; Evenwood; Shildon and Dene Valley; Tow Law; Weardale; West Auckland; Woodhouse Close.^[14]

The constituency will experience significant boundary changes with, Spennymoor and Tudhoe being transferred to the new constituency of Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, and Crook, Tow Law and Weardale being added from the (to be abolished) constituency of North West Durham.

History of modern results

From 1935 to 2017 inclusive, the seat's voters returned MPs from the Labour Party; the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton, was the MP for Bishop Auckland from 1929 to 1931, and after regaining the seat in 1935, remained an MP until 1959. The 2019 result returned a Conservative; the party's results had shown an increase from election to election from 2001 onwards, going from 20% of the vote in the previous 1997 election to a majority of votes at 53% in 2019.

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Vickerman Rutherford
• Unionist: Richard George Tyndall Bright^[44]
• Labour: Ben Spoor