Wansbeck_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Wansbeck (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards
Wansbeck is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Ian Lavery, a member of the Labour Party.[n 2]
| Wansbeck | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of Wansbeck in Northumberland | |
Location of Northumberland within England | |
| County | Northumberland |
| Electorate | 62,395 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Morpeth, Ashington, Bedlington |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1983 |
| Member of Parliament | Ian Lavery (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Morpeth and Blyth[2] |
| 1885–1950 | |
| Seats | One |
| Type of constituency | County constituency |
| Created from | South Northumberland |
| Replaced by | Blyth, Hexham, Morpeth and Tynemouth |
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be abolished once again. Morpeth will be included in the re-established constituency of North Northumberland, with the remainder of the seat forming the majority of the newly created seat of Blyth and Ashington, together with the town of Blyth from the (to be abolished) seat of Blyth Valley. The new seat will be first contested at the next general election.[3]
Wansbeck was first created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as one of four single-member Divisions of the county of Northumberland.[4] It was abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new constituency of Blyth.
The seat was re-established for the 1983 general election, largely replacing the abolished Morpeth constituency. The new version of the seat had very little in common with the version abolished in 1950; only Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and some rural areas were in both.
1885-1918
The Sessional Districts of:
- Bedlingtonshire
- Castle East (except the parish of Wallsend)
- Morpeth
- Castle West (part)
- Coquetdale East (part)[4][5]
NB included non-resident freeholders in the parliamentary borough of Morpeth
1918–1950
- The Urban Districts of Cramlington, Earsdon, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Newburn, Seaton Delaval, Seghill, and Whitley and Monkseaton
- parts of the Rural Districts of Castle Ward, and Morpeth.[6]
Gained Newburn and surrounding areas from the abolished Tyneside Division. Ashington transferred to Morpeth and a small area in north (Amble) transferred to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Abolition
The contents of the constituency were distributed as follows:
- rural areas around the borough of Morpeth, including Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, to Morpeth;
- Seaton Valley urban district (incorporating Cramlington, Seghill, Earsdon and Seaton Delaval) to Blyth;
- Whitley Bay to Tynemouth;
- rural areas to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne to Hexham; and
- Newburn to Newcastle upon Tyne West
1983-present
- the Borough of Castle Morpeth wards of Hebron, Hepscott and Mitford, Morpeth Central, Morpeth Kirkhill, Morpeth North, Morpeth South, Morpeth Stobhill and Pegswood; and
- the District of Wansbeck (comprising the wards of: Bedlington Central, Bedlington East, Bedlington West, Bothal, Central, Choppington, Guide Post, Haydon, Hurst, Newbiggin East, Newbiggin West, Park, Seaton, Sleekburn, and Stakeford).[7][8][9]
The majority of the constituency, including Morpeth, Ashington, and Newbiggin had comprised the bulk of the abolished constituency of Morpeth. Bedlington was transferred from Blyth.
2007 boundary review
In the fifth periodic boundary review of parliamentary representation in Northumberland, which came into effect for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that no changes be made to the Wansbeck constituency.[10]
In 2009, a government reorganisation resulted in the abolition of all local government boroughs and districts in Northumberland and the establishment of the county as a unitary authority. However, this has not affected the current constituency boundaries.
Named after the River Wansbeck and former district of the same name, the seat has the visitor attractions of a historic main town with a castle, Morpeth and the traditional seaside town of Newbiggin. Workless claimants as registered jobseekers, with high male unemployment, which is widespread but exacerbated in the area, in November 2012, was higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 6.2% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. This was marginally higher than the then regional average of 5.9%.[11]
1885–1950
- Political history
The seat alternated in accordance with the national trend in strong mining communities outside of South Yorkshire, which as such saw significant early Labour support, and, in the 1931 and 1935 elections, led to a general transfer of loyalty to the Conservative Party, ushering in a return to Labour support at the next contested election in 1945.
- Prominent frontbenchers
Alfred Robens represented the area in the Attlee ministry and towards the end of the year of Attlee's more marginal victory (1950–51) served as Minister of Labour and National Service. He then in 1951 won instead the newly created Blyth seat to the immediate south. In 1955 he became Shadow Foreign Secretary until an unimpressive performance in predicting and reacting to events in the Suez Crisis in 1956. However, in a position which would span the period 1961 until 1971, he became Chairman of the National Coal Board (and Lord Robens) and oversaw substantial cuts in the mining industry. During this period he co-authored the Robens Report that followed his difficult but practical risk management of the coal mining sector, including accepting some culpability in the Aberfan Disaster. This led, with the ministry of Barbara Castle's adjustments, to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which set up the Health and Safety Executive and remains the foundation of this area of English law.
1983-date
The constituency has been held solely by Labour since its recreation, during which time its history presents a safe seat. However, in 2019 - in line with the huge swing in their favour in traditional Labour seats in the North and Midlands - the Conservatives reduced the Labour majority to an unprecedentedly low three-figure total.
MPs 1885–1950
| Election | Member[12] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Charles Fenwick | Liberal | |
| 1918 | Robert Mason | Liberal | |
| 1919 | Coalition Liberal | ||
| 1922 | George Warne | Labour | |
| 1929 | George Shield | Labour | |
| 1931 | Bernard Cruddas | Conservative | |
| 1940 | Donald Scott | Conservative | |
| 1945 | Alfred Robens | Labour | |
| 1950 | Constituency abolished | ||
MPs since 1983
| Election | Member[12] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Jack Thompson | Labour | |
| 1997 | Denis Murphy | Labour | |
| 2010 | Ian Lavery | Labour | |
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ian Lavery | 17,124 | 42.3 | −15.0 | |
| Conservative | Jack Gebhard | 16,310 | 40.3 | +7.6 | |
| Brexit Party | Eden Webley | 3,141 | 7.8 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Psallidas | 2,539 | 6.3 | +1.6 | |
| Green | Steven Leyland | 1,217 | 3.0 | +1.3 | |
| CPA | Michael Flynn | 178 | 0.4 | New | |
| Majority | 814 | 2.0 | −22.6 | ||
| Turnout | 40,509 | 64.0 | −4.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −11.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ian Lavery | 24,338 | 57.3 | +7.3 | |
| Conservative | Chris Galley | 13,903 | 32.7 | +10.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Joan Tebbutt | 2,015 | 4.7 | −1.5 | |
| UKIP | Melanie Hurst | 1,483 | 3.5 | -14.7 | |
| Green | Steven Leyland | 715 | 1.7 | −2.1 | |
| Majority | 10,435 | 24.6 | −3.6 | ||
| Turnout | 42,454 | 68.4 | +4.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −1.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ian Lavery | 19,267 | 50.0 | +4.1 | |
| Conservative | Chris Galley | 8,386 | 21.8 | +4.3 | |
| UKIP | Melanie Hurst | 7,014 | 18.2 | +15.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tom Hancock | 2,407 | 6.2 | −21.3 | |
| Green | Christopher Hedley | 1,454 | 3.8 | +2.2 | |
| Majority | 10,881 | 28.2 | +9.8 | ||
| Turnout | 38,528 | 63.6 | +2.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | 0.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ian Lavery | 17,548 | 45.9 | −9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon Reed | 10,517 | 27.5 | +1.1 | |
| Conservative | Campbell Storey | 6,714 | 17.5 | +2.5 | |
| BNP | Stephen Finlay | 1,481 | 3.7 | New | |
| UKIP | Linda-Lee Stokoe | 974 | 2.5 | New | |
| Green | Nic Best | 601 | 1.6 | −1.8 | |
| Independent | Malcolm Reid | 359 | 0.9 | New | |
| Christian | Michael Flynn | 142 | 0.4 | New | |
| Majority | 7,031 | 18.4 | −10.4 | ||
| Turnout | 38,273 | 60.7 | +2.3 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −5.2 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Denis Murphy | 20,315 | 55.2 | −2.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon Reed | 9,734 | 26.4 | +3.6 | |
| Conservative | Ginny Scrope | 5,515 | 15.0 | +2.2 | |
| Green | Nic Best | 1,245 | 3.4 | +0.9 | |
| Majority | 10,581 | 28.8 | −6.2 | ||
| Turnout | 36,809 | 58.4 | −0.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Denis Murphy | 21,617 | 57.8 | −7.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alan Thompson | 8,516 | 22.8 | +6.9 | |
| Conservative | Rachael Lake | 4,774 | 12.8 | −1.1 | |
| Independent | Michael Kirkup | 1,076 | 2.9 | New | |
| Green | Nic Best | 954 | 2.5 | +0.4 | |
| UKIP | Gavin Attwell | 482 | 1.3 | New | |
| Majority | 13,101 | 35.0 | −14.6 | ||
| Turnout | 37,419 | 59.3 | −12.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −7.3 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Denis Murphy | 29,569 | 65.5 | +5.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alan Thompson | 7,202 | 15.9 | +0.6 | |
| Conservative | Paul V. Green | 6,299 | 13.9 | −9.7 | |
| Referendum | Peter H. Gompertz | 1,146 | 2.5 | New | |
| Green | Nic Best | 956 | 2.1 | +0.7 | |
| Majority | 22,367 | 49.6 | +13.5 | ||
| Turnout | 45,172 | 71.7 | −7.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jack Thompson | 30,046 | 59.7 | +2.2 | |
| Conservative | Glen Sanderson | 11,872 | 23.6 | +4.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Brian C. Priestley | 7,691 | 15.3 | −7.8 | |
| Green | Nic Best | 710 | 1.4 | New | |
| Majority | 18,174 | 36.1 | +1.7 | ||
| Turnout | 50,319 | 79.3 | +1.3 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +5.0 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jack Thompson | 28,080 | 57.5 | +10.5 | |
| Liberal | Sarah Mitchell | 11,291 | 23.1 | −7.0 | |
| Conservative | David Walton | 9,490 | 19.4 | −3.5 | |
| Majority | 16,789 | 34.4 | +17.4 | ||
| Turnout | 48,861 | 78.0 | +5.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +8.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jack Thompson | 21,732 | 47.0 | ||
| Liberal | Alan Thompson | 13,901 | 30.1 | ||
| Conservative | Charles Mitchell | 10,563 | 22.9 | ||
| Majority | 7,831 | 17.0 | |||
| Turnout | 46,196 | 72.8 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Elections in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Alfred Robens | 40,948 | 60.00 | ||
| Conservative | Donald Scott | 27,295 | 40.00 | ||
| Majority | 13,653 | 20.00 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 67,793 | 77.69 | |||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Donald Scott | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1930s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bernard Cruddas | 30,859 | 50.79 | ||
| Labour | Edward Dowling | 29,904 | 49.21 | ||
| Majority | 955 | 1.58 | |||
| Turnout | 60,763 | 79.59 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bernard Cruddas | 33,659 | 58.25 | ||
| Labour | George Shield | 24,126 | 41.75 | ||
| Majority | 9,533 | 16.50 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 57,785 | 81.86 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1920s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Shield | 27,930 | 54.5 | +1.6 | |
| Unionist | Bernard Cruddas | 17,056 | 33.2 | −13.9 | |
| Liberal | Frederick Waudby | 6,330 | 12.3 | New | |
| Majority | 10,874 | 21.2 | +15.4 | ||
| Turnout | 34,260 | 76.1 | −3.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 67,390 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Shield | 20,398 | 58.0 | +5.1 | |
| Unionist | Ian Moffat-Pender | 9,612 | 27.3 | −19.8 | |
| Liberal | Harry Briggs | 5,183 | 14.7 | New | |
| Majority | 10,786 | 30.7 | +24.9 | ||
| Turnout | 35,193 | 65.3 | −14.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 53,886 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +12.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Warne | 21,159 | 52.9 | −3.9 | |
| Unionist | M.K. Middleton | 18,875 | 47.1 | +3.9 | |
| Majority | 2,284 | 5.8 | −7.8 | ||
| Turnout | 40,034 | 79.4 | +11.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 50,446 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Warne | 18,583 | 56.8 | +11.6 | |
| Unionist | Hilton Philipson | 14,131 | 43.2 | +11.8 | |
| Majority | 4,452 | 13.6 | −0.2 | ||
| Turnout | 32,714 | 68.4 | −8.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 47,828 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −0.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | George Warne | 16,032 | 45.2 | +2.1 | |
| Unionist | R. White | 11,149 | 31.4 | New | |
| National Liberal | John Neal | 5,192 | 14.6 | New | |
| Liberal | Matthew Davey | 3,134 | 8.8 | −48.1 | |
| Majority | 4,883 | 13.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 35,507 | 76.6 | +18.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 46,354 | ||||
| Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +25.1 | |||
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 5,858 | 68.4 | ||
| Conservative | John Blencowe Cookson | 2,703 | 31.6 | ||
| Majority | 3,155 | 36.8 | |||
| Turnout | 8,561 | 82.4 | |||
| Registered electors | 10,392 | ||||
| Lib-Lab win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 5,235 | 75.4 | +7.0 | |
| Liberal Unionist | William Wight | 1,710 | 24.6 | −7.0 | |
| Majority | 3,525 | 50.8 | +14.0 | ||
| Turnout | 6,945 | 66.8 | −15.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,392 | ||||
| Lib-Lab hold | Swing | +7.0 | |||
Elections in the 1890s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 5,696 | 66.1 | −9.3 | |
| Conservative | Seymour McCalmont Hill | 2,920 | 33.9 | +9.3 | |
| Majority | 2,776 | 32.2 | −18.6 | ||
| Turnout | 8,616 | 76.2 | +9.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 11,304 | ||||
| Lib-Lab hold | Swing | −9.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 5,629 | 69.9 | +3.8 | |
| Conservative | Joseph John Harris | 2,422 | 30.1 | −3.8 | |
| Majority | 3,207 | 39.8 | +7.6 | ||
| Turnout | 8,051 | 65.8 | −10.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 12,234 | ||||
| Lib-Lab hold | Swing | +3.8 | |||
Elections in the 1900s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 5,474 | 56.1 | −13.8 | |
| Conservative | J Stanley Appleby | 4,283 | 43.9 | +13.8 | |
| Majority | 1,191 | 12.2 | −27.6 | ||
| Turnout | 9,757 | 68.8 | +3.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 14,179 | ||||
| Lib-Lab hold | Swing | −13.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 10,386 | 76.4 | +20.3 | |
| Conservative | Walter Riddell | 3,210 | 23.6 | −20.3 | |
| Majority | 7,176 | 52.8 | +40.6 | ||
| Turnout | 13,596 | 77.6 | +8.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 17,529 | ||||
| Lib-Lab hold | Swing | +20.3 | |||
Elections in the 1910s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | 10,872 | 70.0 | −6.4 | |
| Conservative | Charles Percy | 4,650 | 30.0 | +6.4 | |
| Majority | 6,222 | 40.0 | −12.8 | ||
| Turnout | 15,522 | 81.6 | +4.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 19,028 | ||||
| Lib-Lab hold | Swing | −6.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lib-Lab | Charles Fenwick | Unopposed | |||
| Lib-Lab hold | |||||
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-Labour:Charles Fenwick
- Labour: William Straker
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Robert Mason | 5,814 | 52.5 | N/A | |
| Independent Labour | Ebenezer Edwards[n 3] | 5,267 | 47.5 | New | |
| Majority | 547 | 5.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 11,081 | 51.3 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 21,602 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Liberal | Robert Mason | 14,065 | 56.9 | N/A |
| Labour | Ebby Edwards | 10,666 | 43.1 | New | |
| Majority | 3,399 | 13.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 24,731 | 57.9 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 42,750 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Lib-Lab | Swing | N/A | |||
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
- A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
- Edwards was the nominee of the Northumberland Miners' Association and was supported by the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. However, due to the War-time electoral pact, he was not endorsed by Labour's national executive
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- "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". In the county of Northumberland.
- "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". In Nortumberland.
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- The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
- Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
- Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
- Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
- Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 442. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
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