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Wansbeck (UK Parliament constituency)

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Wansbeck
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
2010–2024 boundary of Wansbeck in Northumberland
Outline map
Location of Northumberland within England
CountyNorthumberland
Electorate62,395 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsMorpeth, Ashington, Bedlington
1983–2024
SeatsOne
Created fromMorpeth and Blyth[2]
Replaced byBlyth and Ashington, North Northumberland
1885–1950
SeatsOne
Type of constituencyCounty constituency
Created fromSouth Northumberland
Replaced byBlyth, Hexham, Morpeth and Tynemouth

Wansbeck was a constituency[n 1] in Northumberland in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented from its 1983 re-creation until its abolition for the 2024 general election by members of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat's area was split between the two new seats of Blyth and Ashington and North Northumberland.[3]

History

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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.

Boundaries

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1885–1918

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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

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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.

First abolition

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The contents of the constituency were distributed as follows:

1983–2024

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Map
Map of 1983–2024 boundaries
  • 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

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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 did not affect the constituency boundaries.

Constituency profile

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Named after the River Wansbeck and former district of the same name, the seat had 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]

Political history

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1885–1950

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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.

1983-2024

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The constituency was held solely by Labour since its recreation, presenting 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.

Members of Parliament

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MPs 1885–1950

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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 1983-2024

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Election Member[12] Party
1983 Jack Thompson Labour
1997 Denis Murphy Labour
2010 Ian Lavery Labour
2024 Constituency abolished

Election results 1983-2024

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Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1983: Wansbeck[13]
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)
General election 1987: Wansbeck[14]
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

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1992: Wansbeck[15][16]
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
General election 1997: Wansbeck[17]
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

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2001: Wansbeck[18]
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
General election 2005: Wansbeck[19]
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

Elections in the 2010s

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General election 2010: Wansbeck[20]
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
General election 2015: Wansbeck[21]
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
General election 2017: Wansbeck[22]
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
General election 2019: Wansbeck[23]
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

Election results 1885-1950

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Elections in the 1880s

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Fenwick
General election 1885: Wansbeck [24][25][26]
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)
General election 1886: Wansbeck [24][26]
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

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General election 1892: Wansbeck [24][26]
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
General election 1895: Wansbeck [24][27][26]
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

[edit]
Fenwick
General election 1900: Wansbeck [24][27][26]
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
General election 1906: Wansbeck [24][26]
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

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General election January 1910: Wansbeck [28][26]
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
General election December 1910: Wansbeck [28][26]
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;

1918 Wansbeck by-election
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
General election 1918: Wansbeck [29]
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.

Elections in the 1920s

[edit]
General election 1922: Wansbeck
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
General election 1923: Wansbeck
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
General election 1924: Wansbeck
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
1929 Wansbeck by-election
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
General election 1929: Wansbeck
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

Elections in the 1930s

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General election 1931: Wansbeck
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
General election 1935: Wansbeck
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

Elections in the 1940s

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1940 Wansbeck by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Donald Scott Unopposed N/A N/A
Conservative hold
General election 1945: Wansbeck
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

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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

References

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  1. ^ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ^ "'Wansbeck', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885". Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports. p. 167.
  5. ^ "HMSO Boundary Commission Report 1885 Northumberland".
  6. ^ Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. p. 25. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
  7. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF). p. 63.
  8. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". In the county of Northumberland.
  9. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". In Nortumberland.
  10. ^ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
  11. ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  12. ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)
  13. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  17. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Wansbeck". BBC News. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  23. ^ "Wansbeck Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  24. ^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  25. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  27. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  28. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
  29. ^ Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 442. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.

Sources

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