Blaydon was a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

until its abolition for the 2024 general election by

Liz Twist Mary Elizabeth Twist (born 10 July 1956) is a British Labour Party politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaydon from the 2017 general election until the seat's abolition in 2024. She then stood for reelection during the ...

of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

The seat was a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

for the Labour Party from 1935 until its abolition. Historically, the area's economy relied on coal mining from the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

until the decline of mining in the latter half of the 20th century. By 2024, the economy was supported by engineering and service industries on

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

, and agriculture. It also included the Metrocentre, the second-largest shopping centre in the UK. The constituency was on the western upland outskirts of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

and with communities separated by green buffers. It comprised the towns of

Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blaydon/Winl ...

, Whickham, Ryton, Birtley and surrounding villages in the south and west of the

Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Ryton, Felling (UK), Felling, Birtley, Tyne and ...

Boundaries

1918–1950

* The Urban Districts of Blaydon, Ryton, Tanfield, and Whickham. ''Blaydon was created under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

for the 1918 general election when Blaydon, Ryton and Whickham were split off from the existing

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street () is a market town in County Durham, England. It is located around north of Durham and is close to Newcastle. The town holds markets on Saturdays. In 2021, the town had a population of 23,555. The town's history is ancient; ...

seat. Tanfield was added from the abolished constituency of North West Durham.''

1950–1983

* The Urban Districts of Blaydon, Ryton, and Whickham. ''Tanfield transferred to

Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...

.''

1983–2010

* The Borough of Gateshead wards of Birtley, Blaydon, Chopwell and Rowlands Gill, Crawcrook and Greenside, Lamesley, Ryton, Whickham North, Whickham South, and Winlaton. ''The communities of Birtley and Lamesley were transferred in from the abolished constituency of

. Lost small area in the east of the seat to the new constituency of

Tyne Bridge The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, ...

.''

2010–2024

* The Borough of Gateshead wards of Birtley, Blaydon, Chopwell and Rowlands Gill, Crawcrook and Greenside, Dunston Hill and Whickham East, Lamesley, Ryton, Crookhill and Stella, Whickham North, Whickham South and Sunniside, and Winlaton and High Spen. ''Minor changes resulting from the redrawing of ward boundaries in Gateshead Borough and abolition of Tyne Bridge.''

Abolition

Further to the completion of the

2023 review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency boundaries were approved by the Privy Council on 15 Nov ...

, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed to three new constituencies: * The three wards incorporating the town of Whickham included in an expanded

constituency named Gateshead Central and Whickham * Birtley and Lamesley combined with

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

to form Washington and Gateshead South * Remaining wards (comprising about half the electorate), including the communities of

Rowlands Gill Rowlands Gill is a village on the north bank of the River Derwent, in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The Gibside Estate is near the town. History With the coming of the Derwent Valley Railway in 1867, Rowlands ...

and Ryton, to form a cross-county constituency with

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

- named Blaydon and Consett

Members of Parliament

Election results 1918-2024

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 2010s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Blaydon, presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics
(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Authority control Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024 Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear (historic) Politics of Gateshead