Gateshead 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 ...

most recently 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 ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

since it was re-established in 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Ian Mearns of the Labour Party. Under 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 majority of the constituency was included in the new seat of Gateshead Central and Whickham, with the Felling, and Windy Nook and Whitehills wards being added to the new constituency of Jarrow and Gateshead East.

History

First creation

The seat was first created by the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

as a single-member parliamentary borough. It was abolished under the

Representation of the People Act 1948 The Representation of the People Act 1948 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 65) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parlia ...

for the 1950 general election and split into Gateshead East and Gateshead West.

Revival

As a result of the Boundary Commission's Fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established for the 2010 general election, combining over half of the electorates of both of the abolished constituencies of Gateshead East and Washington West, and Tyne Bridge.

Boundaries

1832–1918

Under the

Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 64) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the parliamentary divisions (constituencies) in England and Wales required by the Reform Act 1832. The boundaries we ...

, the contents of the borough were defined as the Parish of Gateshead and part of the Chapelry of Heworth in the Parish of Jarrow. ''See map on Vision of Britain website.''

1918–1950

* The County Borough of Gateshead. ''No change to boundaries.''

2010–2024

* The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead wards of Bridges,

Chowdene Chowdene is a suburb and electoral ward of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. History In 2003, plans for a mobile phone mast in the area were refused. Politics Chowdene elects three councillors to Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Metropolitan Gates ...

, Deckham, Dunston and Teams, Felling, High Fell, Lobley Hill and Bensham, Low Fell, Saltwell, and Windy Nook and Whitehills.

Constituency profile

Under the current boundaries, the constituency is overwhelmingly White, and

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

; with 95% of its electorate identifying as

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

and being in the top decile of constituencies for routine work. The area's politics are influenced by these demographics; with the exception of Low Fell, all of the wards that make up the constituency are safely Labour areas, and the constituency voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union, like the borough as a whole.

Members of Parliament

Among famous representatives are James Melville KC who was

Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General for England and Wales ...

before he died, while holding the seat, and international statesman Konni Zilliacus who assisted in creating peaceful bilateral relations during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, including though work at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

MPs 1832–1950

MPs since 2010

Elections results 2010–2019

Elections in the 2010s

Election results 1832–1950

Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

* Caused by Hutt's appointment as

Vice-President of the Board of Trade The office of Vice-president of the Board of Trade was a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade, within the Department for Business and Trade. The office of Vice-president was created in 1786 b ...

Elections in the 1870s

* Arbuthnot retired from the race the day before polling.

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

* Caused by James' succession to the peerage as Lord Northbourne.

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Conservative candidate Charles White withdrew on 15 October 1931. Barr and Fennell also withdrew, but their names remained on the ballot paper. Sir James Melville died on 1 May 1931, leading to a by-election on 8 June. The winner of the by-election, Herbert Evans, himself died on 7 October, the day parliament was dissolved for the 1931 general election.

Elections in the 1940s

Notes

References

;Specific ;General Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .

Sources

External links

Gateshead UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Authority control Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham (historic) Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024 Politics of Gateshead