Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency)

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Sedgefield
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Sedgefield in County Durham.
Outline map
Location of County Durham within England.
County County Durham
Electorate 67,386 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1983
Member of parliament Phil Wilson (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Durham, Durham North West, Easington and Bishop Auckland[2]
1918–1974
Number of members One
Type of constituency County constituency
Replaced by Bishop Auckland,
Durham,
Easington
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency North East England

Sedgefield is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Phil Wilson, a member of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Labour have held Sedgefield since 1935. From 1983 to 2007, the constituency was represented by Tony Blair, who became leader of the party in 1994, and Prime Minister in 1997. Blair resigned as the MP for the constituency and as Prime Minister in 2007, triggering a by-election which returned the current MP.

Boundaries[edit]

Upon its abolishment for the February 1974 General Election, the constituency included: The urban district of Billingham, the rural districts of Darlington and Sedgefield, and the rural district of Stockton (excluding Norton, Elton, Preston-on-Tees, Dalton Piercy, Greatham and Seaton).[3]

1983-1997: The District of Sedgefield wards of Bishop Middleham, Broom, Chilton, Cornforth, Ferryhill, Fishburn, Low Spennymoor and Tudhoe Grange, Middlestone, New Trimdon and Trimdon Grange, Old Trimdon, Sedgefield, Spennymoor, and Tudhoe, the District of Easington wards of Deaf Hill, Hutton Henry, Thornley, Wheatley Hill, and Wingate, and the Borough of Darlington wards of Heighington, Hurworth, Middleton St George, Sadberge, and Whessoe.

1997-2010: The District of Sedgefield wards of Bishop Middleham, Broom, Chilton, Cornforth, Ferryhill, Fishburn, Middridge, Neville, New Trimdon and Trimdon Grange, Old Trimdon, Sedgefield, Shafto, Simpasture, West, and Woodham, the District of Easington wards of Deaf Hill, Hutton Henry, Thornley, Wheatley Hill, and Wingate, and the Borough of Darlington wards of Heighington, Hurworth, Middleton St George, Sadberge, and Whessoe.

2010-present: The Borough of Sedgefield wards of Bishop Middleham and Cornforth, Broom, Chilton, Ferryhill, Fishburn and Old Trimdon, Greenfield Middridge, Neville and Simpasture, New Trimdon and Trimdon Grange, Sedgefield, Shafto St Mary's, West, and Woodham, the District of Easington wards of Thornley and Wheatley Hill, and Wingate, and the Borough of Darlington wards of Heighington and Coniscliffe, Hurworth, Middleton St George, Sadberge, and Whessoe.

Proposed constituency changes[edit]

Under proposed constituency changes announced in September 2016, the constituency will be abolished. The proposals, if accepted, are expected to take effect in 2018. The majority of the area of the current constituency is proposed to be included in a new "East Durham" constituency, including Newton Aycliffe, Chilton, Sedgefield, Trimdon and Wheatley Hill. The major differences between the current Sedgefield constituency and the proposed East Durham are: (1) the loss of most of the south of the constituency around Darlington to an extended Darlington constituency covering the entire Borough of Darlington (2) the loss of Ferryhill in the west of the constituency to an altered Bishop Auckland constituency (3) the gain of the area around Coxhoe from the current City of Durham constituency (4) the gain of an area containing Haswell, Shotton Colliery, Castle Eden and Blackhall Colliery from the current Easington constituency (5) the gain of an area around Hart village from the current Hartlepool constituency.[4]

History[edit]

1918-1974

This constituency was first created in time for the 1918 general election, and then abolished for the February 1974 election.

1983-date

Sedgefield was recreated in 1983. Its member from 1983 until 27 June 2007 was Tony Blair, who led a successful campaign for his party to win in a landslide in 1997 and thereafter served for ten years as the Prime Minister, leading the campaigns in two subsequent elections. This was the first triple term for the Labour Party. Blair resigned as a Member of Parliament on the same day as he resigned as Prime Minister, which triggered a by-election.[5]

At the by-election on 19 July 2007, the Labour candidate Phil Wilson was elected on a reduced majority which in national terms is safe instead of marginal.

Constituency profile[edit]

Sedgefield has a long mining history (extracting coal, fluorspar and iron ore) and very strong affiliation to the Labour Party, with nearly monolithic support in parts of the constituency. The area contains a mixture of former coal country in the area around Trimdon and more industrial areas around the new town of Newton Aycliffe. The construction of a new Hitachi factory created 730 jobs in the town [6]. There are more also prosperous parts of the constituency that form the bulk of the Conservative vote - for example the ancient market town of Sedgefield itself, with a charter dating back to 1312. The outer suburbs of Darlington are also relatively wealthy, for instance Hurworth-on-Tees where unemployment stands at just 1.0% [7].

In statistics

The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of two local government districts with similar characteristics: a working population whose average income is lower than the national average and close to average reliance upon social housing.[8] At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 5.0% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 5.5%.[9]

The local authority contributing to the bulk of the seat has a middling 27.2% of its population without a car, a high 27.5% of the population without qualifications and a medium 21.5% with level 4 qualifications or above. Darlington has 28% of its population without a car, 24.8% of the population without qualifications and a medium 23.7% with level 4 qualifications or above

In terms of tenure 65.8% of County Durham homes and 64.9% of Darlington homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census.[10]

Members of Parliament[edit]

MPs 1918–present[edit]

Election Member[11] Party Notes
1918 Rowland Burdon Conservative
1922 John Herriotts Labour
1923 Leonard Ropner Conservative
1929 John Herriotts Labour
1931 Roland Jennings Conservative
1935 John Leslie Labour
1950 Joe Slater Labour
1970 David Reed Labour
Feb 1974 constituency abolished
1983 constituency recreated
1983 Rt Hon. Tony Blair Labour Leader of the Labour Party 1994–2007, Prime Minister 1997–2007
2007 by-election Phil Wilson Labour

Elections[edit]

Elections in the 2010s[edit]

General Election 2017: Sedgefield[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Phil Wilson 22,202 53.4 Increase6.2
Conservative Dehenna Davison 16,143 38.8 Increase9.3
UKIP John Grant 1,763 4.2 Decrease12.3
Liberal Democrat Stephen Psallidas 797 1.9 Decrease1.6
Green Melissa Wilson 686 1.6 Decrease1.5
Majority 6059 15.4 Decrease2.3
Turnout 41,591 65.1 Increase3.5
Labour hold Swing Decrease1.6
General Election 2015: Sedgefield[13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Phil Wilson 18,275 47.2 +2.1
Conservative Scott Wood 11,432 29.5 +6.0
UKIP John Leathley 6,426 16.6 +12.9
Liberal Democrat Stephen Glenn 1,370 3.5 −16.4
Green Greg Robinson 1,213 3.1 N/A
Majority 6,843 17.7 -3.9
Turnout 38,716 61.6 -0.5
Labour hold Swing −2.0
General Election 2010: Sedgefield[15][16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Phil Wilson 18,141 45.1 −13.9
Conservative Neil Mahapatra 9,445 23.5 +9.3
Liberal Democrat Alan Thompson 8,033 20.0 +8.2
BNP Mark Walker 2,075 5.2 −3.7
UKIP Brian Gregory 1,479 3.7 +2.1
Independent Paul Gittins 1,049 2.6 −4.1
Majority 8,696 21.6 -3.3
Turnout 40,222 62.1 −0.2
Labour hold Swing −11.6

Elections in the 2000s[edit]

Sedgefield by-election, 2007
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Phil Wilson 12,528 44.8 −14.1
Liberal Democrat Gregory Stone 5,572 19.9 +8.0
Conservative Graham Robb 4,082 14.6 +0.2
BNP Andrew Spence 2,494 8.9 N/A
Independent Paul Gittins 1,885 6.7 N/A
UKIP Gavin Horton 536 1.9 +0.3
Green Christopher Haine 348 1.2 N/A
English Democrat Stephen Gash 177 0.6 N/A
Christian Vote Tim Grainger 177 0.6 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Alan Hope 129 0.5 +0.1
Anti Crime Norman Scarth 34 0.1 N/A
Majority 6,956 24.9 −19.6
Turnout 27,962 43.05 −19.2
Labour hold Swing −11.0
General Election 2005: Sedgefield[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Rt Hon Tony Blair 24,421 58.9 −6.0
Conservative Al Lockwood 5,972 14.4 −6.5
Liberal Democrat Robert Woodthorpe Browne 4,935 11.9 +2.9
Independent Reg Keys 4,252 10.3 N/A
UKIP William Brown 646 1.6 −0.8
National Front Mark Farrell 253 0.6 N/A
Veritas Fiona Luckhurst-Matthews 218 0.5 N/A
Independent Berony Abraham 205 0.5 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Melodie Staniforth 157 0.4 N/A
Blair Must Go Party Jonathan McQueen Cockburn 103 0.2 N/A
Senior Citizens Party Terence Pattinson 97 0.2 N/A
UK Pensioners Party Cherri Gilham 82 0.2 N/A
Independent Helen John 68 0.2 −0.4
Independent John Barker 45 0.1 N/A
Independent Julian Brennan 17 0.0 N/A
Majority 18,449 44.5
Turnout 41,475 62.2 +0.2
Labour hold Swing 0.2
General Election 2001: Sedgefield[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Rt Hon Tony Blair 26,110 64.9 −6.3
Conservative Douglas Carswell 8,397 20.9 +3.1
Liberal Democrat Andrew Duffield 3,624 9.0 +2.5
UKIP Andrew Spence 974 2.4 N/A
Socialist Labour Brian Gibson 518 1.3 +0.3
Rock 'n' Roll Loony Christopher Anthony Peter Driver 375 0.9 N/A
Independent Miss Helen John 260 0.6 N/A
Majority 17,713 44.0
Turnout 40,258 62.0 −10.3
Labour hold Swing −4.7

Elections in the 1990s[edit]

General Election 1997: Sedgefield[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Tony Blair 33,526 71.2 +10.8
Conservative Elizabeth Mary Alice Pitman 8,383 17.8 −11.1
Liberal Democrat Ronald Walter Alexander Leslie Beadle 3,050 6.5 −4.1
Referendum Miriam Hall 1,683 3.6 N/A
Socialist Labour Brian Gibson 474 1.0 N/A
Majority 25,143 53.4 +21.8
Turnout 47,116 72.6 −4.5
Labour hold Swing +11.0
General Election 1992: Sedgefield[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Tony Blair 28,453 60.5 +4.5
Conservative Nicholas Mark Fletcher Jopling 13,594 28.9 +1.0
Liberal Democrat Gary Garry Huntington 4,982 10.6 −5.5
Majority 14,859 31.6 +3.4
Turnout 47,029 77.1 +0.9
Labour hold Swing +1.8

Elections in the 1980s[edit]

General Election 1987: Sedgefield[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Tony Blair 25,965 56.0 +8.4
Conservative Nigel Bligh Spencer Hawkins 12,907 27.9 −1.3
Social Democratic Ralph Irving Andrew 7,477 16.1 −6.5
Majority 13,058 28.2 +9.8
Turnout 76.2 +3.3
Labour hold Swing +4.9
General Election 1983: Sedgefield[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Tony Blair 21,401 47.6 N/A
Conservative Gavin Tobias Alexander Winterbottom Horton 13,120 29.2 N/A
Social Democratic David Louden Shand 10,183 22.6 N/A
Independent Maurice Ekegren Logan-Salton 298 0.7 N/A
Majority 8,281 18.4 N/A
Turnout 72.9 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 1970s[edit]

General Election 1970: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour David Reed 36,867 60.5 -4.2
Conservative Arthur Albert Beck 24,036 39.5 +4.1
Majority 12,831 21.1 -8.2
Turnout 72.7 -3.3
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s[edit]

General Election 1966: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Joseph Slater 34,058 64.7 +4.0
Conservative Cyril Frank Thring 18,620 35.4 -4.1
Majority 15,438 29.3 +8.0
Turnout 76.0 -3.5
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1964: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Joseph Slater 32,273 60.7 +2.2
Conservative Cyril Frank Thring 20,931 39.3 -2.2
Majority 11,342 21.3 +4.4
Turnout 79.5 -3.0
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s[edit]

General Election 1959: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Joseph Slater 30,642 58.5 -1.2
Conservative Dudley Fitz Mowbray Appleby 21,771 41.5 +1.2
Majority 8,871 16.9 -2.5
Turnout 82.5 +2.6
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1955: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Joseph Slater 27,221 59.7 -2.6
Conservative Dudley Fitz Mowbray Appleby 18,368 40.3 +2.6
Majority 8,853 19.4 -5.2
Turnout 79.9 -6.5
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1951: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Joseph Slater 28,219 62.3 -0.2
Conservative Eric H Harrison 17,095 37.7 +0.2
Majority 11,124 24.6 -0.4
Turnout 86.4 -0.6
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1950: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Joseph Slater 27,946 62.5 - 1.3
Conservative John Erskine Scott Walford 16,782 37.5 + 1.3
Majority 11,164 25.0 - 2.6
Turnout 87.0 + 9.5
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s[edit]

General Election 1945: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Robert Leslie 27,051 63.8 + 11.5
Conservative John Erskine Scott Walford 15,360 36.2 - 11.5
Majority 11,691 27.6 + 23.0
Turnout 42,411 77.5 - 3.9
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s[edit]

General Election 1935: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Robert Leslie 20,375 52.3 + 11.1
Conservative Roland Jennings 18,604 47.7 - 11.1
Majority 1,771 4.6 - 13.0
Turnout 81.4 - 3.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1931: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Roland Jennings 21,956 58.8 + 19.3
Labour John Herriotts 15,404 41.2 - 6.5
Majority 6,552 17.6 + 9.6
Turnout 84.4 + 1.4
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Elections in the 1920s[edit]

General Election 1929: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Herriotts 15,749 47.7 + 0.4
Unionist Leonard Ropner 13,043 39.5 - 13.2
Liberal William Leeson 4,236 12.8 N/A
Majority 2,706 8.2 + 2.8
Turnout 83.0 - 2.4
Labour gain from Unionist Swing
General Election 1924: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Leonard Ropner 13,968 52.7 + 2.7
Labour John Herriotts 12,552 47.3 - 2.7
Majority 1,416 5.4 + 5.4
Turnout 85.4 + 10.9
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1923: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Leonard Ropner 11,093 50.0 + 9.5
Labour John Herriotts 11,087 50.0 + 6.4
Majority 6 0.0 -3.1
Turnout 74.5 - 1.6
Unionist gain from Labour Swing +1.6
General Election 1922: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Herriotts 9,756 43.6 + 6.8
Unionist Eli Waddington 9,067 40.5 - 1.6
Liberal C. H. Brown 3,561 15.9 - 5.2
Majority 689 3.1 - 2.2
Turnout 76.1 + 12.7
Labour gain from Unionist Swing

Elections in the 1910s[edit]

Charles Starmer
General Election 1918: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Rowland Burdon 6,627 42.1 N/A
Labour John Herriotts 5,801 36.8 N/A
Liberal Charles Walter Starmer 3,333 21.1 N/A
Majority 826 5.3 N/A
Turnout 63.4 N/A
Unionist win
  • endorsed by Coalition Government

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ A borough 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.
References
  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ "'Sedgefield', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016. 
  3. ^ Statutory Instrument 1970 No. 1674 The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (Coming into force 25 November 1970)
  4. ^ "(36) Proposed East Durham seat". Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the North East (Report). Boundary Commission for England. September 2016. p. 14. 
  5. ^ Blair resigns as prime minister, BBC News, 27 June 2007
  6. ^ Newton Aycliffe's Hitachi train plant opens
  7. ^ Tees Valley Ward Statistics
  8. ^ 2001 Census
  9. ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  10. ^ 2011 census interactive maps Archived 2016-01-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
  12. ^ "Sedgefield constituency General Election 2017 - parties, candidates and the history of the seat". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2017. 
  13. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015. 
  14. ^ "Sedgefield". BBC News. Retrieved 15 May 2015. 
  15. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015. 
  16. ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Sedgefield". BBC News. 
  17. ^ "Election Data 2005". 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 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015. 
  20. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015. 
  21. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010. 
  22. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015. 
  23. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015. 


Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Derby South		 Constituency represented by the Leader of the Opposition
1994–1997		 Succeeded by
Huntingdon
Preceded by
Huntingdon		 Constituency represented by the Prime Minister
1997–2007		 Succeeded by
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
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