Easington (UK Parliament constituency)

Easington
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Easington in County Durham
Location of County Durham within England
County	County Durham
Electorate	65,618 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Seaham, Peterlee
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Grahame Morris (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Seaham

Easington is a constituency ^{[n 1]} created in 1950 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Grahame Morris of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The constituency comprises the majority of the district of the same name, which takes in the coastal portion of the administrative county of Durham. The principal towns are Peterlee and Seaham. A seat of former mining traditions, it is one of Labour's safest in Britain — party firebrand Manny Shinwell was MP for 20 years.

Constituents' occupations include to a significant degree agriculture and the service sector, however the area was formerly heavily economically supported by the mining of coal, iron ore and businesses in the county still extract gangue minerals in present mining, such as fluorspar for the smelting of aluminium, to the south in the county is Darlington, which has particular strengths in international transport construction, including bridges. To the north is the large city of Sunderland which has a large service sector.

Boundaries

1950–1974

• The Rural District of Easington. ^[2]

Created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election from the abolished Seaham constituency,but excluding the Urban District of Seaham Harbour, which was included in Houghton-le-Spring.

1974–1983

• The Rural District of Stockton; and
• in the Rural District of Easington the parishes of Castle Eden, Easington, Haswell, Hawthorn, Horden, Hutton Henry, Monk Hesleden, Nesbitt, Peterlee, Sheraton with Hulam, Shotton, Thornley, and Wingate. ^[3]

Gained the Rural District of Stockton from the abolished constituency of Sedgefield. Northern-most parts, including Murton, transferred to Houghton-le-Spring.

1983-2010

• The District of Easington wards of Acre Rigg, Blackhalls, Dawdon, Dene House, Deneside, Easington Colliery, Easington Village, Eden Hill, Haswell, High Colliery, Horden North, Horden South, Howletch, Murton East, Murton West, Park, Passfield, Seaham, Shotton, South, and South Hetton. ^{[4] [5]}

Seaham and Murton returned from the abolished constituency of Houghton-le-Spring. Area comprising the former Rural District of Stockton had been included in the new county of Cleveland, and its contents now distributed between Hartlepool, Stockton North and Stockton South. Southern parts of the District of Easington included in the re-established constituency of Sedgefield.

2010–present

Map of current boundaries

• The District of Easington wards of Acre Rigg, Blackhalls, Dawdon, Dene House, Deneside, Easington Colliery, Easington Village and South Hetton, Eden Hill, Haswell and Shotton, Horden North, Horden South, Howletch, Hutton Henry, Murton East, Murton West, Passfield, Seaham Harbour, and Seaham North. ^[6]

Following their review of parliamentary representation in County Durham for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England made only minor changes to the boundaries of Easington (on the southern part of the boundary with Sedgefield).

In the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, the local authority districts in Durham were abolished and replaced with a single unitary authority; however, this has not affected the boundaries of the constituency.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following electoral divisions of the County of Durham (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

Blackhalls; Dawdon; Deneside; Easington; Horden; Murton; Passfield; Peterlee East; Peterlee West; Seaham; Shotton and South Hetton; Trimdon and Thornley (polling districts DKC, EEA, SNA, SNB and SNC); Wingate. ^[7]

The constituency will be expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range, by adding the communities of Thornley and Wingate from the (to be abolished) constituency of Sedgefield.

Political history

Results of the winning party

The area has been held by the Labour Party since the 1922 election (including predecessor seat), when the seat was held by the party leader and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Labour's majority in the seat has never fallen below 19% (the result in the party's 2019 landslide defeat) in its history, and has only been below 40% three times (in 1979, 1983 and 2019). Labour won a majority of votes in every election from the seat's creation in 1950 until 2019, when their vote share fell below 50% for the first time. The 2015 result made the seat the 27th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. ^[8]

Results of other parties

The 2015 general election saw an above-average swing to UKIP of 18.7%; the national average was 9.5% . Prior to 2019, the Conservative Party had last come second in the seat in 2001. Labour's candidate won more than three times that of UKIP in 2015, scoring 61%, although the latter polled the strongest second-place in the seat since 1983. 2017 saw the UKIP vote collapse and the Conservative vote rise, although a slight rise in the Labour vote ensured the majority remained above 40%.

Turnout

Turnout has ranged from 87.7% in 1950 to 52.1% in 2005. It has been somewhat inconsistent with national averages, falling in 1992 and 2005 when national turnout increased.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [9]	Party
	1950	Manny Shinwell	Labour
	1970	Jack Dormand	Labour
	1987	John Cummings	Labour
	2010	Grahame Morris	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Stephen Ashfield [10]
	Reform UK	Lynn Murphy [11]

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Easington ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	15,723	45.5	-18.2
	Conservative	Clare Ambrosino	9,142	26.4	+3.7
	Brexit Party	Julie Maughan	6,744	19.5	New
	Liberal Democrats	Dominic Haney	1,526	4.4	+3.1
	North East	Susan McDonnell	1,448	4.2	-2.4
Majority			6,581	19.1	-21.9
Turnout			34,583	56.5	-1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.9

General election 2017: Easington ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	23,152	63.7	+2.7
	Conservative	Barney Campbell	8,260	22.7	+9.8
	North East	Susan McDonnell	2,355	6.6	+4.1
	UKIP	Allyn Roberts	1,727	4.7	-14.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Hancock	460	1.3	-1.1
	Green	Martie Warin	410	1.1	-1.0
Majority			14,892	41.0	-1.3
Turnout			36,364	58.4	+2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.6

General election 2015: Easington ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	21,132	61.0	+2.1
	UKIP	Jonathan Arnott	6,491	18.7	+14.0
	Conservative	Chris Hampsheir	4,478	12.9	-0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Armstrong	834	2.4	-13.6
	North East	Susan McDonnell [15]	810	2.3	New
	Green	Martie Warin	733	2.1	New
	Socialist (GB)	Steve Colborn [16]	146	0.4	New
Majority			14,641	42.3	-0.6
Turnout			34,624	56.1	+1.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.0

General election 2010: Easington ^{[17] [18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	20,579	58.9	−12.4
	Liberal Democrats	Tara Saville	5,597	16.0	+3.1
	Conservative	Richard Harrison	4,790	13.7	+3.0
	BNP	Cheryl Dunn	2,317	6.6	+3.4
	UKIP	Martyn Aiken	1,631	4.7	New
Majority			14,982	42.9	-15.6
Turnout			34,914	54.7	+2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Easington ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	22,733	71.4	−5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Ord	4,097	12.9	+2.6
	Conservative	Lucille Nicholson	3,400	10.7	+0.4
	BNP	Ian McDonald	1,042	3.3	New
	Socialist Labour	Dave Robinson	583	1.8	−0.7
Majority			18,636	58.5	-8.0
Turnout			31,855	52.1	−1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.0

General election 2001: Easington ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	25,360	76.8	−3.4
	Conservative	Philip F. Lovel	3,411	10.3	+1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher J. Ord	3,408	10.3	+3.1
	Socialist Labour	Dave Robinson	831	2.5	New
Majority			21,949	66.5	-5.1
Turnout			33,010	53.6	−13.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Easington ^{[22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	33,600	80.2	+7.5
	Conservative	Jason D. Hollands	3,588	8.6	−8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Jim P. Heppell	3,025	7.2	−3.4
	Referendum	Richard B. Pulfrey	1,179	2.8	New
	Socialist (GB)	Steve P. Colborn	503	1.2	New
Majority			30,012	71.6	+15.6
Turnout			41,895	67.0	-5.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.8

General election 1992: Easington ^{[24] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	34,269	72.7	+4.6
	Conservative	William Perry	7,879	16.7	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Freitag	5,001	10.6	−5.0
Majority			26,390	56.0	+4.2
Turnout			47,149	72.5	−0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.1

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Easington ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	32,396	68.1	+8.7
	Conservative	William Perry	7,757	16.3	-0.2
	Liberal	George Howard	7,447	15.6	-9.5
Majority			24,639	51.8	+18.5
Turnout			47,600	73.4	+5.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1983: Easington ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	25,912	59.4	-1.2
	Liberal	Frank E. Patterson	11,120	25.1	+10.7
	Conservative	Colin J. Coulson-Thomas	7,342	16.5	-8.2
Majority			14,792	33.3	-2.6
Turnout			44,374	67.5	-6.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	29,537	60.60
	Conservative	J.S. Smailes	11,981	24.70
	Liberal	V. Morley	6,979	14.39
Majority			17,556	35.90
Turnout			48,497	74.33
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	28,984	65.82
	Conservative	J.S. Smailes	8,047	18.27
	Liberal	N.J. Scaggs	7,005	15.91	New
Majority			20,937	47.55
Turnout			44,036	69.01
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	33,637	71.96
	Conservative	J.S. Smailes	13,107	28.04
Majority			20,530	43.92
Turnout			46,744	73.95
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	33,418	79.80
	Conservative	Michael Spicer	8,457	20.20
Majority			24,961	59.60
Turnout			41,875	69.28
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	32,097	81.37
	Conservative	Michael Spicer	7,350	18.63
Majority			24,747	62.74
Turnout			39,447	70.54
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	34,028	80.45
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	8,270	19.55
Majority			25,758	60.90
Turnout			42,298	75.22
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	36,552	79.79
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	9,259	20.21
Majority			27,293	59.58
Turnout			45,811	80.81
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	34,352	79.07
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	9,095	20.93
Majority			25,257	58.14
Turnout			43,447	79.36
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	37,899	80.77
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	9,025	19.23
Majority			28,874	61.54
Turnout			46,924	86.74
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Easington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	38,367	81.05
	Conservative	C.A. Macfarlane	8,972	18.95
Majority			29,395	62.10
Turnout			47,339	87.69
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in County Durham
• History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Durham

Notes

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.

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. Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 58. ISBN   0-900178-09-4. OCLC   539011.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970" (PDF). p. 43.
4. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF). p. 23.
5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". In the County of Durham.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". In Durham and Darlington.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 4 North East region.
8. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
10. "Our candidates for the 2024 General Election". County Durham Green Party. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
11. "Easington Constituency". Reform UK . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
12. "Easington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
13. "Easington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "New political party the North East Party launches its first ever manifesto". Chronicle Live. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
16. "General Election - Campaign News | the Socialist Party of Great Britain". Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
17. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
18. http://www.durham.gov.uk/PDFApproved/ParliamentaryElection2010_SoPN_EAS.pdf%5B%5D
19. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Easington". BBC News.
20. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Easington: Constituency - Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
24. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
26. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

54°47′24″N1°21′07″W / 54.790°N 1.352°W / 54.790; -1.352