The county of Durham has returned 7 MPs to the UK Parliament since 1983. Under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, the boundaries of the historic/administrative county were significantly altered with the north-east of the county, comprising more than half the electorate, being transferred to the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. In addition, the borough of Hartlepool was included in the new county of Cleveland. These changes were reflected in the following redistribution of parliamentary seats which did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, resulting in a reduction in the county's representation from 16 to 7 MPs.
The table below shows the number of MPs representing Durham at each major redistribution of seats affecting the county.
Year | County seats1 | Borough seats1 | Total |
Historic County | |||
Prior to 1832 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
1832-1868 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
1868-1885 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
1885-1918 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
1918-1950 | 11 | 7 | 18 |
1950-1955 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
1955-1974 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
1974 | 7 | 9 | 16 |
Current County | |||
1974-19832 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
1983–present | 6 | 1 | 7 |
1Prior to 1950, seats were classified as County Divisions or Parliamentary Boroughs. Since 1950, they have been classified as County or Borough Constituencies.
2Approximate equivalent number of constituencies. Prior to the redistribution coming into effect for the 1983 general election, two constituencies were split between Durham and Tyne and Wear, one was split between Durham and Cleveland and four were wholly within the reconfigured county.
County seat Borough seat
Constituency | Prior to 1832 | 1832-1868 | 1868-1885 | 1885-1918 | 1918-1950 | 1950-1974 | 1974-1983 | 1983–present |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Durham (County) | 1675-1832 (2 MPs) | |||||||
North Durham | 1832-1885 (2 MPs) | |||||||
Blaydon | 1918---> | Part of Tyne and Wear from 1974 | ||||||
Gateshead | 1832-1868 | |||||||
Gateshead West | 1950---> | |||||||
Gateshead East | 1950---> | |||||||
Jarrow | 1885-1955 | 1955---> | ||||||
South Shields | 1832---> | |||||||
Sunderland | 1832-1950 (2 MPs) | |||||||
Sunderland North | 1950---> | |||||||
Sunderland South | 1950---> | |||||||
Houghton-le-Spring | 1885---> | |||||||
Chester-le-Street | 1885-1983 | |||||||
North Durham | 1983–present | |||||||
Consett | 1918-1983 | |||||||
Mid Durham | 1885-1918 | |||||||
Durham (City) | 1678-1885 (2 MPs) | 1885–1918 | 1918–present | |||||
North West Durham | 1885-1918 | 1950–present | ||||||
Spennymoor | 1918-1950 | |||||||
South Durham | 1832-1885 (2 MPs) | |||||||
Barnard Castle | 1885-1950 | |||||||
Bishop Auckland | 1885–present | |||||||
South East Durham | 1885-1918 | |||||||
Seaham | 1918-1950 | |||||||
Easington | 1950–present | |||||||
Sedgefield | 1918-1974 | 1983–present | ||||||
Darlington | 1868–present | |||||||
Stockton-on-Tees 1 | 1868---> | Part of Cleveland from 1974 | ||||||
The Hartlepools 2 | 1868---> | |||||||
Constituency | Prior to 1832 | 1832-1868 | 1868-1885 | 1885-1918 | 1918-1950 | 1950-1974 | 1974-1983 | 1983–present |
1Part of the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1966 to 1974 (Teeside, Stockton)
2Renamed Hartlepool in 1974
As a county palatine, Durham had been unrepresented in the House of Commons until 1673, when the County of Durham and the Parliamentary Borough of Durham, both electing 2 MPs, were enfranchised by Act of Parliament. [1]
The Great Reform Act of 1832 radically changed the representation of the House of Commons, with the County being divided into the Northern and Southern Divisions, both returning 2 MPs. In addition, Sunderland (2 MPs), Gateshead and South Shields were created as Parliamentary Boroughs. [2]
Under the Reform Act of 1867, three additional single-member Boroughs were created, namely Darlington, The Hartlepools (Hartlepool and West Hartlepool) and Stockton-on-Tees (which also included the township of Thornaby in the North Riding of Yorkshire). [3]
Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the two 2-member county divisions were replaced by eight single-member divisions, namely Chester-le-Street, Jarrow, Houghton-le-Spring, North-Western, Mid, South-Eastern, Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. [4] The representation of the Borough of Durham was reduced to 1 MP. [5]
Under the Representation of the People Act 1918, the number of constituencies in Durham was increased further, from 16 to 18, which resulted in significant boundary changes. [6]
The Parliamentary Borough of Durham was abolished and was absorbed into a new County seat which also included northern areas of the abolished constituency of Mid Durham (excluding Witton Gilbert which was transferred to Chester-le-Street). The town of Hetton-le-Hole was transferred from Houghton-le-Spring.
The North Western and South Eastern Divisions were both abolished and five new county seats were established:
Other changes included:
As a result of the redistribution enacted by the Representation of the People Act 1948, Durham’s representation remained at 18 MPs. [7]
The County Boroughs of Darlington, Gateshead, South Shields, Sunderland and West Hartlepool had all expanded since 1918 and the parliamentary boundaries were adjusted accordingly. Gateshead was split into Gateshead East and Gateshead West and the 2-member borough of Sunderland was split into Sunderland North and Sunderland South.
Three county constituencies were abolished being replaced by two new ones:
Other changes included:
Under the First Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the urban district of Felling was transferred from Jarrow to Gateshead East and two Gateshead borough wards were transferred from Gateshead East to Gateshead West. Jarrow was redesignated as a borough constituency. [8]
The Second Periodic Review, which came into effect for the February 1974 election, resulted in the number of MPs representing Durham falling from 18 to 16. [9]
The borough of Stockton-on-Tees had been absorbed into the County Borough of Teesside in 1966 and was now part of the North Riding of Yorkshire. [10]
The constituency of Sedgefield was abolished and its contents distributed as follows:
Other changes included:
Shortly after the Second Periodic Review came into effect, the county was subject to a major reconfiguration under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972. As a result, with effect from 1 April 1974, the constituencies of Blaydon, Gateshead West, Gateshead East, Jarrow, South Shields, Sunderland North, Sunderland South, most of Houghton-le-Spring and part of Chester-le-Street were now included in the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. In addition, Hartlepool and part of Easington were now included in the new non-metropolitan county of Cleveland.
The next change to parliamentary constituency boundaries, following the recommendations of the Third Periodic Review, reflected the change in county boundaries and reorganisation of local government authorities in 1974. [11] This review did not come into effect for a further nine years, at the 1983 general election, and resulted in the following changes:
There were a limited number of changes under the Fourth Review:
At the Fifth Review there were only minor changes due to the revision of local authority ward boundaries. [13] [14]
The table below shows which constituencies represented major communities within the current county (including Darlington) from 1885 onwards.
Town | 1885-1918 | 1918-1950 | 1950-1974 | 1974-1983 | 1983-2010 | 1997-present |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annfield Plain | North West Durham | Consett | North Durham | |||
Barnard Castle | Barnard Castle | Bishop Auckland | ||||
Bishop Auckland | Bishop Auckland | |||||
Brandon | Mid Durham | Spennymoor | North West Durham | City of Durham | ||
Chester-le-Street | Chester-le-Street | North Durham | ||||
Consett | North West Durham | Consett | North West Durham | |||
Crook | Barnard Castle | Spennymoor | North West Durham | |||
Darlington | Darlington | |||||
Durham | City of Durham | |||||
Easington | South East Durham | Seaham | Easington | |||
Ferryhill | Mid Durham | Sedgefield | City of Durham | Sedgefield | ||
Lanchester | North West Durham | Barnard Castle | North West Durham | |||
Murton | Houghton-le-Spring | Seaham | Easington | Houghton-le-Spring | Easington | |
Newton Aycliffe | South East Durham | Sedgefield | Bishop Auckland | Sedgefield | ||
Peterlee | South East Durham | Seaham | Easington | |||
Seaham | Houghton-le-Spring | Seaham | Houghton-le-Spring | Easington | ||
Sedgefield | South East Durham | Sedgefield | City of Durham | Sedgefield | ||
Shildon | Bishop Auckland | |||||
Spennymoor | Bishop Auckland | Spennymoor | City of Durham | North West Durham | Sedgefield | Bishop Auckland |
Stanley | North West Durham | Consett | North Durham | |||
Willington | Mid Durham | Spennymoor | North West Durham | |||
Town | 1885-1918 | 1918-1950 | 1950-1974 | 1974-1983 | 1983-1997 | 1997-present |
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England. The ceremonial county spawned from the historic County Palatine of Durham in 1853. In 1996, the county gained part of the abolished ceremonial county of Cleveland. The county town is the city of Durham. The county borders Cumbria to the west, North Yorkshire to the south, and Tyne and Wear & Northumberland to the north. Boundaries initially aligned to the historic county, stretching between the rivers Tyne and Tees. The County Borough of Teesside formed in 1968, the ceremonial boundaries adjusted while the historic boundaries remained. The Local Government Act 1972 in 1974 further separated the boundaries. The largest settlement is Darlington (92,363) followed by Hartlepool (88,855) and Stockton-on-Tees (82,729).
Sedgefield is a constituency in County Durham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Paul Howell of the Conservative Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Easington is a constituency created in 1950 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Grahame Morris of the Labour Party.
They had been successive district administration in the County of Durham. The ancient county was formerly structured around the Bishop of Durham with ancient wards and boroughs.
The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northumberland are also traditionally known together as Northumbria.
Houghton-le-Spring was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983. Centred on the town of Houghton-le-Spring, now part of the City of Sunderland, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Chester-le-Street was a county constituency centred on the town of Chester-le-Street in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983.
South East Durham was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election between 1885 and 1918.
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, excluding those parts which now form part of the Borough of Darlington, Borough of Hartlepool and the part of Borough of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees.
The Durham County Challenge Cup is an annual football competition held between the clubs of the Durham County Football Association which was first played in 1884. It is the senior county cup for the historic county of Durham, which includes Durham, Darlington, Gateshead, Hartlepool, South Tyneside, Stockton-on-Tees, and Sunderland. The first winners were Sunderland.
County Durham is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Durham, North East England. It covers the former non-metropolitan county and its seven districts: Durham (city), Easington, Sedgefield (borough), Teesdale, Wear Valley, Derwentside, and Chester-le-Street. It is governed by Durham County Council and has 136 civil parishes.
The ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear has returned 12 MPs to the UK Parliament since 2010. It was created under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, comprising the urban areas around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear, previously parts of the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham.
The non-metropolitan county of Cleveland was created under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, comprising the urban areas around the mouth of the River Tees, previously parts of the administrative counties of Durham and North Riding of Yorkshire. Although it was abolished in 1996, the four unitary authorities which succeeded it have been considered together for the purposes of reviewing parliamentary boundaries. The area has returned 6 MPs to the UK Parliament since 1983.
This article needs additional or more specific categories .(September 2022) |