Washington and Sunderland West (UK Parliament constituency)

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Washington and Sunderland West
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
WashingtonSunderlandWest2007Constituency.svg
Boundary of Washington and Sunderland West in Tyne and Wearfor the 2010 general election
EnglandTyneWear.svg
Location of Tyne and Wear within England
County Tyne and Wear
Electorate 70,177 (December 2010)
20102024
Created from Houghton and Washington East, Gateshead East and Washington West, Sunderland North, Sunderland South
Replaced by Washington and Gateshead South

Washington and Sunderland West was a constituency [n 1] in Tyne and Wear represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Sharon Hodgson, a member of the Labour Party. [n 2]

Contents

Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to moderate boundary changes - including losing the St Anne's ward to Houghton and Sunderland South, and gaining the Borough of Gateshead wards of Birtley and Lamesley from the (abolished) constituency of Blaydon - it was reformed as Washington and Gateshead South . [1]

Constituency profile

The town of Washington has a well-preserved historic centre with a museum dedicated to the first US president, on its outskirts, the family home of George Washington. Residents have lower levels of wealth and education than UK averages. [2]

Boundaries

Washington and Sunderland West (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of boundaries 2010–2024

The City of Sunderland wards of Castle, Redhill, St Anne's, Washington Central, Washington East, Washington North, Washington South, Washington West. [3]

Washington and Sunderland West was created for the 2010 general election when the Boundary Commission reduced the number of seats in Tyne and Wear from 13 to 12, with the constituencies in the City of Sunderland, in particular, being reorganised. The constituency was formed from parts of four abolished constituencies:

Political history

All of the predecessor seats were held with majorities exceeding 5,000 votes and 5% of the vote before the 2010 election. Electoral calculus, an academic website, gave a provisional ranking as the 28th-safest Labour seat in the United Kingdom, and the 11th-safest Labour seat in England based on the results of 2005. [4]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [5] Party
2010 Sharon Hodgson Labour
Selection of first MP

Following a ballot of members on 8 September 2007 Sharon Hodgson MP was selected as the Labour candidate, she represented 38% of the new seat which came from her previous seat of Gateshead East and Washington West which was abolished.

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Washington and Sunderland West [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Sharon Hodgson 15,941 42.5 −18.2
Conservative Valerie Allen12,21832.6+3.8
Brexit Party Howard Brown5,43914.5+14.5
Liberal Democrats Carlton West2,0715.5+3.1
Green Michal Chantkowski1,0052.7+1.4
UKIP Keith Jenkins8392.2−4.6
Majority 3,7239.9−22.0
Turnout 37,51356.6−3.7
Labour hold Swing −11.0
General election 2017: Washington and Sunderland West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Sharon Hodgson 24,639 60.7 +5.7
Conservative Jonathan Gullis 11,69928.8+9.9
UKIP Bryan Foster2,7616.8−12.8
Liberal Democrats Thomas Appleby9612.4−0.3
Green Michal Chantkowski5141.3−1.6
Majority 12,94031.9−3.5
Turnout 40,57460.3+5.7
Labour hold Swing −2.1
General election 2015: Washington and Sunderland West [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Sharon Hodgson 20,478 55.0 +2.5
UKIP Aileen Casey7,32119.6+16.3
Conservative Bob Dhillon7,03318.9−2.9
Green Anthony Murphy1,0912.9New
Liberal Democrats Dominic Haney9932.7−14.4
TUSC Gary Duncan3410.9New
Majority 13,15735.4+4.7
Turnout 37,25754.6+1.4
Labour hold Swing

For 2015, the British National Party announced Pauline Renwick as a candidate, [8] but she failed to stand. [9]

General election 2010: Washington and Sunderland West [10] [11] [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Sharon Hodgson* 19,615 52.5 −16.2
Conservative Ian Cuthbert8,15721.8+6.9
Liberal Democrats Peter Andras6,38217.1+0.9
BNP Ian McDonald1,9135.1New
UKIP Linda Hudson1,2673.3New
Majority 11,45830.7
Turnout 37,33453.2+6.8
Labour hold Swing −11.6
*Served as an MP for Gateshead East and Washington West in the 2005–2010 Parliament

2010 vote share changes and swing are based on notional results (a calculation of how the seat would have voted if it had existed at the previous election).

See also

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. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  2. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Washington+and+Sunderland+West
  3. "2010 post-revision map Greater London and metropolitan areas of England" (PDF).
  4. Electoral calculus by statistics modeller, Martin Baxter see Electoral Calculus
  5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)
  6. Statement of Persons nominated - Washington and Sunderland West Sunderland City Council
  7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. Seddon, Sean (8 June 2017). "Washington & Sunderland West constituency General Election results 2017". nechronicle.
  9. "Pauline Renwick - Candidate (PPC) for Washington and Sunderland West in 2015". Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  10. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Washington & Sunderland West". news.bbc.co.uk.

54°53′28″N1°29′56″W / 54.891°N 1.499°W / 54.891; -1.499