Blaydon is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Liz Twist Mary Elizabeth Twist (born 10 July 1956) is a British Labour Party politician. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaydon since the 2017 general election. Before her parliamentary career, she was the head of health in the Nort ...

of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

The seat has been a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

for the Labour Party since 1935. Historically the area's economy relied on coal mining from the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

until the decline of mining in the latter half of the 20th century. Today the economy is supported by engineering and service industries on

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

, and agriculture. The constituency is on the western upland outskirts of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

and its communities are separated by green buffers. It currently comprises the towns of Blaydon,

Whickham Whickham is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The village is on high ground overlooking the River Tyne and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was formerly governed under the histor ...

, Ryton, Birtley and surrounding villages in the south and west of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

Boundaries

1918–1950

* The Urban Districts of Blaydon, Ryton, Tanfield, and Whickham. ''Blaydon was created under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

for the 1918 general election when Blaydon, Ryton and Whickham were split off from the existing

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at ...

seat. Tanfield was added from the abolished constituency of

North West Durham North West Durham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 12 December 2019 by Richard Holden of the Conservative Party. Constituency profile The constituency is in the north west of County Durham ...

.''

1950–1983

* The Urban Districts of Blaydon, Ryton, and Whickham. ''Tanfield transferred to

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

.''

1983–2010

* The Borough of Gateshead wards of Birtley, Blaydon, Chopwell and Rowlands Gill, Crawcrook and Greenside, Lamesley, Ryton, Whickham North, Whickham South, and Winlaton. ''The communities of Birtley and Lamesley were transferred in from the abolished constituency of

. Lost small area in the east of the seat to the new constituency of

Tyne Bridge The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, ...

.''

2010–present

* The Borough of Gateshead wards of Birtley, Blaydon, Chopwell and Rowlands Gill, Crawcrook and Greenside, Dunston Hill and Whickham East, Lamesley, Ryton, Crookhill and Stella, Whickham North, Whickham South and Sunniside, and Winlaton and High Spen. ''Minor changes resulting from the redrawing of ward boundaries in Gateshead Borough and abolition of Tyne Bridge.''

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Blaydon, presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaydon (Uk Parliament Constituency) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear Politics of Gateshead