North Durham 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. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since 2001 by

Kevan Jones Kevan David Jones (born 25 April 1964) is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham since 2001. He served as a defence minister under Gordon Brown, and resigned as a shadow defence minister ...

of the Labour Party.

History

A constituency formally named the Northern Division of Durham was created by the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

for the 1832 general election, when the former Durham constituency was split into the northern and southern divisions, each electing two members using the bloc vote system. This seat was abolished by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

when the two divisions were replaced by eight single-member divisions.These were

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

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 Sun ...

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It is s ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

, Mid Durham,

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 ...

and South East Durham. In addition there were seven County Durham borough constituencies. The seat was re-created as a single-seat constituency for the 1983 general election as a result of the redistribution following the changes to local authority boundaries under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The new constituency comprised those parts of the abolished

constituency retained within the reconstituted county of Durham, together with those parts of the abolished

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 ...

constituency which had comprised the urban district of Stanley.

Boundaries

1832–1885

* The Wards of Chester and Easington, with a place of election at

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. ''See map on Vision of Britain website.'' Included non-resident 40 shilling freeholders in the parliamentary boroughs 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 ...

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

1983–1997

* The District of Chester-le-Street; and * the District of Derwentside wards of Annfield Plain, Burnopfield, Catchgate, Craghead, Dipton, Havannah, South Moor, South Stanley, Stanley Hall, and Tanfield.

1997–2010

* The District of Chester-le-Street; and * the District of Derwentside wards of Annfield Plain, Catchgate, Craghead, Havannah, South Moor, South Stanley, Stanley Hall, and Tanfield. ''Burnopfield and Dipton wards were transferred to the redrawn

.''

2010–present

* The District of Chester-le-Street; and * the District of Derwentside wards of Annfield Plain, Catchgate, Craghead and South Stanley, Havannah, South Moor, Stanley Hall, and Tanfield. ''The 1997 boundaries were retained despite the official description of the constituency changing slightly in terms of the names of the local authority wards.'' The constituency spans the north of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

. It includes the whole of the former

district and the eastern part of the former

Derwentside Derwentside was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. The district took its name from the River Derwent, which made up part of the northern border of the district. Its main towns were Consett and Stanley, w ...

district. The main population centres (large settlements) are

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and

Sacriston Sacriston is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham, England, Durham. Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated ...

. The constituency includes the North of England Open Air Museum at Beamish.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

MPs since 1983

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1870s

* Caused by the 1874 election being declared void on petition.

Elections in the 1860s

* Caused by Vane-Tempest's death.

Elections in the 1850s

* Caused by Vane-Tempest's succession to the peerage, becoming

Earl Vane Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1830s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durham North Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983