Darlington is the

parliamentary 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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

for the eponymous market town in

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 ...

in the North East of England. It is currently 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 ...

Peter Gibson Sir Peter Leslie Gibson (born 10 June 1934), is a former British barrister and Lord Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, and is currently a judge of the Qatar International Court. Gibson has also served, between April ...

of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, who was first elected in 2019. The constituency was created for the 1868 election; it covers the market town of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in County Durham.

Constituency profile

The constituency is tightly drawn around the Darlington urban boundary, and is slightly less wealthy and more deprived than the UK average figures.

Boundaries

1868–1885

Under the

Reform Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

, the proposed contents of the new parliamentary borough were defined as the townships of Darlington, Haughton-le-Skerne, and Cockerton. However, this was amended under the Boundary Act 1868, with the boundary defined as being coterminous with the Municipal Borough of Darlington. ''See map on Vision of Britain website.''

1885-1918

As defined in 1868 with minor amendments.

1918–1983

The County Borough of Darlington. ''The boundaries were adjusted in 1918, 1950 and 1973 to reflect changes to the boundaries of the county borough.''

1983–2010

The Borough of Darlington wards of Bank Top, Central, Cockerton East, Cockerton West, college, Eastbourne North, Eastbourne South, Harrowgate Hill, Haughton East, Haughton West, Hummersknott, Lascelles, Lingfield, Mowden, Northgate North, Northgate South, North Road, Park East, Park West, and Pierremont. ''No change to boundaries.''

2010–2015

The Borough of Darlington wards of Bank Top, Central, Cockerton East, Cockerton West, College, Eastbourne, Faverdale, Harrowgate Hill, Haughton East, Haughton North, Haughton West, Hummersknott, Lascelles, Lingfield, Mowden, Northgate, North Road, Park East, Park West, and Pierremont. ''Minor change to reflect new ward boundaries.''

2015–present

The Borough of Darlington wards of Bank Top and Lascelles, Brinkburn and Faverdale, Cockerton, College, Eastbourne, Harrowgate Hill, Haughton and Springfield, Hummersknott, Mowden, Northgate, North Road, Park East, Park West, Pierremont, Red Hall and Lingfield, Stephenson, and Whinfield. ''Following a further change to the ward boundaries of Darlington Borough in 2015, the contents of the seat are currently as above. No change to boundaries.''

Political history

The seat has been held by all three major parties in its long existence, but has been a marginal constituency between the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

parties in the years since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Labour held the seat for 27 years from

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

with their candidate

Jenny Chapman Jennifer Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington (born 25 September 1973) is a British politician and life peer attending shadow cabinet as a Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she served ...

winning the seat in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

with a 3,388 majority down from 10,404 in the previous election. In 2015, her majority over the Conservatives fell to 3,158. In the

UK General election 2019 The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote � ...

Conservative

defeated Chapman with a 3,294 majority.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

In the 2015 election, 89 ballot papers were issued omitting the UKIP candidate before the error was corrected.

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

Election results 1868–1918

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Pease's death causes a by-election.

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Ignatius Timothy Trebitsch-Lincoln circa 1915

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Unionist: Herbert Pease *Liberal: Alfred ScottDaily Gazette for Middlesbrough 24 Jun 1914 *Labour: T. Russell Williams

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlington (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in North East England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1868 Politics of Darlington Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham