Gateshead East and Washington West was a

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 ...

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

Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 suprema ...

from 1997 to 2010. It elected one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

electoral system.

History

The constituency was created for the 1997 general election, primarily from the abolished Gateshead East seat, with the addition of two Washington wards from Houghton and Washington. It was abolished for the 2010 general election when the Boundary Commission reduced the number of seats in

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

from 13 to 12, with the constituencies in the City of Sunderland, in particular, being reorganised. The majority of the seat was included in the re-established constituency 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 ...

, while the two Washington wards were included in the new seat of

Washington and Sunderland West Washington and Sunderland West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Sharon Hodgson, a member of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The town of Washington has a well-preserv ...

and the Pelaw and Heworth ward was transferred to

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 ...

Boundaries

1997-2010 * The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead wards of Chowdene, Felling, High Fell, Leam, Low Fell, and Pelaw and Heworth; and * the City of Sunderland wards of Washington South and Washington West.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections of the 2000s

Elections of the 1990s

Notes and references

Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Politics of Gateshead {{UK-constituency-stub