Houghton and Washington East was, from 1997 until 2010, 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 (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. T ...

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 suprem ...

. 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 o ...

(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 thei ...

system of election. A seat with similar boundaries, Houghton and Washington, existed from 1983 until 1997.

History

The constituency of Houghton and Washington was created as a result of the

Boundary Commission for England The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission for ...

review of parliamentary seats for the 1983 general election following the reorganisation of local government 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 ...

which brought the metropolitan county of

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, Newcas ...

into existence. It covered the majority of the abolished

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 ...

seat (those areas now within the metropolitan borough (now City) of

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 ...

- including the communities of

Hetton-le-Hole Hetton-le-Hole is a town situated in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the historic county of Durham. A182 runs through the town, between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane (the latter borders the County Durham Distr ...

Penshaw The village of Penshaw , formerly known as ''Painshaw'' or ''Pensher'', is an area of the metropolitan district of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically, Penshaw was located in County Durham. Name and etymology The ...

Shiney Row Shiney Row is a village in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, England. One of the most notable people who was born in Shiney Row is Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet, JP (18 March 1814 – 23 December 1893) w ...

, and Herrington), together with the new town of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, which had previously been part of the abolished

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 ...

seat. This constituency was abolished by the Boundary Commission for the 1997 general election and replaced by Houghton and Washington East. The wards of Washington East and Washington South were included in the new constituency of Gateshead East and Washington West.

Ryhope Ryhope ( ) is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. With a population of approximately 14,000, measured at 10.484 in the 2011 census, Ryhope is 2.9 miles to the centre of ...

was transferred in from Sunderland South. This was, in turn, abolished for the 2010 general election when the Boundary Commission reduced the number of seats in

from 13 to 12, with the constituencies in the City of Sunderland, in particular, being reorganised. The majority of the seat was now included in the new

Houghton and Sunderland South Houghton and Sunderland South () is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its creation in 2010 by Bridget Phillipson of the Labour Party. In the 2010 and 2015 general elections, it was the first cons ...

constituency, with "Washington West" being transferred to

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 ...

. Ryhope was moved back out and included in Sunderland Central.

Boundaries

1983–1997 (Houghton and Washington)

* The Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland wards of Eppleton, Hetton, Houghton, Shiney Row, Washington East, Washington North, Washington South, and Washington West.

1997–2010 (Houghton and Washington East)

* The City of Sunderland wards of Eppleton, Hetton, Houghton, Ryhope, Shiney Row, Washington East, and Washington North.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton And Washington East (Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of the City of Sunderland Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear (historic)