Sunderland Central 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, ...
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 ...
. It is represented by the
Labour Party MP
Julie Elliott
Julie Elliott (born 29 July 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, who was first elected Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunderland Central (UK Parliament constituency), Sunderland C ...
, who has held the seat since its creation in 2010.
Constituency profile
The Sunderland Central constituency covers both the
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
and
Sunderland Docks
Sunderland Docks is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Port of Sunderland, the docks have access to the North Sea. Sunderland City Council took over the port in 1972 and since then Deindustrialization, deindustrialisation ...
as well as coastal suburbs such as
Fulwell and
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 S ...
. Nearly all of the middle-class areas of the city are in this constituency and therefore the Conservatives tend to do better in Sunderland Central than either of its neighbours.
The City of Sunderland spans the
River Wear
The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through th ...
and is southeast of
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, with long-distance train and air links, as such it is a base for companies, particularly those requiring a large labour force, including in graphic design and production through to customer service jobs in fields such as insurance and banking. The public sector is also a source of significant employment, providing a wide range of services. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 6.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', one percentage point higher than
Houghton and Sunderland South. Similarly, the regional average stood at 5.7%.
Boundaries
The City of Sunderland wards of
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
* Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
*Barnes, London, England
**Barnes railway station
** Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes Railway Bri ...
,
Fulwell,
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
,
Millfield
Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935.
Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...
,
Pallion
Pallion is a suburb and electoral ward in North West Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for shipbuilders, but also smaller one- ...
,
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 S ...
,
St Michael's,
St Peter's and
Southwick.
Sunderland Central was created 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 constituency was formed primarily from the abolished
Sunderland North seat, together with parts of the abolished constituencies of
Sunderland South
Sunderland South was, from 1950 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
History
Sunderland S ...
(Hendon and St Michael's wards) and
Houghton and Washington East
Houghton and Washington East was, from 1997 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. A seat ...
(Ryhope ward).
The reorganisation also created the
Houghton and Sunderland South and
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 ...
constituencies.
Political history
Sunderland Central is a slightly more
marginal seat
A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...
than its predecessors with a swing of 12.8% from
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 ...
to the
Conservatives
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 in ...
required for the latter party to win the seat in 2010. This is because it brings together virtually all of the areas of historical Conservative strength, such as Fulwell and St Michaels, into one seat.
Local politics of wards in the seat
At the 2008 city council elections, held in thirds, the Conservatives carried five of Sunderland Central's nine wards, with Labour winning three and the
Liberal Democrats one. However, at the next city council elections held on the same day as the 2010 general election, the Conservatives carried only two of Sunderland Central's nine wards, with Labour winning seven and the Liberal Democrats none.
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
See also
*
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns i ...
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear
*
*
Houghton and Sunderland South
*
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 ...
References
{{Authority control
Politics of the City of Sunderland
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010
Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear
Sunderland