Sunderland South was, from 1950 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 (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

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 ...

. 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 ...

system of election.

History

Sunderland South, as can be inferred from the name, formed the southern part of the County 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 ...

. The constituency was created by the

Representation of the People Act 1948 The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parliamentary elections, including ...

for the 1950 general election when the existing two-member

seat was split in two. Parts also transferred from

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 ...

. It was abolished for the 2010 general election when most of its contents were divided between the two new constituencies of

Sunderland Central Sunderland Central is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is represented by the Labour Party MP Julie Elliott, who has held the seat since its creation in 2010. Constituency profile The Sunderland Central constit ...

(eastern areas) and Houghton and Sunderland South (western areas). St Anne's ward was transferred to the new constituency 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 ...

Boundaries

1950–1955

* The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bishopwearmouth, Hendon, Humbledon, Pallion, Park, St Michael's, Sunderland East, Thornhill, and West.

1955–1974

* The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bishopwearmouth, Hendon, Humbledon, Pallion, Park, Pennywell, St Michael's, Thorney Close, and Thornhill. ''Minor changes.''

1974–1983

* The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bishopwearmouth, Hendon, Humbledon, Pennywell, Ryhope, St Chad's, St Michael's, Silksworth, Thorney Close, and Thornhill. ''Boundaries expanded southwards in line with those of the County Borough, including the gain of

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 ...

and

Silksworth Silksworth is a suburb of the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial ...

from Houghton-le-Spring. Existing boundary with Sunderland North realigned, including the loss of Pallion ward.''

1983–1997

* The Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland wards of Grindon, Hendon, Ryhope, St Chad's, St Michael's, Silksworth, Thorney Close, and Thornholme. ''Minor changes to take account of new ward boundaries.''

1997–2010

* The City of Sunderland wards of Grindon, Hendon, St Chad's, St Michael's, Silksworth, South Hylton, Thorney Close, and Thornholme. ''South Hylton ward transferred from Sunderland North. Ryhope ward transferred to the new constituency of

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 ...

.''

Political history

Having been a

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 ...

–

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 ...

marginal Marginal may refer to: * ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001 * ''Marginal'' (manga) * '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series * Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...

in the 1950s and 1960s, Sunderland South was held by the Labour Party from 1964 until 2010. Its last MP was journalist-politician

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...

, who served between the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

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 ...

general elections, inclusive. Sunderland South was abolished as a result of the

Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern I ...

, which took effect at the 2010 election. Mullin did not seek re-election in 2010. The constituency was well known for trying to be the first seat to declare its results, doing so in the general elections of

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 ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. Daily Record; May 6, 2005; ''Sunderland Leads the Way''

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

Notes and references

{{Constituencies in North East England Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear (historic) Politics of the City of Sunderland Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Sunderland