Morpeth was 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, ...

centred on the town of

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

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 England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

from 1553 to 1707, the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

from 1707 to 1800, and then 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 1800 to 1983. The

Parliamentary Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Morpeth first sent

Members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MPs) to Parliament in 1553. It elected two MPs under the bloc vote system until the 1832 general election, when the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

reduced its representation to one MP, elected under 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. The seat was redesignated as a county constituency for the 1950 general election and abolished for the 1983 general election.

Boundaries

1832-1868

The parliamentary borough, as defined by the

Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the parliamentary divisions (constituencies) in England and Wales required by the Reform Act 1832. The boundaries were largely those recommen ...

, comprised the township of Morpeth and several surrounding townships, as well as the parish of

Bedlington Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly 1 ...

1868-1918

Under the Boundary Act 1868, the borough was expanded to include the townships of

Cowpen Cowpen is an area of Blyth, Northumberland, Blyth and former civil parish, now in the parish of Blyth in the county of Northumberland, England. It is just east of the A189 road. The Ward population taken at the united Kingdom Census 2011, ...

and Newsham, which incorporated the town of Blyth. No changes were made by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

1918–1950

* the Municipal Borough of Morpeth * the Urban Districts of

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

, Bedlingtonshire, and Blyth * part of the Rural District of Morpeth ''The boundaries were largely unchanged, except for the addition of Ashington.''

1950–1983

* the Municipal Borough of Morpeth * the Urban Districts of Ashington and

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is a quaint seaside town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located on the North Sea coast. The town owes its proud heritage to having once flourished as an important trade route for shipping grain from its port, ...

* the Rural District of Morpeth. ''Blyth and Bedlington formed the basis of the new constituency of Blyth. Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and the remainder (bulk) of the Rural District of Morpeth was transferred from Wansbeck, which was now abolished.''

Abolition

On abolition in 1983, 6 rural wards to the north of Morpeth were transferred to

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. The remainder of the seat formed the basis of the re-established constituency of Wansbeck.

Members of Parliament

1553–1640

1640–1832

1832–1983

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

Howard's death caused a by-election. Howard resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Leveson-Gower resigned by accepting the office of

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resignation from the British House of Commons, resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. S ...

, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Howard

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

, causing a by-election. Grey was appointed

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

, requiring a by-election. Grey was appointed

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

Grey was appointed

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Newton received support from the local branch of the

National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers The National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers (NFDDSS) was a British veterans organisation. The organisation was founded in January 1917 by various London-based veterans groups opposed to the Military Service (Review of ...

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References

*Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807

*D Brunton & D H Pennington, ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) *''Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803'' (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808

* *