Tynemouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 55°01′59″N 1°25′05″W / 55.033°N 1.418°W / 55.033; -1.418

Tynemouth
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Tynemouth in Tyne and Wear.
Location of Tyne and Wear within England.
County	Tyne and Wear
Electorate	76,618 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	North Shields, Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, Tynemouth and Cullercoats
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Alan Campbell (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Tynemouth and North Shields
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	North East England

Tynemouth is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Alan Campbell, a member of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

The seat covers Tynemouth, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, Monkseaton, and since 2010 Shiremoor and Backworth.

Since the May 2010 general election, the seat has electoral wards:

Chirton (Chirton and part of North Shields)
Preston (Preston village and part of North Shields)
Collingwood (Part of North Shields, Preston Grange, Preston Farm, New York and Murton)
Cullercoats (All of Cullercoats)
Monkseaton North (The eastern area of Monkseaton and part of Whitley Bay)
Monkseaton South (The western part of Monkseaton and part of Whitley Bay)
St Mary’s (Northern Whitley Bay, Wellfield and Earsdon Village)
Tynemouth (All of Tynemouth Village and part of North Shields)
Valley (Shiremoor and Backworth)
Whitley Bay (Whitley Bay town centre)^[2]

History of Boundaries

Pre-2010 the constituency did not include the Shiremoor and Backworth ward of 'Valley', instead including the Percy Main ward of 'Riverside'. This effectively meant the constituency stretched only as far north as Whitley Bay and Earsdon, while extending quite far along the north bank of the Tyne, touching the edge of Wallsend. The A19 road acted as a straight inland boundary in all instances.

History

The constituency was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

Political history

The seat has historically shown the highest level of support for the Conservative Party in the Tyne and Wear area, with the Conservatives holding the seat from 1950 until 1997, though sometimes with small majorities. However, since the 1997 general election, it has been represented by a Labour MP.

Prominent frontbenchers

The present member, Alan Campbell reached the level of government below a Minister of State in 2008, as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office.

Constituency profile

A coastal seat on the northern bank of the Tyne. North Shields and the communities along the Tyne itself tend to be more industrial and working class, once dominated by coal mining and shipbuilding. The coastal towns to the north, such as Whitley Bay, tend to be more middle class dormitory towns for Newcastle commuters.

This has tended to be one of the more Conservative seats in the Tory desert that is the North East. As a relatively middle class area it returned Conservative MPs from 1950 to 1997, albeit often on narrow majorities. It has been represented by Labour since 1997, though the Conservatives remain strong at a local level.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 close to the national average of 3.8%, at 3.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian, lower than the regional average by 0.5%.^[3]

Members of Parliament

Constituency created (1885)

	Member^[4]	Party	Notes
1885	Richard Sims Donkin	Conservative
1900	Frederick Leverton Harris	Conservative	Later MP for Stepney and East Worcestershire
1906	Herbert James Craig	Liberal
1918	Charles Percy	Conservative
1922	Alexander West Russell	Conservative
1945	Grace Colman	Labour
1950	Irene Ward	Conservative	Represented Wallsend 1931-1945
Feb 1974	Neville Trotter	Conservative
1997	Alan Campbell	Labour

Elections

The Next Election

The Liberal Democrats selected North Heaton Councillor Greg Stone in 2016.

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Tynemouth^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Campbell	25,791	48.2	+2.9
	Conservative	Glenn Hall^[6]	17,551	32.8	-1.6
	UKIP	Gary Legg^[7]	6,541	12.2	+10.5
	Green	Julia Erskine^[8]	2,017	3.8	+2.8
	Liberal Democrat	John Paton-Day^[9]	1,595	3.0	-11.9
Majority			8,240	15.4	+4.5
Turnout			53,495	69	-0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.3

For the 2010 election, this was the primary target seat for the Conservatives in North East England following impressive local council victories since 2006 and the recent marginality of Alan Campbell's 2005 re-election.

General Election 2010: Tynemouth^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Campbell	23,860	45.3	−3.0
	Conservative	Wendy Morton	18,121	34.4	−2.2
	Liberal Democrat	John Appleby	7,845	14.9	−0.2
	BNP	Dorothy Brooke	1,404	2.7	+2.7
	UKIP	Natasha Payne	900	1.7	+1.7
	Green	Julia Erskine	538	1.0	+1.0
Majority			5,739	10.9	+1.2
Turnout			52,668	69.6	+3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 2000s

With a local Whitley Bay councillor as their candidate, the Conservatives hoped to snatch the seat, but could only diminish Labour's Alan Campbell's majority. In the Mayoral election held on the same day, Mayor Linda Arkley (Conservative) also failed to be re-elected.

General Election 2005: Tynemouth^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Campbell	20,143	47.0	-6.2
	Conservative	Michael McIntyre	16,000	37.3	+3.8
	Liberal Democrat	Colin Finlay	6,716	15.7	+4.1
Majority			4,143	9.7
Turnout			42,859	66.9	-0.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.0

Labour MP Alan Campbell was returned in 2001 with smaller majority on the back of Tony Blair's second landslide.

General Election 2001: Tynemouth^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Campbell	23,364	53.2	-2.1
	Conservative	Karl Poulsen	14,686	33.5	+0.1
	Liberal Democrat	Penny Reid	5,108	11.6	+2.8
	UKIP	Michael Rollings	745	1.7	+0.8
Majority			8,678	19.7
Turnout			43,903	67.4	-9.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

In 1997 Labour won their largest Tynemouth majority ever. The Conservatives chose Gateshead Councillor Martin Callanan as their candidate to replace the retiring Neville Trotter. He would latterly become a North East MEP.

General Election 1997: Tynemouth^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Campbell	28,318	55.4	+10.4
	Conservative	Martin Callanan	17,045	33.3	-12.7
	Liberal Democrat	Andrew Duffield	4,509	8.8	+0.7
	Referendum	Clive Rook	819	1.6	N/A
	UKIP	Frank Rogers	462	0.9	N/A
Majority			11,273	22.0
Turnout				77.11
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+11.5

In 1992 Neville Trotter narrowly won his final term as the Labour candidate's fourth attempt failed. Many council seats were also unexpectedly won on the back of John Major's victory such as Whitley Bay and Monkseaton.

General Election 1992: Tynemouth^[15]^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Neville Trotter	27,731	46.0	+2.8
	Labour	Patrick Joseph Cosgrove	27,134	45.0	+6.2
	Liberal Democrat	Philip J.S. Selby	4,855	8.1	−9.9
	Green	Andrew Buchanan-Smith	543	0.9	N/A
Majority			597	1.0	−3.5
Turnout			60,263	80.4	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.7

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Tynemouth^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Neville Trotter	25,113	43.2
	Labour	Patrick Joseph Cosgrove	22,530	38.8
	Liberal	David Francis Mayhew	10,446	18.0
Majority			2,583	4.4
Turnout				78.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.42

1983: Neville Trotter's biggest majority on the back of Mrs. Thatcher's landslide.

General Election 1983: Tynemouth^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Neville Trotter	27,029	48.06
	Labour	Patrick Joseph Cosgrove	17,420	31.3
	Liberal	D.F. Mayhew	11,153	20.1
Majority			9,609	17.3
Turnout				74.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.0

Elections in the 1970s

1979: Patrick 'Paddy' Cosgrove's first of four attempts to win the seat. Cosgrove was the Labour councillor for Whitley Bay Ward.

General Election 1979: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Neville Trotter	29,941	51.57
	Labour	Patrick Joseph Cosgrove^{[n 3]}	22,377	38.55
	Liberal	R. Pinkney	5,736	9.88
Majority			7,564	13.03
Turnout				77.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Neville Trotter	24,510	43.16
	Labour	J.E. Miller	21,389	37.66
	Liberal	Rodney S. Turner	10,895	19.18
Majority			3,121	5.5
Turnout				74.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

February 1974: Neville Trotter, a Newcastle City Councillor and Chartered Accountant, becomes MP.

General Election February 1974: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Neville Trotter	26,824	44.22
	Labour	D. Carlton	20,437	33.69
	Liberal	Rodney S. Turner	13,393	22.08
Majority			6,387	10.53
Turnout				80.02
	Conservative hold		Swing

1970: Jeremy Beecham would later become leader of Newcastle City Council and a Peer.

General Election 1970: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Dame Irene Mary Bewick Ward	30,773	51.36
	Labour	Jeremy Hugh Beecham	23,927	39.93
	Liberal	Rodney S. Turner	5,221	8.71
Majority			6,846	11.43
Turnout				75.85
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

1966: Gordon Adam would latterly become a North East MEP and make a failed bid to become Elected Mayor of North Tyneside in 2001.

General Election 1966: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Dame Irene Mary Bewick Ward	29,210	49.62
	Labour	Gordon Johnston Adam	25,814	43.85
	Independent	Dr. James C. Edwards	3,846	6.53
Majority			3,396	5.77
Turnout				78.45
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Dame Irene Mary Bewick Ward	33,342	56.29
	Labour	Albert Edward Booth	25,894	43.71
Majority			7,448	12.57
Turnout				78.96
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Dame Irene Mary Bewick Ward	32,810	56.37
	Labour	William H. Hutchinson	18,866	32.42
	Liberal	David N. Thompson	6,525	11.21
Majority			13,994	23.96
Turnout				80.53
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Irene Mary Bewick Ward	30,949	55.12
	Labour	James Finegan	20,113	35.82
	Liberal	Roy Cairncross	5,082	9.05
Majority			10,836	19.29
Turnout				79.35
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Irene Mary Bewick Ward	33,800	56.39
	Labour	Grace Mary Colman	26,144	43.61
Majority			7,656	12.77
Turnout				84.54
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Irene Mary Bewick Ward	28,785	49.30
	Labour	Grace Mary Colman	23,148	39.65
	Liberal	E.B. Slack	6,452	11.05
Majority			5,637	9.65
Turnout				84.01
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Grace Mary Colman	13,963	46.07
	Conservative	Alexander West Russell	10,884	35.91
	Liberal	Lt. Kenneth Paterson Chitty	5,460	18.02
Majority			3,079	10.16
Turnout				76.85
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Alexander West Russell	16,003	47.1
	Labour	Dr. S. Segal	10,145	29.8
	Liberal	John Stanley Holmes	7,868	23.1
Majority			5,858	17.22
Turnout				79.22
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Alexander West Russell	17,607	51.8
	Liberal	John Stanley Holmes	8,295	24.4
	Labour	T.H. Knight	8,110	23.8
Majority			9,312	27.38
Turnout				84.15
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Alexander West Russell	11,785	37.0	-8.2
	Liberal	Richard Irvin	10,545	33.1	+5.7
	Labour	John Stuart Barr	9,503	29.9	+2.5
Majority			1,240	3.9	-13.9
Turnout				83.3	-1.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.0

General Election 1924: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Alexander West Russell	11,210	45.2	+4.2
	Liberal	Harry Barnes	6,820	27.4	-10.9
	Labour	John Stuart Barr	6,818	27.4	+6.7
Majority			4,390	17.8	+15.1
Turnout				84.6	+3.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	+7.5

Harry Barnes

General Election 1923: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Alexander West Russell	9,612	41.0	-7.1
	Liberal	Harry Barnes	9,008	38.3	+9.3
	Labour	W. Pitt	4,875	20.7	-2.2
Turnout				81.1	-2.4
Majority			604	2.7	-16.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	-8.2

General Election 1922: Tynemouth ^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Alexander West Russell	11.244	48.1	+13.4
	Liberal	Herbert James Craig	6,787	29.0	-3.2
	Labour	George Harold Humphrey	5,362	22.9	+7.7
Majority			4,457	19.1	+16.6
Turnout				83.5	+19.7
	Unionist hold		Swing	+8.4

Elections in the 1910s

Herbert Craig

General Election 1918: Tynemouth ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unionist	Charles Percy	5,883	34.7
	Liberal	Comdr. Herbert James Craig	5,434	32.2
	Independent Labour	George Harold Humphrey	2,566	15.2
	Independent	Henry Gregg	2,495	14.8
	National Party	Dixon Scott	517	3.1
Turnout				63.8
Majority			449	2.5
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Denotes a candidate given the 'coupon' as the official Coalition candidate.

1918: Dixon Scott was the founder of Newcastle's 'News Cinema', the modern 'Tyneside Cinema'.

General Election December 1910: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Herbert James Craig	4,106	51.1
	Conservative	Charles Percy	3,939	48.9
Turnout				79.4
Majority			177	2.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election January 1910: Tynemouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Herbert James Craig	4,487	52.9
	Conservative	E.G. Spencer-Churchill	3,993	47.1
Turnout				83.3
Majority			494	5.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s