Hexham (UK Parliament constituency)

Hexham is a constituency[n 1] in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Guy Opperman, a Conservative.[n 2]

Hexham
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Hexham in Northumberland
Location of Northumberland within England
County	Northumberland
Electorate	60,499 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Hexham, Corbridge, Stocksfield, Ponteland, Prudhoe, Wylam, Haydon Bridge, Haltwhistle
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Guy Opperman (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	North Northumberland and South Northumberland

Constituency profile

This large seat reaches to the Pennines and is traversed by Hadrian's Wall, which runs almost due east–west through England. It includes substantial agricultural holdings, forestry, wood processing, food, minerals, and manufactured hardware industries. It has been held by the Conservative Party and rarely with only marginal majorities since 1924. In the midst of the northwest of the area is Kielder Water and running between this area and the middle of the seat is the southern portion of Kielder Forest, and in the west, the attractions of the precipitous Haltwhistle Burn, Viaduct and Castle. SSE of Hexham is the Derwent Reservoir.[2] As well as those rural areas, the constituency also includes part of Newcastle's middle-class suburbs.

Hexham was the only Conservative seat in the North East between 1997–2010, and the only one in Northumberland from 1973 until the Conservatives won Berwick-upon-Tweed in 2015. Despite this middle-class population there are also some more working-class areas: Prudhoe frequently elects Labour councillors and has demographics similar to neighbouring parts of Blaydon, a safe Labour seat. There is also some deprivation in rural areas, particularly around Haltwhistle.

Based on the latest published old age dependency ratios, a slightly larger proportion of the electorate than the national average is retired.[3] In 1997 the Labour Party nearly won the seat, but more usually Hexham is a safe seat for the Conservative party.[4]

History

The seat was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Colonel Douglas Clifton Brown, who was Speaker of the House of Commons during the latter years of the World War II, represented the seat for two separate tenures (from 1918–23, and from 1924–51).

Boundaries

The constituency is named after the town of Hexham in Northumberland. It includes the former Tynedale district and part of the former Castle Morpeth district.[n 3]

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Northumberland, the Boundary Commission for England has made only minor changes to the existing boundaries of the Hexham constituency. The electoral wards used in its formation are:

• The entire former district of Tynedale
• The former Castle Morpeth wards of Heddon-on-the-Wall, Ponteland East, Ponteland North, Ponteland South, Ponteland West, Stamfordham and Stannington

Members of Parliament

Year		Member[5]	Party
	1885	Miles MacInnes	Liberal
	1892	Nathaniel Clayton	Conservative
	1893	Miles MacInnes	Liberal
	1895	Wentworth Beaumont
	1907	Richard Durning Holt
	1918	Douglas Clifton Brown	Unionist
	1923	Victor Finney	Liberal
	1924	Douglas Clifton Brown	Unionist
	1943		Speaker
	1951	Rupert Speir	Conservative
	1966	Geoffrey Rippon
	1987	Alan Amos
	1992	Peter Atkinson
	2010	Guy Opperman

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Hexham[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Guy Opperman	25,152	54.5	0.4
	Labour	Penny Grennan	14,603	31.6	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Howse	4,672	10.1	3.0
	Green	Nick Morphet	1,723	3.7	1.0
Majority			10,549	22.9	2.9
Turnout			46,150	75.3	0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.5

General election 2017: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Guy Opperman	24,996	54.1	1.4
	Labour Co-op	Stephen Powers	15,760	34.1	9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Fiona Hall	3,285	7.1	0.3
	Green	Wesley Foot	1,253	2.7	2.9
	UKIP	Francis Miles	930	2.0	7.9
Majority			9,236	20.0	7.8
Turnout			46,224	75.1	4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.9

General election 2015: Hexham[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Guy Opperman	22,834	52.7	9.5
	Labour	Liam Carr	10,803	24.9	5.9
	UKIP	David Nicholson	4,302	9.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Jeff Reid[8]	2,961	6.8	23.1
	Green	Lee Williscroft-Ferris	2,445	5.6	5.6
Majority			12,031	27.8	9.5
Turnout			43,345	71.5	0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.8

General election 2010: Hexham[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Guy Opperman	18,795	43.2	0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Duffield	13,007	29.9	4.2
	Labour	Antoine Tinnion	8,253	19.0	11.4
	Independent	Steven Ford	1,974	4.5	N/A
	BNP	Quentin Hawkins	1,205	2.8	N/A
	Independent	Colin Moss	249	0.6	N/A
Majority			5,788	13.3	1.2
Turnout			43,483	70.8	2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Hexham[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Atkinson	17,605	42.4	−2.2
	Labour	Kevin Graham	12,585	30.3	−8.3
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Duffield	10,673	25.7	+10.7
	English Democrat	Ian Riddell	521	1.3	+1.3
	Imperial	Thomas Davison	129	0.3	+0.3
Majority			5,020	12.1
Turnout			41,513	68.8	−2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.0

General election 2001: Hexham[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Atkinson	18,917	44.6	+5.8
	Labour	Paul Brannen	16,388	38.6	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Latham	6,380	15.0	−2.4
	UKIP	Alan Patterson	728	1.7	−0.8
Majority			2,529	6.0
Turnout			42,413	70.9	−6.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Hexham[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Atkinson	17,701	38.8	-13.6
	Labour	Ian McMinn	17,479	38.2	+14.0
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Carr	7,959	17.4	-4.3
	Referendum	Robert Waddell	1,362	3.0
	UKIP	David Lott	1,170	2.6
Majority			222	0.6	-27.6
Turnout			45,671	77.5	-4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+13.8

General election 1992: Hexham[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Atkinson	24,967	52.4	+2.8
	Labour	Ian Swithenbank	11,529	24.2	+6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Wallace	10,344	21.7	−10.0
	Green	John Hartshorne	781	1.6	+0.9
Majority			13,438	28.2	+10.3
Turnout			47,621	82.4	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Hexham[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alan Amos	22,370	49.6
	Liberal	Euan Robson	14,304	31.7
	Labour	Mike Wood	8,103	18.0
	Green	Sheila Wood	336	0.7
Majority			8,066	17.9
Turnout				80.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Hexham[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	21,374	51.5
	Liberal	Euan Robson	13,066	31.5
	Labour	Stephen Byers	7,056	17.0
Majority			8,308	20.0
Turnout				73.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	25,483	48.0
	Labour	Stuart Bell	16,935	31.9
	Liberal	John Shipley	10,697	20.1
Majority			8,548	16.1
Turnout				79.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	21,352	43.53
	Labour	Eric Wade	16,711	34.07
	Liberal	Roy Cairncross	10,991	22.41
Majority			4,641	9.46
Turnout				75.37
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	24,059	45.46
	Labour	Eric Wade	16,129	30.48
	Liberal	Roy Cairncross	12,730	24.06
Majority			7,930	14.99
Turnout				82.62
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	24,516	51.96
	Labour	John E Miller	16,645	35.28
	Liberal	David Cogan	6,021	12.76
Majority			7,871	16.68
Turnout				75.31
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Rippon	20,889	48.10
	Labour	James B. Lamb	16,105	37.08
	Liberal	Douglas A. Robson	6,434	14.82
Majority			4,784	11.02
Turnout				78.05
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rupert Speir	22,468	50.70
	Labour	John Alderson	14,127	31.88
	Liberal	Douglas A. Robson	7,722	17.42
Majority			8,341	18.82
Turnout				81.88
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rupert Speir	25,500	62.99
	Labour	Wilfrid Roberts	14,980	37.01
Majority			10,520	25.99
Turnout				81.11
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rupert Speir	23,462	64.00
	Labour	Edward Garrett	13,198	36.00
Majority			10,264	28.00
Turnout				77.28
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Hexham[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rupert Speir	23,267	59.61
	Labour Co-op	Thomas L. MacDonald	15,768	40.39
Majority			7,499	19.21
Turnout				82.42
	Conservative gain from Speaker		Swing

General election 1950: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Speaker	Douglas Clifton Brown	24,703	85.06
	Independent Liberal	Alexander Hancock	4,154	14.40
Majority			20,549	71.21
Turnout				61.88
	Speaker hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Speaker	Douglas Clifton Brown	16,431	58.23
	Labour	Ernest Kavanagh	11,786	41.77
Majority			4,645	16.46
Turnout				73.80
	Speaker hold		Swing

• 1943: Douglas Clifton-Brown becomes Speaker of the House of Commons.

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Clifton Brown	17,241	62.55
	Labour	Ernest Kinghorn	10,324	37.45
Majority			6,917	25.09
Turnout				75.92
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Clifton Brown	20,578	73.14
	Labour	E. O. Dunnico	7,557	26.86
Majority			13,021	46.28
Turnout				79.21
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Douglas Clifton Brown	11,069	39.1	−8.9
	Liberal	Francis Acland	9,103	32.2	+2.9
	Labour	Ernest Owen Dunnico	8,135	28.7	+6.0
Majority			1,966	6.9	−11.8
Turnout			28,307	80.2	−2.0
Registered electors			35,304
	Unionist hold		Swing	−5.9

General election 1924: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Douglas Clifton Brown	10,741	48.0	+4.0
	Liberal	Victor Finney	6,551	29.3	−26.7
	Labour	Charles Flynn	5,089	22.7	N/A
Majority			4,190	18.7	N/A
Turnout			22,381	82.2	+6.7
Registered electors			27,237
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+15.4

General election 1923: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Victor Finney	11,293	56.0	+25.0
	Unionist	Douglas Clifton Brown	8,887	44.0	−0.8
Majority			2,406	12.0	N/A
Turnout			20,180	75.6	−3.7
Registered electors			26,732
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+12.9

General election 1922: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Douglas Clifton Brown	9,369	44.8	−4.1
	Liberal	Victor Finney	6,486	31.0	+6.1
	Labour	George Shield	5,050	24.2	−2.0
Majority			2,883	13.8	−8.9
Turnout			20,905	79.3	+16.9
Registered electors			26,372
	Unionist hold		Swing	−5.1

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Hexham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Unionist	Douglas Clifton Brown	7,763	48.9	+3.1
	Labour	William Weir	4,168	26.2	N/A
	Liberal	Wentworth Beaumont	3,948	24.9	−29.3
Majority			3,595	22.7	N/A
Turnout			15,879	62.4	−21.0
Registered electors			25,341
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+16.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General Election 1914/15:

Percy

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected:

• Liberal: Richard Durning Holt
• Unionist: Alan Percy [19]

Holt

General election December 1910: Hexham [20][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Richard Durning Holt	5,124	54.2	−1.2
	Conservative	Alfred Henry Chaytor	4,334	45.8	+1.2
Majority			790	8.4	−2.4
Turnout			9,458	83.4	−3.9
Registered electors			11,335
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.2

General election January 1910: Hexham [20][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Richard Durning Holt	5,478	55.4	−6.0
	Conservative	Charles Loftus Bates	4,417	44.6	+6.0
Majority			1,061	10.8	−12.0
Turnout			9,895	87.3	+4.2
Registered electors			11,335
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.0

Elections in the 1900s

1907 Hexham by-election[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Richard Durning Holt	5,401	56.0	−5.4
	Conservative	Charles Loftus Bates	4,244	44.0	+5.4
Majority			1,157	12.0	−10.8
Turnout			9,645	86.8	+3.7
Registered electors			11,116
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.4

General election 1906: Hexham [20][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Wentworth Beaumont	5,632	61.4	+10.3
	Conservative	Nathaniel George Clayton	3,547	38.6	−10.3
Majority			2,085	22.8	+20.6
Turnout			9,179	83.1	+3.5
Registered electors			11,049
	Liberal hold		Swing	+10.3

Morpeth

General election 1900: Hexham [20][22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Wentworth Beaumont	4,197	51.1	−1.5
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Howard	4,011	48.9	+1.5
Majority			186	2.2	−3.0
Turnout			8,208	79.6	−2.2
Registered electors			10,310
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.5

Elections in the 1890s

Beaumont

General election 1895: Hexham [20][22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Wentworth Beaumont	4,438	52.6	+3.1
	Conservative	Charles Edward Hunter	4,003	47.4	−3.1
Majority			435	5.2	N/A
Turnout			8,441	81.8	+0.4
Registered electors			10,316
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.1

1893 Hexham by-election [20][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Miles MacInnes	4,804	52.4	+2.9
	Conservative	Richard Clayton	4,358	47.6	−2.9
Majority			446	4.8	N/A
Turnout			9,162	87.3	+5.9
Registered electors			10,494
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.9

• Caused after the 1892 result was declared void on petition.

General election 1892: Hexham [20][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Nathaniel George Clayton	4,092	50.5	+7.0
	Liberal	Miles MacInnes	4,010	49.5	-7.0
Majority			82	1.0	N/A
Turnout			8,102	81.4	+9.1
Registered electors			9,954
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.0

• Clayton was unseated on petition

Elections in the 1880s

Melgund

General election 1886: Hexham [20][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Miles MacInnes	4,177	56.5	-2.1
	Conservative	Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound	3,220	43.5	+2.1
Majority			957	13.0	-4.2
Turnout			7,397	72.3	−14.2
Registered electors			10,237
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.1

Ridley

General election 1885: Hexham [20][22][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Miles MacInnes	5,193	58.6	N/A
	Conservative	Matthew Ridley	3,663	41.4	N/A
Majority			1,530	17.2	N/A
Turnout			8,856	86.5	N/A
Registered electors			10,237
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northumberland

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. Tynedale and Castle Morpeth district councils were abolished in April 2009 in favour of a unitary Northumberland County Council.

References

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "OS Maps - online and App mapping system | Ordnance Survey Shop". getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
3. "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on January 29, 2016.
4. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
6. "Hexham Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. Daniel, Brian. "Lib Dem Jeff Reid to battle Tory MP Guy Opperman at general election - The Journal". www.thejournal.co.uk.
9. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Hexham". BBC News.
11. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
16. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
19. Newcastle Journal 12 Mar 1914
20. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
21. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
22. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
23. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
24. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Daventry	Constituency represented by the Speaker 1943–1951	Succeeded by Cirencester and Tewkesbury

54.971°N 2.101°W / 54.971; -2.101