Sunderland Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Sunderland Central is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Julie Elliott, a member of the Labour Party who was re-elected in the 2019 general election.[n 2]
Sunderland Central | |
---|---|
Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of Sunderland Central in Tyne and Wear for the 2010 general election | |
Location of Tyne and Wear within England | |
County | Tyne and Wear |
Electorate | 76,292 (December 2010)[1] |
Current constituency | |
Created | 2010 |
Member of Parliament | Julie Elliott (Labour Party) |
Number of members | One |
Created from | Sunderland North, Sunderland South |
Boundaries
Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which created this constituency for the 2010 general election, with the following Sunderland City Council electoral wards: Barnes, Fulwell, Hendon, Millfield, Pallion, Ryhope, St Michael’s, St Peter’s and Southwick.
The review abolished the former Sunderland North and Sunderland South constituencies. The reorganisation also created the Houghton and Sunderland South and Washington and Sunderland West constituencies.
History
This new constituency of Sunderland Central was fought for the first time at the 2010 general election.
Sunderland Central is a slightly more marginal seat than its predecessors with a swing of 12.8% from Labour to the Conservatives required for the latter party to win the seat in 2010. This is because it brings together virtually all of the areas of traditional Conservative strength into one seat, such as Fulwell and St Michaels.
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.
Constituency profile
The City of Sunderland spans the River Wear and is southeast of Newcastle upon Tyne, 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, one percentage point higher than Houghton and Sunderland South. Similarly the regional average stood at 5.7%.[2]
The Sunderland Central constituency covers both the city centre as well as coastal suburbs such as Fulwell and Ryhope. 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.
Members of Parliament
Election | Member[3] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Julie Elliott | Labour |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Julie Elliott | 18,336 | 42.2 | –13.3 | |
Conservative | Tom D'Silva | 15,372 | 35.4 | +2.1 | |
Brexit Party | Viral Parikh | 5,047 | 11.6 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Niall Hodson | 3,025 | 7.0 | +3.1 | |
Green | Rachel Featherstone | 1,212 | 2.8 | +1.3 | |
Independent | Dale McKenzie | 484 | 1.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,964 | 6.8 | –15.4 | ||
Turnout | 43,476 | 59.8 | –2.2 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –7.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Julie Elliott | 25,056 | 55.5 | +5.3 | |
Conservative | Robert Oliver | 15,059 | 33.3 | +9.9 | |
UKIP | Gary Leighton | 2,209 | 4.8 | -14.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Niall Hodson | 1,777 | 3.9 | +1.3 | |
Green | Rachel Featherstone | 705 | 1.5 | -2.6 | |
Independent | Sean Cockburn | 305 | 0.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 9,997 | 22.2 | -4.6 | ||
Turnout | 45,111 | 62.0 | +5.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | -2.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Julie Elliott | 20,959 | 50.2 | +4.3 | |
Conservative | Jeff Townsend | 9,780 | 23.4 | -6.7 | |
UKIP | Bryan Foster | 7,997 | 19.1 | +16.5 | |
Green | Rachel Featherstone | 1,706 | 4.1 | +4.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Adrian Page | 1,105 | 2.6 | -14.3 | |
Independent | Joseph Young | 215 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,179 | 26.8 | +11.0 | ||
Turnout | 41,762 | 57.0 | ±0.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | 5.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Julie Elliott | 19,495 | 45.9 | N/A | |
Conservative | Lee Martin | 12,770 | 30.1 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Paul Dixon | 7,191 | 16.9 | N/A | |
BNP | John McCaffrey | 1,913 | 4.5 | N/A | |
UKIP | Pauline Fentonby-Warren | 1,094 | 2.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 6,725 | 15.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 42,463 | 57.0 | N/A | ||
Labour win (new seat) |
See also
Notes and references
- Notes
- A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- 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.
- References
- "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.
- Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
- "Sunderland Central Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- "Revealed: the full list of 2017 general election candidates in Sunderland". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2010-05-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Sunderland Central". BBC News.