Bishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°39′25″N 1°40′37″W / 54.657°N 1.677°W

Bishop Auckland
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bishop Auckland in County Durham.
Location of County Durham within England.
County	County Durham
Population	87,143 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	68,501 (December 2010)[2]
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Helen Goodman (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	South Durham
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	North East England

Bishop Auckland is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Helen Goodman of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

Formed in 1885,^{[n 3]} the seat has the market town Bishop Auckland which has a mixed modern and historic high street, the similarly sized Barnard Castle and large areas used for agriculture, particularly hill farming on the rolling landscape that cuts into the Pennines with substantial livestock.^[3] Most housing, many small towns and most facilities were built in the prosperous era of coal mining which brought thousands of workers to live in Bishop Auckland town and neighbouring settlements. Manufacturing, including food processing and packaging, public sector employment, retail and agriculture are the main occupations.^[3] Since 1935 the winning candidate for MP has been from the Labour Party; the former Labour Chancellor Hugh Dalton, was the MP here from 1929 to 1931,and after regaining the seat in 1935, remained MP until 1959.

Within the seat are Auckland Castle and Park, Lartington Hall, Windlestone Hall, Raby Castle, Binchester Roman Fort (Vinovia) and enclosures and industrial workings on Cockfield Fell.^[4]

Boundaries

The constituency is located in an upland, southern part of County Durham in the North East of England. On a more local level it was formed of the whole of the former Teesdale district, parts of former Wear Valley district and the former Sedgefield borough. The constituency includes as its major settlements the towns of Barnard Castle, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Bishop Auckland, Shildon, Spennymoor and its contiguous suburb village, Tudhoe, with their surrounding villages, dales and fields.

Boundary review

Following their review into parliamentary representation in County Durham, the Boundary Commission for England made very minor alterations to the Bishop Auckland seat.

The electoral wards used in the creation of the modified seat, fought at the UK general election in 2010, are;

• Byerley, Low Spennymoor and Tudhoe Grange, Middlestone, Spennymoor, Sunnydale, Thickley and Tudhoe from the former Sedgefield borough
• The former district of Teesdale
• Bishop Auckland Town, Cockton Hill, Coundon, Dene Valley, Escomb, Henknowle, West Auckland, and Woodhouse Close from the former Wear Valley district

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[5]	Party
	1885	James Mellor Paulton	Liberal
	Jan. 1910	Sir Henry Havelock-Allan, Bt.	Liberal
	1918	Ben Spoor	Labour
	1929 by-election	Florence Ruth Dalton	Labour
	1929	Hugh Dalton	Labour
	1931	Aaron Charlton Curry	Liberal National
	1935	Hugh Dalton	Labour
	1959	James Boyden	Labour
	1979	Derek Foster	Labour
	2005	Helen Goodman	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Bishop Auckland[6][7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Goodman	16,307	41.4	+2.4
	Conservative	Christopher Adams	12,799	32.5	+6.2
	UKIP	Rhys Burriss	7,015	17.8	+15.1
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen White	1,723	4.4	-18.0
	Green	Thom Robinson	1,545	3.9	N/A
Majority			3,508	8.9
Turnout			38,389	59.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Bishop Auckland[8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Goodman	16,023	39.0	−11.1
	Conservative	Barbara Harrison	10,805	26.3	+3.4
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Wilkes	9,189	22.3	−1.3
	BNP	Adam Walker	2,036	4.9	N/A
	Local Liberals People Before Politics	Sam Zair	1,964	4.8	N/A
	UKIP	Dave Brothers	1,119	2.7	−0.7
Majority			5,218	12.7
Turnout			41,136	60.2	+4.0
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Bishop Auckland[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Goodman	19,065	50.0	−8.8
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Foote-Wood	9,018	23.7	+8.0
	Conservative	Richard Bell	8,736	22.9	+0.2
	UKIP	Margaret Hopson	1,309	3.4	+3.4
Majority			10,047	26.4
Turnout			38,128	56.5	−0.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−8.4

General Election 2001: Bishop Auckland[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Foster	22,680	58.8	−7.1
	Conservative	Miss Fiona P. McNish	8,754	22.7	+2.5
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Foote Wood	6,073	15.7	+6.4
	Green	Carl D. Bennett	1,052	2.7	N/A
Majority			13,926	36.1
Turnout			38,559	57.2	−11.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Bishop Auckland[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Foster	30,359	65.9	+15.9
	Conservative	Mrs Josephine H. Fergus	9,295	20.2	−11.6
	Liberal Democrat	Les Ashworth	4,293	9.3	−8.9
	Referendum	David S.W. Blacker	2,104	4.6	N/A
Majority			21,064	45.7
Turnout			46,051	68.4	−8.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+13.8

General Election 1992: Bishop Auckland[13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Foster	27,763	50.0	+2.0
	Conservative	David R. Williamson	17,676	31.8	−3.0
	Liberal Democrat	William P. Wade	10,099	18.2	+1.0
Majority			10,087	18.2	+5.0
Turnout			55,538	76.5	+2.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Bishop Auckland[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Foster	25,648	48.0	+3.6
	Conservative	Robin Wight	18,613	34.8	−1.2
	Liberal	George Irwin	9,195	17.2	−2.4
Majority			7,035	13.2
Turnout			53,456	74.1	+2.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.4

General Election 1983: Bishop Auckland[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Foster	22,750	44.4
	Conservative	Barry Charles Legg	18,444	36.0
	Liberal	Andrew S. Collinge	10,070	19.6
Majority			4,306	8.4
Turnout			51,264	72.1	−2.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Foster	27,200	48.8	−4.0
	Conservative	Michael Fraser Irvine	21,160	38.0	+6.7
	Liberal	J.D. Frise	7,439	13.3	−2.6
Majority			6,040	10.8
Turnout			55,799	74.7	+3.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.4

General Election October 1974: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Boyden	27,181	52.8	+4.7
	Conservative	D.W. Etheridge	16,086	31.3	−2.8
	Liberal	David Lytton-Cobbold	8,168	15.9	−1.9
Majority			11,095	21.6
Turnout			51,435	70.9	−7.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

General Election February 1974: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Boyden	27,101	48.1	−12.6
	Conservative	D.W. Etheridge	19,226	34.1	−5.2
	Liberal	J.D. Frise	10,044	17.8	N/A
Majority			7,875	14.0
Turnout			56,371	78.4	+7.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.7

General Election 1970: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Boyden	21,257	60.7	−4.1
	Conservative	T.J. Wiseman	13,769	39.3	+4.1
Majority			7,488	21.4
Turnout			35,026	71.0	−2.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.1

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Boyden	22,015	64.8	+3.0
	Conservative	J.V. Ropner	11,936	35.2	−3.0
Majority			10,079	29.7
Turnout			33,951	73.4	−3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.0

General Election 1964: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Boyden	22,310	61.8	+6.8
	Conservative	J.V. Ropner	13,782	38.2	+4.3
Majority			8,528	23.6
Turnout			36,092	76.2	−4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Boyden	21,706	55.0	−2.7
	Conservative	N.W. Murray	13,377	33.9	−8.4
	Liberal	Joseph Gurney Pease	4,377	11.1	N/A
Majority			8,329	21.1
Turnout			39,460	80.8	+3.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

General Election 1955: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	21,804	57.7	−2.8
	Conservative	R.D.M. Youngson	15,959	42.3	+2.8
Majority			5,845	15.5
Turnout			37,763	77.0	−8.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.8

General Election 1951: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	25,881	60.5	+2.6
	Conservative	B.L. Butcher	16,895	39.5	+7.9
Majority			8,986	21.0
Turnout			42,776	85.1	−1.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.3

General Election 1950: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	25,039	57.9	−6.2
	Conservative	Antony Lambton	13,669	31.6	N/A
	Liberal	L.W. Malby	4,527	10.5	N/A
Majority			11,370	26.3
Turnout			43,235	86.5	+12.5
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	20,100	64.1	+1.8
	Liberal National	W.J.W. Tily	11,240	35.9	N/A
Majority			8,860	28.3
Turnout			31,340	74.0	−5.2
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Bishop Auckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	20,481	62.3
	Liberal	Aaron Charlton Curry	12,395	37.7
Majority			8,086	24.6
Turnout			32,876	79.2
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1931: Bishop Auckland[17] Electorate: 41,851
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal National	Aaron Charlton Curry	17,551	51.4
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	16,796	48.6
Majority			955	2.8
Turnout			34,547	82.5
	Liberal National gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Bishop Auckland [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton	17,838	55.8	-1.3
	Liberal	Aaron Charlton Curry	9,635	30.1	+0.2
	Unionist	Herbert Thompson	4,503	14.1	+1.1
Majority			8,203	25.7
Turnout				76.5	+2.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Bishop Auckland by-election, 7 February 1929
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ruth Dalton	14,797	57.1	+2.0
	Liberal	Aaron Charlton Curry	7,725	29.9	−15.0
	Unionist	Herbert Thompson	3,357	13.0	N/A
Majority			7,072	27.2	+17.0
Turnout			25,879	74.4	−6.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.5

General Election 1924 Electorate 35,438
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. Benjamin Charles Spoor	15,786
	Liberal	John Bainbridge	12,868
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Bishop Auckland [19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Benjamin Charles Spoor	13,328	51.2	-2.5
	Liberal	John Bainbridge	6,686	25.7	n/a
	Unionist	Robert Gee	6,024	23.1	n/a
Majority			6,642	25.5
Turnout				7.5
	Labour hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1922
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Benjamin Charles Spoor	13,946
	National Liberal	Egbert Atherley-Jones	12,019
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 Electorate 34,575
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Benjamin Charles Spoor	10,060
	Coalition Liberal	Capt. Godfrey Russell Vick	7,417
	Liberal	Dr. Vickerman Henzell Rutherford	2,411
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham
• Bishop Auckland by-election, 1929

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. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

References

1. "Bishop Auckland: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
2. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. 2001 Census
4. Ordnance Survey map, courtesy of English Heritage
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
6. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. "Bishop Auckland". BBC News. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
8. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. http://www.durham.gov.uk/PDFApproved/ParliamentaryElection2010_SoPN_BA.pdf
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
15. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. Political Science Resources, Richard Kimber
18. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Fred W. S. Craig Parliamentary Research Services, 1983
19. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-49, FWS Craig

Sources

• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.