Scunthorpe (UK Parliament constituency)

Scunthorpe
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Scunthorpe in Humberside.
Location of Humberside within England.
County	North Lincolnshire
Electorate	61,445 (April 2015)[1]
Major settlements	Scunthorpe and Bottesford
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Nic Dakin (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Glanford & Scunthorpe
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	Yorkshire and the Humber

Scunthorpe is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Nic Dakin, a member of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

The constituency includes the whole of Scunthorpe, Bottesford, Yaddlethorpe, Messingham, Manton, Kirton-in-Lindsey, Redbourne, Hibaldstow, Cadney and the hamlets and communities within these parishes.

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which slightly altered this constituency^{[n 3]} for the 2010 general election since which it has electoral wards:

• Ashby, Bottesford, Brumby, Crosby and Park, Froddingham, Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens, Ridge and Town In North Lincolnshire

History

Although there was talk in a local newspaper in the 1930s that the town of Scunthorpe should have a parliamentary constituency named after it, it was only after the boundary reviews implemented in 1997 that a constituency of this name was created. Previous incarnations of a constituency containing the steel town and small towns and villages around it had been called (going backwards in time) Glanford and Scunthorpe, Brigg and Scunthorpe, and Brigg.

Constituency profile

Results to date indicate that the constituency has changed since creation from a safe seat for the Labour Party created at the incoming election for Prime Minister Tony Blair to somewhat of a marginal majority area for the party.

In statistics

The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of a local government district with: a working population whose income is below the national average and slightly higher than average reliance upon social housing.^[2] At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 5.7% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 4.7%.^[3] The borough contributing to the seat had a middling 20.7% of its population without a car, 26.2% of the population without qualifications and 19.5% with level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure 69.5% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across the district.^[4]

Members of Parliament

Nic Dakin was elected in the 2010 general election with a lower share of the vote than achieved under the Blair Ministry by his predecessor, with 39.5% of the votes.

Election		Member[5]	Party
	1997	Elliot Morley	Labour
	2010	Nic Dakin	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Scunthorpe[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nic Dakin	15,393	41.7	+2.1
	Conservative	Jo Gideon	12,259	33.2	+0.5
	UKIP	Stephen Howd	6,329	17.1	+12.6
	Independent	Des Comerford	1,097	3.0	N/A
	Green	Martin Dwyer	887	2.4	+1.3
	Liberal Democrat	Simon Dodd	770	2.1	-16.2
	Independent	Paul Elsom	206	0.6	N/A
Majority			3,134	8.5
Turnout			36,941	57.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.8

General Election 2010: Scunthorpe[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nic Dakin	14,640	39.5	-12.5
	Conservative	Caroline Johnson	12,091	32.6	+5.8
	Liberal Democrat	Neil Poole	6,774	18.3	+1.2
	UKIP	Jane Collins	1,686	4.6	+0.5
	BNP	Douglas Ward	1,447	3.9	+3.9
	Green	Natalie Hurst	396	1.1	+1.1
Majority			2,549	6.9
Turnout			37,034	58.7	+4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Scunthorpe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elliot Morley	17,355	53.1	-6.7
	Conservative	Julian Sturdy	8,392	25.7	-3.2
	Liberal Democrat	Neil Poole	5,556	17.0	+7.6
	UKIP	David Baxendale	1,361	4.2	N/A
Majority			8,963	27.4	N/A
Turnout			32,664	54.3	-2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.7%

General Election 2001: Scunthorpe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elliot Morley	20,096	59.8	-0.6
	Conservative	Bernard Theobald	9,724	28.9	+2.6
	Liberal Democrat	Bob Tress	3,156	9.4	+1.0
	Independent	Michael Cliff	347	1.0	N/A
	Independent	David Patterson	302	0.9	N/A
Majority			10,372	30.9
Turnout			33,625	56.3	-12.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.6%

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Scunthorpe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elliot Morley	25,107	60.4	N/A
	Conservative	Martyn Fisher	10,934	26.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Gordon Smith	3,497	8.4	N/A
	Referendum	Paul Smith	1,637	3.9	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Brian Hopper	399	1.0	N/A
Majority			14,173	34.1	N/A
Turnout			41,574	68.8	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Humberside

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. Ridge before 2010 was partly in this constituency, it is since 2010 wholly in the constituency.

References

1. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2015 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
2. 2001 Census
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. 2011 census interactive maps
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
6. "Scunthorpe". BBC News. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
7. "UK > England > Yorkshire and the Humber > Scunthorpe". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.

Coordinates: 53°30′N 0°34′W / 53.50°N 0.57°W