Tyne Bridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°58′05″N 1°36′22″W / 54.968°N 1.606°W

Tyne Bridge
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Tyne Bridge in Tyne and Wear for the 2005 general election.
Location of Tyne and Wear within England.
County	Tyne and Wear
1983–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Created from	Gateshead West, Newcastle upon Tyne Central, Newcastle upon Tyne West, Blaydon, Newcastle upon Tyne North and Gateshead East[1]

Tyne Bridge was a parliamentary constituency in the north east of England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1983 until 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

History

Tyne Bridge contained some of the UK's most deprived areas, and was a safe seat for the Labour Party throughout its existence.

Boundaries

1983-1997: The City of Newcastle wards of Benwell, Elswick, Scotswood, and West City, and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead wards of Bede, Bensham, Dunston, and Teams.

1997-2010: The City of Newcastle wards of Benwell, Elswick, Scotswood, and West City, and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead wards of Bede, Bensham, Deckham, Dunston, Saltwell, and Teams.

The constituency covered central Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, with part of the constituency being north of the River Tyne in Newcastle, and the other part being south of the river, in Gateshead. It is named for the Tyne Bridge that crosses the river. It included Newcastle city centre; before 1983, this area was in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne North seat.

Boundary review

Following a review of parliamentary representation in Tyne and Wear, the Boundary Commission for England abolished the Tyne Bridge constituency. At the 2010 general election it was replaced by the new constituency of Gateshead south of the River Tyne, and by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central constituency to the north.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1983	Harry Cowans	Labour
	1985 by-election	David Clelland	Labour
	2010	constituency abolished: see Gateshead & Newcastle Central

Elections of the 2000s

General Election 2005: Tyne Bridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Clelland	16,151	61.2	−9.3
	Liberal Democrat	Chris P. Boyle	5,751	21.8	+9.5
	Conservative	Tom E. Fairhead	2,962	11.2	−2.1
	BNP	Kevin Scott	1,072	4.1	+4.1
	Respect	Miss Jill C. Russell	447	1.7	+1.7
Majority			10,400	39.4
Turnout			26,383	49.3	+5.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−9.4

General Election 2001: Tyne Bridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Clelland	18,345	70.5	−6.3
	Conservative	James Stuart Cook	3,456	13.3	+2.2
	Liberal Democrat	Jonathan C. Wallace	3,213	12.3	+4.4
	Socialist Labour	James Fitzpatrick	533	2.0	N/A
	Socialist Alliance	Samuel J. Robson	485	1.9	N/A
Majority			14,889	57.2
Turnout			26,032	44.2	−12.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections of the 1990s

General Election 1997: Tyne Bridge[3][4][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Clelland	26,767	76.8	+10.0
	Conservative	Adrian H. Lee	3,861	11.1	−11.0
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs. Mary Wallace	2,785	8.0	−3.1
	Referendum	Graeme R. Oswald	919	2.6	N/A
	Socialist Alternative	Mrs. Elaine Brumskill	518	1.5	N/A
Majority			22,906	65.7	+21.0
Turnout			34,850	57.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.5

General Election 1992: Tyne Bridge[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Clelland	22,328	67.2	+4.1
	Conservative	Charles M. Liddell-Grainger	7,118	21.4	+0.8
	Liberal Democrat	John S. Burt	3,804	11.4	−4.9
Majority			15,210	45.7	+3.3
Turnout			33,250	62.6	−0.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections of the 1980s

General Election 1987: Tyne Bridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Clelland	23,131	63.0	+2.5
	Conservative	Michael Walton Bates	7,558	20.6	+9.5
	Social Democratic	John C. Mansfield	6,005	16.4	−13.3
Majority			15,573	42.4
Turnout			36,694	63.1
	Labour hold		Swing

• Death of Cowans

By-election 1985: Tyne Bridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Clelland	13,517	57.8	+1.3
	Social Democratic	Rod Kenyon	6,942	29.7	+11.4 [7]
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	2,588	11.1	−14.1
	Independent	John Connell	250	1.1	N/A
	Independent	George Weiss	38	0.2	N/A
	Independent	Peter R. Smith	32	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,575	28.1
Turnout			23,367	38.1	−23.4
	Labour hold		Swing
Registered electors			61,400

General Election 1983: Tyne Bridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Cowans	21,127	56.5	N/A
	Conservative	Randall S. Crawley	9,434	25.2	N/A
	Liberal	Tony Dawson	6,852	18.3	N/A
Majority			11,693	31.3	N/A
Turnout			37,413	61.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Tyne and Wear

Notes and references

1. "'Tyne Bridge', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
3. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.
4. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.166 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
5. The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
6. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
7. Change from the Liberal candidate who represented the SDP-Liberal Alliance in the 1983 general election.