Consett (UK Parliament constituency)

Consett
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Consett in County Durham, boundaries 1974–1983
1918–1983
Seatsone
Created fromNorth West Durham
Replaced byNorth Durham and North West Durham[1]

Consett was a county constituency, centred on the town of Consett in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system from 1918 to 1983.

History

Creation

Consett was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election. It succeeded the abolished North West Division of Durham, comprising the whole of that seat, excluding Tanfield, which was included in the new constituency of Blaydon, and Lanchester, which was transferred to Barnard Castle.

Boundaries

1918–1950

  • The Urban Districts of Annfield Plain, Benfieldside, Consett, Leadgate, and Stanley; and
  • in the Rural District of Lanchester, the parishes of Craghead, Ebchester, Healeyfield, Knitsley, and Medomsley.[2]

1950–1983

  • The Urban Districts of Consett and Stanley.[3]

Only minor changes - the Urban Districts of Annfield Plain and Tanfield (transferred back from Blaydon) had been merged with Stanley; and Benfieldside and Leadgate with Consett, along with the parishes of Ebchester and Medomsley.

Abolition

The seat was abolished for the 1983 general election as a result of the periodic review of parliamentary constituencies following the re-organisation of local government under the Local Government Act 1972. On abolition, eastern areas, comprising the former Urban District of Stanley, were included in the newly created constituency of North Durham, and eastern areas, comprising the former Urban District of Consett, were transferred back to North West Durham (which had been re-established in 1950).

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1918 Aneurin Williams Liberal
1922 Herbert Dunnico Labour
1931 John Dickie Liberal National
1935 David Adams Labour
1943 James Glanville Labour
1955 William Stones Labour
1966 David Watkins Labour
1983 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

Aneurin Williams
General election 1918: Consett[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Aneurin Williams 7,576 34.3
C National Democratic Robert Gee 7,283 32.9
Labour G. H. Stuart-Bunning 7,268 32.8
Majority 293 1.4
Turnout 22,127 64.3
Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Consett [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert Dunnico 14,469 46.5 +13.7
Liberal Aneurin Williams 9,870 31.8 −2.5
Unionist Sydney Erskine Dare Wilson 6,745 21.7 New
Majority 4,599 14.7 N/A
Turnout 31,084 82.0 +17.7
Registered electors 37,886
Labour gain from Liberal Swing +8.1
Ursula Williams
General election 1923: Consett [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert Dunnico 15,862 52.0 +5.5
Liberal Ursula Williams 14,619 48.0 +16.2
Majority 1,243 4.0 −10.7
Turnout 30,481 78.2 −3.8
Registered electors 38,989
Labour hold Swing −5.4
General election 1924: Consett [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert Dunnico 18,842 55.9 +3.9
Constitutionalist James E Davies 14,836 44.1 New
Majority 4,006 11.8 +7.8
Turnout 33,678 83.4 +5.2
Registered electors 40,363
Labour hold Swing
General election 1929: Consett[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Herbert Dunnico 22,256 56.5 +0.6
Liberal John Dickie 10,772 27.3 New
Unionist John William Watts 6,400 16.2 N/A
Majority 11,484 29.2 +17.4
Turnout 39,428 80.1 −3.3
Registered electors 49,233
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Consett[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal John Dickie 22,474 53.0 +25.7
Labour Herbert Dunnico 19,927 47.0 −9.5
Majority 2,547 6.01 N/A
Turnout 42,401 83.24 +3.1
National Liberal gain from Labour Swing +17.6
General election 1935: Consett[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Adams 25,419 58.7 +11.7
National Liberal John Dickie 17,897 41.3 −11.7
Majority 7,522 17.4 +11.4
Turnout 43,316 83.8 +0.6
Labour gain from National Liberal Swing

General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

1943 Consett by-election[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Glanville Unopposed N/A N/A
Labour hold
General election 1945: Consett[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Glanville 28,617 70.1 +11.4
National Liberal James Aloysius McGilley 12,198 29.9 −11.4
Majority 16,419 40.2 +22.8
Turnout 40,815 77.4 −6.4
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Glanville 34,907 66.79
Conservative Philip Goodhart 12,634 24.17
Liberal Norman Dees 4,721 9.03 New
Majority 22,273 42.62
Turnout 52,262 86.84
Labour hold Swing
General election 1951: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Glanville 35,705 69.24
Conservative George Frederick H Walker 15,861 30.76
Majority 19,844 38.48
Turnout 51,566 85.06
Labour hold Swing
General election 1955: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stones 30,979 67.05
Conservative Fergus Montgomery 15,224 32.95
Majority 15,755 34.10
Turnout 46,203 77.51
Labour hold Swing
General election 1959: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stones 32,307 66.83
Conservative Denis Alan Orde 16,037 33.17
Majority 16,270 33.66
Turnout 48,344 81.65
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stones 29,676 68.10
Conservative Denis W Stokoe 13,901 31.90
Majority 15,775 36.20
Turnout 43,577 76.73
Labour hold Swing
General election 1966: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Watkins 29,753 73.26
Conservative Robert William G Sanderson 10,858 26.74
Majority 18,895 46.52
Turnout 40,611 73.51
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Watkins 28,985 70.87
Conservative Neville Trotter 11,914 29.13
Majority 17,071 41.74
Turnout 40,899 70.17
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Watkins 27,401 61.10
Conservative T Wilkinson 9,058 20.20
Liberal R McClure 8,384 18.70 New
Majority 18,343 40.90
Turnout 44,843 76.50
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Watkins 27,123 66.98
Conservative M Lycett 7,677 18.96
Liberal J Gillinder 5,695 14.06
Majority 19,446 48.02
Turnout 40,495 68.62
Labour hold Swing
General election 1979: Consett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Watkins 26,708 61.26
Conservative M Lycett 10,841 24.87
Liberal R Kennedy 6,048 13.87
Majority 15,867 36.39
Turnout 43,597 75.76
Labour hold Swing

See also

References

  1. ^ "'Consett', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1918". 1918. p. 496.
  3. ^ Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. pp. 58, 129. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. OCLC 539011.
  4. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  5. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  6. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  7. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  9. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  10. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  11. ^ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  12. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  13. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig