Houghton-le-Spring
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Houghton-le-Spring in County Durham, boundaries 1974-83
CountyCounty Durham
Major settlementsHoughton-le-Spring
1885–1983
SeatsOne
Created fromSouth Durham
Replaced byHoughton & Washington and Easington[1]

Houghton-le-Spring was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983. Centred on the town of Houghton-le-Spring, now part of the City of Sunderland, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

History

Creation

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as one of eight new single-member divisions of the county of Durham, replacing the two 2-member seats of North Durham and South Durham.[2] The seat included the towns of Houghton-le-Spring, Hetton-le-Hole and Seaham and areas to the south and west of the borough of Sunderland. The majority now lies within the City of Sunderland in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear.

Boundaries

1885–1918

  • The Sessional Divisions of Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland and Seaham Harbour (part); and
  • The Municipal Borough of Sunderland[2]

NB included only non-resident freeholders in the parliamentary borough of Sunderland.

See map on Vision of Britain website.[3]

1918–1950

  • The Urban District of Houghton-le-Spring;
  • the Rural Districts of South Shields and Sunderland; and
  • part of the Rural District of Houghton-le-Spring.[4]

Rural/coastal areas between South Shields and Sunderland, including the Boldons, transferred from Jarrow.  Lost Hetton-le-Hole to the new Durham Division of County Durham and Seaham to the new Seaham Division.

1950–1955

  • The Urban Districts of Houghton-le-Spring and Seaham; and
  • the Rural District of Sunderland.[5]

Seaham (including Seaham Harbour) transferred back from the abolished Seaham Division. Lost areas to the Borough Constituencies of South Shields, Sunderland North and Sunderland South as a result of the expansion of the respective County Boroughs. Remaining northern areas, largely comprising the Urban District of Boldon (which had largely succeeded the abolished Rural District of South Shields), transferred to Jarrow.

1955–1974

  • The Urban Districts of Houghton-le-Spring and Seaham; and
  • the Rural District of Sunderland except the parts of the parishes of Ford, Herrington, Hylton, and Silksworth added to the County Borough of Sunderland by the Sunderland Extension Act 1950.[5]

1974–1983

  • The Urban Districts of Hetton, Houghton-le-Spring, and Seaham; and
  • in the Rural District of Easington, the parishes of Burdon, Cold Hesledon, Dalton-le-Dale, East Murton, Seaton with Slingley, and Warden Law.[6]

The Urban District of Hetton transferred back from Durham and northern parts of the Rural District of Easington, including East Murton, transferred from Easington. Parts comprising the former Rural District of Sunderland, which had been largely absorbed by the County Borough, were transferred to Sunderland North (Hylton) and Sunderland South (Ryhope and Silksworth).

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, Seaham and East Murton, which had been retained within the county of Durham and comprised about 40% of the electorate, were returned to the Easington constituency. The remainder, including Houghton-le-Spring and Hetton-le-Hole, was included in the new constituency of Houghton and Washington in the county of Tyne and Wear.[7]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 John Wilson Liberal
1886 Nicholas Wood Conservative
1892 Henry Fenwick Liberal
1895 Robert Cameron Liberal
1913 by-election Tom Wing Liberal
1918 Robert Richardson Labour
1931 Robert Chapman Conservative
1935 William Stewart Labour
1945 Bill Blyton Labour
1964 Tom Urwin Labour
1983 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

John Wilson
General election 1885: Houghton-le-Spring [8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Lib-Lab John Wilson 6,511 57.7
Conservative Nicholas Wood 4,767 42.3
Majority 1,744 15.4
Turnout 11,278 86.8
Registered electors 12,992
Lib-Lab win (new seat)
General election 1886: Houghton-le-Spring [8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nicholas Wood 5,870 53.7 +11.4
Lib-Lab John Wilson 5,059 46.3 −11.4
Majority 811 7.4 N/A
Turnout 10,929 84.1 −2.7
Registered electors 12,992
Conservative gain from Lib-Lab Swing +11.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Houghton-le-Spring [8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fenwick 6,256 52.6 +6.3
Conservative Nicholas Wood 4,823 40.6 −13.1
Independent Liberal and Direct Veto Jonathan Hargrove[n 1] 814 6.8 New
Majority 1,433 12.0 N/A
Turnout 11,893 86.7 +2.6
Registered electors 13,716
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +9.7
Robert Cameron
General election 1895: Houghton-le-Spring [8][10][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Cameron 6,592 53.6 +1.0
Conservative Vincent Charles Stuart Wortley Corbett 5,711 46.4 +5.8
Majority 881 7.2 −4.8
Turnout 12,303 88.0 +1.3
Liberal hold Swing −2.4

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Houghton-le-Spring [8][10][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Cameron 6,865 58.3 +4.7
Conservative Ralph Stapleton Ward-Jackson 4,917 41.7 −4.7
Majority 1,948 16.6 +9.4
Turnout 11,782 82.3 −5.7
Registered electors 14,317
Liberal hold Swing +4.7
General election 1906: Houghton-le-Spring [8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Cameron 9,429 72.2 +13.9
Liberal Unionist Roland Edmund Lomax Vaughan Williams 3,639 27.8 −13.9
Majority 5,790 44.4 +27.8
Turnout 13,068 83.2 +0.9
Registered electors 15,711
Liberal hold Swing +13.9

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Houghton-le-Spring [11][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Cameron 10,393 70.3 −1.9
Conservative Hugh Sidney Streatfield 4,382 29.7 +1.9
Majority 6,011 40.6 −3.8
Turnout 14,775 84.4 +1.2
Registered electors 17,504
Liberal hold Swing −1.9
General election December 1910: Houghton-le-Spring [11][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Cameron Unopposed
Liberal hold
Tom Wing
1913 Houghton-le-Spring by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Wing 6,930 43.6 N/A
Unionist Thomas Richardson 4,807 30.2 New
Labour William House 4,165 26.2 New
Majority 2,123 13.4 N/A
Turnout 15,902 83.6 N/A
Registered electors 19,032
Liberal hold Swing N/A

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

General election 14 December 1918: Houghton-le-Spring[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Richardson 7,315 36.4 N/A
Liberal Thomas Wing 6,626 32.9 N/A
C National Democratic John Lindsley 6,185 30.7 New
Majority 689 3.5 N/A
Turnout 20,126 61.8 N/A
Registered electors 32,552
Labour gain from Liberal Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Houghton-le-Spring[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Richardson 14,611 51.9 +15.5
Unionist Walter William Shaw 7,555 26.9 New
Liberal John Edward Johnston 5,958 21.2 −11.7
Majority 7,056 25.0 +21.5
Turnout 28,124 78.4 +16.6
Registered electors 35,871
Labour hold Swing +13.6
General election 1923: Houghton-le-Spring [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Richardson 15,225 59.3 +7.4
Liberal Aaron Curry 10,445 40.7 +19.5
Majority 4,780 18.6 −6.4
Turnout 25,670 69.0 −9.4
Registered electors 37,224
Labour hold Swing −6.1
General election 1924: Houghton-le-Spring [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Richardson 17,857 57.8 −1.5
Liberal Aaron Curry 13,023 42.2 +1.5
Majority 4,834 15.6 −3.0
Turnout 30,880 79.6 +10.6
Registered electors 38,779
Labour hold Swing −1.5
General election 1929: Houghton-le-Spring [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Richardson 25,056 57.1 −0.7
Liberal Thomas Wing 10,267 23.4 −18.8
Unionist William George Pearson 8,545 19.5 New
Majority 14,789 33.7 +18.1
Turnout 43,868 80.3 +0.7
Registered electors 54,615
Labour hold Swing +9.1

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Chapman 25,549 52.95
Labour Robert Richardson 22,700 47.05
Majority 2,849 5.90 N/A
Turnout 48,249 82.78
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General election 1935: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stewart 30,665 57.15
Conservative Robert Chapman 22,990 42.85
Majority 7,675 14.30
Turnout 52,945 82.04
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Billy Blyton 43,730 66.67
Conservative TB Martin 21,864 33.33
Majority 21,866 33.34
Turnout 65,594 76.87
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Billy Blyton 36,044 77.14
Conservative Beatrice Bolam 10,682 22.86
Majority 25,362 54.28
Turnout 46,726 87.22
Labour hold Swing
General election 1951: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Billy Blyton 37,718 75.80
Conservative Beatrice Bolam 12,042 24.20
Majority 25,676 51.60
Turnout 49,760 86.61
Labour hold Swing
General election 1955: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Billy Blyton 33,375 76.11
Conservative Thomas Edward Sydney Egerton 10,476 23.89
Majority 22,899 52.22
Turnout 43,851 79.49
Labour hold Swing
General election 1959: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Billy Blyton 35,960 75.93
Conservative Andrew Robert Coghill Arbuthnot 11,398 24.07
Majority 24,562 51.86
Turnout 47,358 83.41
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Urwin 32,914 74.82
Conservative Peter Coles Price 11,076 25.18
Majority 21,838 49.64
Turnout 43,990 78.70
Labour hold Swing
General election 1966: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Urwin 32,067 77.51
Conservative Frederick Howard Michael Craig-Cooper 9,304 22.49
Majority 22,763 55.02
Turnout 41,371 73.88
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Urwin 32,888 73.41
Conservative Frederick Howard Michael Craig-Cooper 11,914 26.59
Majority 20,974 46.82
Turnout 44,802 71.60
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Urwin 23,263 76.89 +3.48
Conservative RC Ritchie 10,300 23.11 -3.48
Majority 23,963 53.77
Turnout 33,563 75.13
Labour hold Swing +3.48
General election October 1974: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Urwin 29,699 68.44
Liberal W Robson 9,298 21.43 New
Conservative RC Ritchie 4,399 10.14
Majority 20,401 47.01
Turnout 43,396 72.44
Labour hold Swing
General election 1979: Houghton-le-Spring
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Urwin 30,181 68.45
Conservative P Straw 9,105 20.65
Liberal J Ellis 4,479 10.16
Workers Revolutionary D Temple 326 0.74 New
Majority 21,076 47.80
Turnout 44,091 72.89
Labour hold Swing

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ Also a member of the United Kingdom Alliance

References

  1. ↑ "'Houghton-le-Spring', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885". pp. 155–156.
  3. ↑ "HMSO Boundary Commission Report 1885, Durham".
  4. ↑ Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 11. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. OCLC 539011.
  5. 1 2 Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 59. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. OCLC 539011.
  6. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970" (PDF). p. 43.
  7. ↑ "electionweb.co.uk". electionweb.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  10. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  11. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
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