Darlington (UK Parliament constituency)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK constituency main Darlington is the parliamentary constituency for the eponymous market town in County Durham in the North East of England. It is currently represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Lola McEvoy of the Labour Party, who was first elected in 2024.

The constituency was created for the 1868 election.

Constituency profile

The constituency is tightly drawn around the Darlington urban boundary, and is slightly less wealthy and more deprived than the UK average figures.

Boundaries

1868–1885

Under the Reform Act 1867, the proposed contents of the new parliamentary borough were defined as the townships of Darlington, Haughton-le-Skerne, and Cockerton. However, this was amended under the Boundary Act 1868, with the boundary defined as being coterminous with the Municipal Borough of Darlington.

See map on Vision of Britain website.

1885–1918

As defined in 1868 with minor amendments.

1918–1983

The County Borough of Darlington.

The boundaries were adjusted in 1918, 1950 and 1973 to reflect changes to the boundaries of the county borough.

1983–2010

The Borough of Darlington wards of Bank Top, Central, Cockerton East, Cockerton West, college, Eastbourne North, Eastbourne South, Harrowgate Hill, Haughton East, Haughton West, Hummersknott, Lascelles, Lingfield, Mowden, Northgate North, Northgate South, North Road, Park East, Park West, and Pierremont.

No change to boundaries.

2010–2024

Template:Maplink The Borough of Darlington wards of Bank Top, Central, Cockerton East, Cockerton West, College, Eastbourne, Faverdale, Harrowgate Hill, Haughton East, Haughton North, Haughton West, Hummersknott, Lascelles, Lingfield, Mowden, Northgate, North Road, Park East, Park West, and Pierremont.

Minor change to reflect new ward boundaries.

2024–present

Following the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 general election, the constituency comprises the following:

The Borough of Darlington wards of: Bank Top & Lascelles; Brinkburn & Faverdale; Cockerton; College; Eastbourne; Harrowgate Hill; Haughton & Springfield; Heighington & Coniscliffe; Hummersknott; Mowden; North Road; Northgate; Park East; Park West; Pierremont; Red Hall & Lingfield; Stephenson; Whinfield.

The constituency was expanded slightly to bring the electorate within the permitted range, by adding the rural ward of Heighington & Coniscliffe from the abolished constituency of Sedgefield.

Political history

The seat has been held by all three major parties in its long existence, but has been a marginal constituency between the Labour and Conservative parties in the years since the Second World War. Labour held the seat for 27 years from 1992 with their candidate Jenny Chapman winning the seat in 2010 with a 3,388 majority down from 10,404 in the previous election. In 2015, her majority over the Conservatives fell to 3,158. In the 2019 general election Conservative Peter Gibson defeated Chapman with a 3,294 majority before being defeated himself in 2024 by Lola McEvoy of Labour by a margin of 2,298

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1868	Edmund Backhouse	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1880	Theodore Fry	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1895	Arthur Pease	Liberal Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1898 by-election	Herbert Pease	Liberal Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1910	Trebitsch Lincoln	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1910	Herbert Pease	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1923 by-election	William Edwin Pease	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1926 by-election	Arthur Shepherd	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1931	Charles Peat	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1945	David Hardman	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1951	Fergus Graham	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1959	Anthony Bourne-Arton	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1964	Ted Fletcher	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1983 by-election	Oswald O'Brien	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1983	Michael Fallon	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1992	Alan Milburn	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	2010	Jenny Chapman	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	2019	Peter Gibson	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	2024	Lola McEvoy	Labour

Elections

File:Darlington Election Results.png

Election results 1885-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Lola McEvoy	Template:Replace	39.2
		Peter Gibson	14,323	33.8
		Michael Walker	6,852	16.2
		Matthew Snedker	2,847	6.7
		Simon Thorley	1,735	4.1
Majority			2,298	5.4
Turnout			42,378	59.9
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+8.1

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Gibson	Template:Replace	48.1
		Jenny Chapman	17,607	40.5
		Anne-Marie Curry	2,097	4.8
		Dave Mawson	1,544	3.5
		Matthew Snedker	1,057	2.4
		Monty Brack	292	0.7
Majority			3,294	7.6
Turnout			43,498	65.6
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+7.4

General election 2017: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Jenny Chapman	Template:Replace	50.6
		Peter Cuthbertson	19,401	43.3
		Kevin Brack	1,180	2.6
		Anne-Marie Curry	1,031	2.3
		Matthew Snedker	524	1.2
Majority			3,280	7.3
Turnout			44,817	67.6
	hold		Swing	−0.2

General election 2015: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Jenny Chapman	Template:Replace	42.9
		Peter Cuthbertson	14,479	35.2
		David Hodgson	5,392	13.1
		Anne-Marie Curry	1,966	4.8
		Michael Cherrington	1,444	3.5
		Alan Docherty	223	0.5
Majority			3,158	7.7
Turnout			41,141	62.5
	hold		Swing	−0.1

In the 2015 election, 89 ballot papers were issued omitting the UKIP candidate before the error was corrected.

General election 2010: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Jenny Chapman	Template:Replace	39.4
		Edward Legard	13,503	31.5
		Mike Barker	10,046	23.4
		Amanda Foster	1,262	2.9
		Charlotte Bull	1,194	2.8
Majority			3,388	7.9
Turnout			42,896	61.9
	hold		Swing	−9.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alan Milburn	Template:Replace	52.4
		Anthony Frieze	10,239	26.0
		Robert Adamson	7,269	18.5
		John Hoodless	730	1.9
		David Davies	507	1.3
Majority			10,404	26.4
Turnout			39,388	60.88
	hold		Swing	+0.2

General election 2001: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alan Milburn	Template:Replace	56.3
		Tony Richmond	12,095	30.3
		Robert Adamson	4,358	10.9
		Alan Docherty	469	1.2
		Craig Platt	269	0.7
		Amanda Rose	229	0.6
Majority			10,384	26.0
Turnout			39,899	62.1
	hold		Swing	−3.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alan Milburn	Template:Replace	61.6
		Peter Scrope	13,633	28.3
		Leslie Boxell	3,483	7.2
		Michael Blakey	1,399	2.9
Majority			16,025	33.3
Turnout			48,172	73.9
	hold		Swing

General election 1992: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alan Milburn	Template:Replace	48.1
		Michael Fallon	23,758	43.0
		Peter Bergg	4,586	8.3
		Donald Clarke	355	0.6
Majority			2,798	5.1
Turnout			55,255	83.6
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+5.0

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Michael Fallon	Template:Replace	46.6
		Ossie O'Brien	22,170	41.6
		Arthur Collinge	6,289	11.8
Majority			2,661	5.0
Turnout			53,290	80.8
	hold		Swing

General election 1983: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Michael Fallon	Template:Replace	44.6
		Ossie O'Brien	18,996	37.8
		Ray Dutton	8,737	17.4
	Christian Democratic Party	A.H. Clark	108	0.2
Majority			3,438	6.8
Turnout			50,275	80.8
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

1983 Darlington by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Ossie O'Brien	Template:Replace	39.5
		Michael Fallon	18,132	34.9
		Anthony Cook	12,735	24.5
		Screaming Lord Sutch	374	0.7
		Arthur Clark	164	0.3
	Tactical Voting Annihilates Bennite Tatchellites	Thomas Keen	27	0.1
	Yoga and Meditation	Jitendra Bardwaj	15	0.0
	Republican	Peter Smith	10	0.0
Majority			2,412	4.6
Turnout			52,001
	hold		Swing	+1.25

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Fletcher	Template:Replace	45.52
		Timothy Kirkhope	21,513	43.39
		K. Walker	5,054	10.19
		H. Outhwaite	444	0.90
Majority			1,052	2.12
Turnout			49,576	78.40
	hold		Swing	−2.82

General election October 1974: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Fletcher	Template:Replace	45.55
		Brian Hord	17,620	37.62
		Peter Freitag	7,882	16.83
Majority			3,714	7.93
Turnout			46,836	74.40
	hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Fletcher	Template:Replace	40.75
		Brian Hord	18,477	36.65
		Peter Freitag	11,398	22.61
Majority			2,069	4.10
Turnout			50,421	80.78
	hold		Swing

General election 1970: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Fletcher	Template:Replace	48.47
		Anthony Bourne-Arton	19,447	40.62
		Stuart S. Newton	5,222	10.91
Majority			3,761	7.85
Turnout			47,877	76.44
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Fletcher	Template:Replace	50.50
		Anthony Bourne-Arton	19,546	41.28
		Robert Oakeshott	3,891	8.22
Majority			4,363	9.22
Turnout			47,346	82.26
	hold		Swing

General election 1964: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Fletcher	Template:Replace	45.15
		Anthony Bourne-Arton	19,841	41.19
		Gurney Pease	6,578	13.66
Majority			1,910	3.96
Turnout			48,170	82.98
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Anthony Bourne-Arton	Template:Replace	48.56
		Ronald Lewis	19,901	39.74
		John Patrick McQuade	5,863	11.71
Majority			4,417	8.82
Turnout			50,082	84.40
	hold		Swing

General election 1955: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Fergus Graham	Template:Replace	52.64
		Arnold John Parkinson	23,184	47.36
Majority			2,581	5.28
Turnout			48,949	82.34
	hold		Swing

General election 1951: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Fergus Graham	Template:Replace	50.77
		David Hardman	26,045	49.23
Majority			813	1.54
Turnout			52,903	87.11
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

General election 1950: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Hardman	Template:Replace	44.78
		Geraldyne Edith Mary Walford	17,421	33.16
		Gordon Victor Rogers	11,588	22.06
Majority			6,107	11.62
Turnout			52,537	88.48
	hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Hardman	21,442	48.91
		Charles Peat	13,153	30.02
		Gordon Victor Rogers	9,215	21.03
Majority			8,289	18.89
Turnout			43,810	80.09
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Peat	Template:Replace	55.21
		Arthur Shepherd	18,105	44.79
Majority			4,215	10.42
Turnout			40,435	84.79
	hold		Swing

General election 1931: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Peat	Template:Replace	60.72
		Arthur Shepherd	15,798	39.28
Majority			8,618	21.44
Turnout			40,214	89.47
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Arthur Shepherd	Template:Replace	44.0
		Robert Stewart	15,596	40.2
		John Joseph Richardson	6,149	15.8
Majority			1,465	3.8
Turnout			38,806	89.6
	hold		Swing	+1.3

1926 Darlington by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Arthur Shepherd	Template:Replace	44.5
		E. H. Pease	12,636	43.3
		John Dickie	3,573	12.2
Majority			329	1.2
Turnout			29,174	87.6
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+4.4

General election 1924: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Edwin Pease	Template:Replace	53.8
		Arthur Shepherd	13,008	46.2
Majority			2,166	7.6
Turnout			28,182	86.1
	hold		Swing	−0.5

General election 1923: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Edwin Pease	Template:Replace	42.2
		Will Sherwood	9,284	33.6
		Robert Wright	6,697	24.2
Majority			2,354	8.6
Turnout			27,619	86.8
	hold		Swing	−2.3

1923 Darlington by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Edwin Pease	Template:Replace	56.6
		Will Sherwood	11,271	43.4
Majority			3,413	13.2
Turnout			25,955	85.3
	hold		Swing	−1.4

General election 1922: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Herbert Pease	Template:Replace	49.7
		Will Sherwood	9,048	33.8
		Thomas Crooks	4,419	16.5
Majority			4,238	15.9
Turnout			26,753	88.0
	hold		Swing	N/A

Election results 1868–1918

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edmund Backhouse	Template:Replace	67.2
		Henry King Spark	875	32.8
Majority			914	34.4
Turnout			2,664	87.1
Registered electors			3,057
	win (new seat)

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edmund Backhouse	Template:Replace	45.9
		Henry King Spark	1,607	45.4
		Thomas Gibson Bowles	305	8.6
Majority			18	0.5
Turnout			3,537	86.8
Registered electors			4,073
	hold		Swing	−17.0

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Theodore Fry	Template:Replace	67.6
		Henry King Spark	1,331	32.4
Majority			1,441	35.2
Turnout			4,103	82.6
Registered electors			4,966
	hold		Swing	+17.4

File:William Wilson-Todd.jpg

Wilson-Todd

General election 1885: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Theodore Fry	Template:Replace	61.2
		William Wilson-Todd	2,096	38.8
Majority			1,206	22.4
Turnout			5,398	91.4
Registered electors			5,907
	hold		Swing

General election 1886: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Theodore Fry	Template:Replace	50.5
		H. O. Arnold-Forster	2,563	49.5
Majority			57	1.0
Turnout			5,183	87.7
Registered electors			5,907
	hold		Swing	–10.7

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Theodore Fry	Template:Replace	50.5
		Arthur Pease	2,810	49.5
Majority			56	1.0
Turnout			5,676	93.9
Registered electors			6,045
	hold		Swing	0.0

File:Arthur Pease (MP) 001.jpg

General election 1895: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Arthur Pease	Template:Replace	55.4
		Theodore Fry	2,697	44.6
Majority			657	10.8
Turnout			6,051	92.2
Registered electors			6,560
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+5.9

Pease's death causes a by-election.

File:Owen Philipps MP.jpg

Philipps

1898 Darlington by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Herbert Pease	Template:Replace	55.5
		Owen Philipps	2,809	44.5
Majority			688	11.0
Turnout			6,306	90.7
Registered electors			6,952
	hold		Swing	+0.1

Elections in the 1900s

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link

General election 1900: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold

File:Isaac Mitchell - trade unionist.png

Mitchell

General election 1906: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Herbert Pease	Template:Replace	51.7
		Isaac Mitchell	4,087	48.3
Majority			288	3.4
Turnout			8,462	93.2
Registered electors			9,078
	hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

File:Ignatius Timothy Trebitsch-Lincoln circa 1915.jpg

Lincoln

General election January 1910: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Ignaz Trebitsch-Lincoln	Template:Replace	50.2
		Herbert Pease	4,786	49.8
Majority			29	0.4
Turnout			9,601	95.1
Registered electors			10,097
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

File:Frederick Maddison.jpg

Maddison

General election December 1910: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Herbert Pease	Template:Replace	52.2
		Frederick Maddison	4,475	47.8
Majority			406	4.4
Turnout			9,356	92.7
Registered electors			10,097
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+2.4

File:1906 Alfred Henry Scott MP.jpg

Scott

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Herbert Pease
• Liberal: Alfred Scott
• Labour: T. Russell Williams

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link coalition 1918Template:Election box end 1918

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in County Durham
• History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Durham
• List of parliamentary constituencies in North East England (region)
• 1923 Darlington by-election
• 1926 Darlington by-election
• 1983 Darlington by-election

External links

• Darlington UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Darlington UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Darlington UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

General election 1918: Darlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alfred Scott	7,494	38.5
Majority			4,457	23.0
Turnout			19,445	67.8
	hold		Swing	+9.3