Newcastle upon Tyne Central (UK Parliament constituency)

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Newcastle upon Tyne Central was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Chi Onwurah of the Labour Party. As with all constituencies since 1950, the constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the majority of the seat was included in the new constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West.^[1]

History

Parliament created this seat under the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the general election later that year. It was one of four divisions of the parliamentary borough of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which had previously been represented by one two-member seat.^[2]

The constituency covered the central part of Newcastle upon Tyne, being one of three constituencies in the city. Between 1983 and 2010, the seat did not actually include the city's commercial centre, being instead part of the now-abolished Tyne Bridge constituency.

From its creation, the constituency was represented by only members of the Labour and Conservative parties. The seat was represented by Labour from 1987 until its abolition.

At the 2017 and 2019 general elections, the constituency was the first in the UK to officially declare its result. It narrowly beat Houghton and Sunderland South, which had declared first in 2010 and 2015 (as did its predecessor Sunderland South in the four preceding general elections), and would do so again in 2024.^[3]

Boundaries

1918–1950

The County Borough of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of All Saints, St John's, St Nicholas, Stephenson, and Westgate.^[2]

1950–1955

The County Borough of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Armstrong, Byker, St Anthony's, St Nicholas, and Stephenson; and
The Rural District of Newcastle upon Tyne.^[4]

NB: the Rural District of Newcastle upon Tyne contained just a single building ('the Moot Hall and Precincts') in the centre of Newcastle.^[5]

Boundaries redrawn to take account of expansion of the County Borough and redistribution of wards. Expanded eastwards, gaining Byker and St Anthony's from Newcastle upon Tyne East, westwards, gaining Armstrong from Newcastle upon Tyne West. St John's and Westgate were transferred to Newcastle upon Tyne North. The constituency now comprised a narrow strip along the north bank of the River Tyne.

1955–1983

The County Borough of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Armstrong, Benwell, Byker, St Anthony's, St Nicholas, and Stephenson; and
The Rural District of Newcastle upon Tyne.^[6]

Benwell ward transferred from Newcastle upon Tyne West.

1983–1997

The City of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Blakelaw, Fenham, Jesmond, Kenton, Moorside, South Gosforth, and Wingrove.^[7]

Following the reorganisation of local authorities as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, the constituencies within the City of Newcastle upon Tyne were completely redrawn. The contents of the newly constituted seat comprised only a small area common to the previous version. The central and western areas of the old seat, including Benwell and the city centre, were incorporated into the new constituency of Tyne Bridge, which included parts of Gateshead Borough on the south side of the River Tyne. Byker and St Anthony's were returned to Newcastle upon Tyne East, along with the Battle Field area.

The new version of the constituency absorbed the whole of the existing Newcastle upon Tyne North seat, apart from Sandyford. It also included parts of the now abolished Newcastle upon Tyne West constituency (Fenham and Kenton) and a small area transferred from Wallsend (South Gosforth).

1997–2010

The City of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Blakelaw, Fenham, Jesmond, Kenton, Moorside, Sandyford, South Gosforth, and Wingrove.^[8]

Sandyford ward transferred from Newcastle upon Tyne East, which was now abolished.

2010–2024

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The City of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Benwell and Scotswood, Blakelaw, Elswick, Fenham, Kenton, Westgate, West Gosforth, and Wingrove.^[9]

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Tyne and Wear in 2007, which took effect at the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England moved the Sandyford area back to the re-created constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne East, together with the suburb of Jesmond. Those areas north of the River Tyne in the now abolished Tyne Bridge constituency (Benwell, Scotswood, Elswick and the city centre) were transferred in.^[10]

Constituency profile

The constituency contained the city centre and surrounding suburbs. Previously based around heavy industry, such as shipbuilding, its adult population had mostly lower or middle incomes. The economy is now mainly focused on services and tourism.^[11] In November 2012 total unemployment (based on the more up-to-date claimant statistics) placed the constituency in joint 17th place of 29 constituencies in the region, above, for example the City of Durham at the bottom of the list, with just 3.4% claimants whereas Newcastle had 6.0% claimants, identical to Sunderland Central.^[12]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[13]	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1918	George Renwick	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1922	Charles Trevelyan	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1931	Arthur Denville	Conservative
rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1945	Lyall Wilkes	Labour
1951	Ted Short
1976 by-election	Harry Cowans
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1983	Piers Merchant	Conservative
rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1987	Jim Cousins	Labour
2010	Chi Onwurah		Labour
	2024	Constituency abolished

Election results 1918-2024

Election in the 1910s

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

Elections in the 1920s

File:Charles Trevelyan.jpg

Trevelyan

General election 1918: Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central ^[14]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />±%Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
	Script error: No such module "Political party".	James Smith	4,976	34.6
Majority			4,438	30.8	Script error: No such module "String".
Turnout			14,390	43.9	Script error: No such module "String".
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber		Script error: No such module "String".
	Script error: No such module "Political party". win (new seat)

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1922: Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central ^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />±%Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
	Script error: No such module "Political party".	George Renwick	8,639	34.2	Script error: No such module "String".
	Script error: No such module "Political party".	John Dodd	2,923	11.6	Script error: No such module "String".
Majority			5,070	20.0	Script error: No such module "String".
Turnout			25,271	72.5	Script error: No such module "String".
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber		Script error: No such module "String".
	Script error: No such module "Political party". gain from Script error: No such module "Political party". Template:Yesno		Swing	+24.4