Easington (UK Parliament constituency)

Easington
Easington
County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Easington in County Durham
	Location of County Durham within England
County	County Durham
Electorate	65,618 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Seaham, Peterlee
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Grahame Morris (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Seaham

Coordinates: 54°47′24″N 1°21′07″W / 54.790°N 1.352°W / 54.790; -1.352

Easington is a constituency^{[n 1]} created in 1950 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Grahame Morris of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile[]

Constituents' occupations include to a significant degree agriculture and the service sector, however the area was formerly heavily economically supported by the mining of coal, iron ore and businesses in the county still extract gangue minerals in present mining, such as fluorspar for the smelting of aluminium, to the south in the county is Darlington, which has particular strengths in international transport construction, including bridges. To the north is the large city of Sunderland which has a large service sector.

History[]

Creation

Following their review, the Boundary Commission for England created the political division of Easington. It chiefly replaced the bulk or all of the Seaham seat.

Results of the winning party

The area has been held by the Labour Party since the 1922 election (including predecessor seat), when the seat was held by the party leader and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Labour's majority in the seat has never fallen below 19% (the result in the party's 2019 landslide defeat) in its history, and has only been below 40% three times (in 1979, 1983 and 2019). Labour won a majority of votes in every election from the seat's creation in 1950 until 2019, when their vote share fell below 50% for the first time. The 2015 result made the seat the 27th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.^[2]

Results of other parties

The 2015 general election saw an above-average swing to UKIP of 18.7%; the national average was 9.5% . Prior to 2019, the Conservative Party had last come second in the seat in 2001. Labour's candidate won more than three times that of UKIP in 2015, scoring 61%, although the latter polled the strongest second-place in the seat since 1983. 2017 saw the UKIP vote collapse and the Conservative vote rise, although a slight rise in the Labour vote ensured the majority remained above 40%.

Turnout

Turnout has ranged from 87.7% in 1950 to 52.1% in 2005. It has been somewhat inconsistent with national averages, falling in 1992 and 2005 when national turnout increased.

Boundaries[]

Map of current boundaries

1950–1974: The Rural District of Easington.

1974–1983: The Rural District of Stockton, and in the Rural District of Easington the parishes of Castle Eden, Easington, Haswell, Hawthorn, Horden, Hutton Henry, Monk Hesleden, Nesbitt, Peterlee, Sheraton with Hulam, Shotton, Thornley, and Wingate.

1983-2010: The District of Easington wards of Acre Rigg, Blackhalls, Dawdon, Dene House, Deneside, Easington Colliery, Easington Village, Eden Hill, Haswell, High Colliery, Horden North, Horden South, Howletch, Murton East, Murton West, Park, Passfield, Seaham, Shotton, South, and South Hetton.

2010–present: The District of Easington wards of Acre Rigg, Blackhalls, Dawdon, Dene House, Deneside, Easington Colliery, Easington Village and South Hetton, Eden Hill, Haswell and Shotton, Horden North, Horden South, Howletch, Hutton Henry, Murton East, Murton West, Passfield, Seaham Harbour, and Seaham North.

The constituency comprises the majority of the district of the same name, which takes in the coastal portion of the administrative county of Durham. The principal towns are Peterlee and Seaham. A seat of former mining traditions, it is one of Labour's safest in Britain — party firebrand Manny Shinwell was MP for 20 years.

Boundary review[]

Following their review of parliamentary representation in County Durham, the Boundary Commission for England has made only minor changes to the boundaries of Easington constituency (on the southern part of the boundary with Sedgefield constituency). It was first fought at the 2010 general election.

Members of Parliament[]

	Member^[3]	Party
1950	Manny Shinwell	Labour
1970	Jack Dormand	Labour
1987	John Cummings	Labour
2010	Grahame Morris	Labour

Elections[]

Elections in the 2010s[]

General election 2019: Easington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	15,723	45.5	-18.2
	Conservative	Clare Ambrosino	9,142	26.4	+3.7
	Brexit Party	Julie Maughan	6,744	19.5	New
	Liberal Democrats	Dominic Haney	1,526	4.4	+3.1
	North East	Susan McDonnell	1,448	4.2	-2.4
Majority			6,581	19.0	-21.9
Turnout			34,583	56.5	-1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.95

General election 2017: Easington^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	23,152	63.7	+2.7
	Conservative	Barney Campbell	8,260	22.7	+9.8
	North East	Susan McDonnell	2,355	6.6	+4.1
	UKIP	Allyn Roberts	1,727	4.7	-14.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Hancock	460	1.3	-1.1
	Green	Martie Warin	410	1.1	-1.0
Majority			14,892	41.0	-1.3
Turnout			36,364	58.4	+2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.6

General election 2015: Easington^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	21,132	61.0	+2.1
	UKIP	Jonathan Arnott	6,491	18.7	+14.0
	Conservative	Chris Hampsheir	4,478	12.9	-0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Armstrong	834	2.4	-13.6
	North East	Susan McDonnell^[7]	810	2.3	New
	Green	Martie Warin	733	2.1	New
	Socialist (GB)	Steve Colborn ^[8]	146	0.4	New
Majority			14,641	42.3	-0.6
Turnout			34,624	56.1	+1.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.0

General election 2010: Easington^[9]^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grahame Morris	20,579	58.9	−12.4
	Liberal Democrats	Tara Saville	5,597	16.0	+3.1
	Conservative	Richard Harrison	4,790	13.7	+3.0
	BNP	Cheryl Dunn	2,317	6.6	+3.4
	UKIP	Martyn Aiken	1,631	4.7	New
Majority			14,982	42.9	-15.6
Turnout			34,914	54.7	+2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.7

Elections in the 2000s[]

General election 2005: Easington^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	22,733	71.4	−5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Ord	4,097	12.9	+2.6
	Conservative	Lucille Nicholson	3,400	10.7	+0.4
	BNP	Ian McDonald	1,042	3.3	New
	Socialist Labour	Dave Robinson	583	1.8	−0.7
Majority			18,636	58.5	-8.0
Turnout			31,855	52.1	−1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.0

General election 2001: Easington^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	25,360	76.8	−3.4
	Conservative	Philip F. Lovel	3,411	10.3	+1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher J. Ord	3,408	10.3	+3.1
	Socialist Labour	Dave Robinson	831	2.5	New
Majority			21,949	66.5	-5.1
Turnout			33,010	53.6	−13.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s[]

General election 1997: Easington^[14]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	33,600	80.2	+7.5
	Conservative	Jason D. Hollands	3,588	8.6	−8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Jim P. Heppell	3,025	7.2	−3.4
	Referendum	Richard B. Pulfrey	1,179	2.8	New
	Socialist (GB)	Steve P. Colborn	503	1.2	New
Majority			30,012	71.6	+15.6
Turnout			41,895	67.0	-5.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.8

General election 1992: Easington^[16]^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Cummings	34,269	72.7	+4.6
	Conservative	William Perry	7,879	16.7	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Freitag	5,001	10.6	−5.0
Majority			26,390	56.0	+4.2
Turnout			47,149	72.5	−0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.1

Elections in the 1980s[]

General election 1987: Easington^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	John Cummings	32,396	68.06
	Conservative	William Perry	7,757	16.30
	Liberal	George Howard, Viscount Morpeth	7,447	15.64
Majority			24,639	51.76
Turnout			47,600	73.39
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1983: Easington^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	25,912	59.39
	Liberal	F.E. Patterson	11,120	25.06
	Conservative	Colin J. Coulson-Thomas	7,342	16.55
Majority			14,792	33.33
Turnout			44,374	67.51
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s[]

General election 1979: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	29,537	60.60
	Conservative	J.S. Smailes	11,981	24.70
	Liberal	V. Morley	6,979	14.39
Majority			17,556	35.90
Turnout			48,497	74.33
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	28,984	65.82
	Conservative	J.S. Smailes	8,047	18.27
	Liberal	N.J. Scaggs	7,005	15.91	New
Majority			20,937	47.55
Turnout			44,036	69.01
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	33,637	71.96
	Conservative	J.S. Smailes	13,107	28.04
Majority			20,530	43.92
Turnout			46,744	73.95
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jack Dormand	33,418	79.80
	Conservative	Michael Spicer	8,457	20.20
Majority			24,961	59.60
Turnout			41,875	69.28
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s[]

General election 1966: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	32,097	81.37
	Conservative	Michael Spicer	7,350	18.63
Majority			24,747	62.74
Turnout			39,447	70.54
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	34,028	80.45
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	8,270	19.55
Majority			25,758	60.90
Turnout			42,298	75.22
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s[]

General election 1959: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	36,552	79.79
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	9,259	20.21
Majority			27,293	59.58
Turnout			45,811	80.81
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	34,352	79.07
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	9,095	20.93
Majority			25,257	58.14
Turnout			43,447	79.36
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	37,899	80.77
	Conservative	George W Rossiter	9,025	19.23
Majority			28,874	61.54
Turnout			46,924	86.74
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Easington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Manny Shinwell	38,367	81.05
	Conservative	C.A. Macfarlane	8,972	18.95
Majority			29,395	62.10
Turnout			47,339	87.69
	Labour win (new seat)

Notes[]

^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References[]

^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^ List of Labour MPs elected in 2015 by % majority UK Political.info. Retrieved 29 January 2017
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
^ "Easington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^ "Easington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ "New political party the North East Party launches its first ever manifesto". Chronicle Live. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ http://www.durham.gov.uk/PDFApproved/ParliamentaryElection2010_SoPN_EAS.pdf^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Easington". BBC News.
^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Easington: Constituency - Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[2] A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

[3] As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

[1] "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

[4] List of Labour MPs elected in 2015 by % majority UK Political.info. Retrieved 29 January 2017

[rayment-5] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)

[6] "Easington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.

[7] "Easington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.

[electoralcalculus2015-8] "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[9] "New political party the North East Party launches its first ever manifesto". Chronicle Live. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.

[10] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[electoralcalculus2010-11] "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[12] ttp://www.durham.gov.uk/PDFApproved/ParliamentaryElection2010_SoPN_EAS.pdf^{[permanent dead link]}

[13] "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Easington". BBC News.

[electoralcalculus2005-14] "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2001-15] "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1997-16] "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[17] "Easington: Constituency - Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2013.

[electoralcalculus1992-18] "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[19] "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

[electoralcalculus1987-20] "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1983-21] "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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v t Constituencies in North East England (29)
Labour (18)	Blaydon City of Durham Easington Gateshead Houghton and Sunderland South Jarrow Middlesbrough Newcastle upon Tyne Central Newcastle upon Tyne East Newcastle upon Tyne North North Durham North Tyneside South Shields Stockton North Sunderland Central Tynemouth Wansbeck Washington and Sunderland West
Conservative (11)	Berwick-upon-Tweed Bishop Auckland Blyth Valley Darlington Hartlepool Hexham Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland North West Durham Redcar Sedgefield Stockton South
East Midlands East of England London North East England North West England Northern Ireland Scotland South East England South West England Wales West Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber