Gateshead West (UK Parliament constituency)

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Gateshead West
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Gateshead West in County Durham, boundaries 1974-83
CountyCounty Durham
19501983
SeatsOne
Created fromGateshead
Replaced byTyne Bridge and Gateshead East[1]

Gateshead West was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

History[edit]

Gateshead West, as could be inferred from the name, formed the western part of the Borough of Gateshead, now in Tyne and Wear. The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election when the existing Gateshead seat was split in two. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when the majority of the electorate was included in the new constituency of Tyne Bridge, which also included central areas of Newcastle upon Tyne. Remaining areas were transferred to Gateshead East.

It returned Labour MPs for the entire period of its existence.

Boundaries[edit]

1950–1955[edit]

  • The County Borough of Gateshead wards of Central, North, North West, West, and West Central.[2]

1955–1964[edit]

  • The County Borough of Gateshead wards of Central, East Central, North, North East, North West, West, and West Central.[2]

The East Central and North East wards were transferred from Gateshead East.

1964-1983[edit]

  • The County Borough of Gateshead wards of Askew, Bensham, Chandless, Claremont, Riverside, Saltwell, Shipcote, and Teams.[3]

Minor changes to reflect redistribution of local authority wards.

Members of Parliament[edit]

Election Member Party
1950 John Hall Labour
1955 by-election Harry Randall Labour
1970 John Horam Labour
1981 SDP
1983 constituency abolished

Election results[edit]

Elections in the 1970s[edit]

General election 1979: Gateshead West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Horam 13,533 67.24
Conservative DR Kelly 5,221 25.94
Liberal Frank Patterson 1,185 5.89
National Front H Beadle 186 0.92 New
Majority 8,312 41.30
Turnout 20,125 69.31
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Gateshead West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Horam 13,859 68.61
Conservative P Brown 4,432 21.94
Liberal K Stoddart 1,909 9.45
Majority 9,427 46.67
Turnout 20,200 65.65
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Gateshead West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Horam 13,839 61.01
Conservative John Heddle 5,372 23.68
Liberal J Bennison 3,474 15.31 New
Majority 8,467 37.33
Turnout 22,685 74.20
Labour hold Swing
General election 1970: Gateshead West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Horam 15,622 68.07
Conservative John O'Sullivan 7,328 31.93
Majority 8,294 36.14
Turnout 22,950 66.59
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s[edit]

General election 1966: Gateshead West[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Harry Randall 20,381 74.77
Conservative Ernest Greenwood 6,878 25.23
Majority 13,503 49.54
Turnout 27,259 70.11
Labour hold Swing
General election 1964: Gateshead West[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Harry Randall 21,390 68.97
Conservative Derek R Chapman 9,623 31.03
Majority 11,767 37.94
Turnout 31,013 74.93
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s[edit]

General election 1959: Gateshead West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Harry Randall 21,277 64.90
Conservative David A Wright 11,509 35.10
Majority 9,768 29.80
Turnout 32,786 76.88
Labour hold Swing
1955 Gateshead West by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Harry Randall 13,196 66.46 +1.14
Conservative David A Wright 6,661 33.54 -1.14
Majority 6,535 32.92 +2.28
Turnout 19,857
Labour hold Swing
General election 1955: Gateshead West[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Hall 22,040 65.32
Conservative James Quigley 11,071 34.68
Majority 10,339 30.64
Turnout 33,111
Labour hold Swing
General election 1951: Gateshead West[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Hall 20,790 63.77
National Liberal John S Magnay 11,811 36.23
Majority 8,979 27.54
Turnout 32,601 83.81
Labour hold Swing
General election 1950: Gateshead West[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Hall 20,872 64.16
National Liberal John S Magnay 11,660 35.84
Majority 9,212 28.32
Turnout 32,532 83.90
Labour win (new seat)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'Gateshead West', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 22 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 59. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. OCLC 539011.
  3. ^ Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 130. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. OCLC 539011.
  4. ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1966.
  5. ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1964.
  6. ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
  7. ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
  8. ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.