Sunderland Central is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is represented by the Labour Party MP Lewis Atkinson, who has held the seat since 2024.
| Sunderland Central | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of Sunderland Central in the North East England | |
| County | Tyne and Wear |
| Electorate | 72,688 (2023)[1] |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Lewis Atkinson (Labour Party) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Sunderland North, Sunderland South |
Constituency profile
editThe Sunderland Central constituency covers both the city centre and Sunderland Docks as well as coastal suburbs such as Fulwell and Ryhope. Nearly all of the middle-class areas of the city are in this constituency and therefore the Conservatives tend to do better in Sunderland Central than either of its neighbours.
The City of Sunderland spans the River Wear and is southeast of Newcastle upon Tyne, with long-distance train and air links, as such it is a base for companies, particularly those requiring a large labour force, including in graphic design and production through to customer service jobs in fields such as insurance and banking. The public sector is also a source of significant employment, providing a wide range of services. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 6.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian, one percentage point higher than Houghton and Sunderland South. Similarly, the regional average stood at 5.7%.[2]
Boundaries
editThe City of Sunderland wards of Barnes, Fulwell, Hendon, Millfield, Pallion, Ryhope, St Michael's, St Peter's and Southwick.[3]
Sunderland Central was created for the 2010 general election when the Boundary Commission reduced the number of seats in Tyne and Wear from 13 to 12, with the constituencies in the City of Sunderland, in particular, being reorganised. The constituency was formed primarily from the abolished Sunderland North seat, together with parts of the abolished constituencies of Sunderland South (Hendon and St Michael's wards) and Houghton and Washington East (Ryhope ward).
The reorganisation also created the Houghton and Sunderland South and Washington and Sunderland West constituencies.
The boundaries were unchanged by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies (which was based on the ward structure in place on 1 December 2020).[4]
Political history
editSunderland Central is a slightly more marginal seat than its predecessors with a swing of 12.8% from Labour to the Conservatives required for the latter party to win the seat in 2010. This is because it brings together virtually all of the areas of historical Conservative strength, such as Fulwell and St Michaels, into one seat.
Local politics of wards in the seat
editAt the 2008 city council elections, held in thirds, the Conservatives carried five of Sunderland Central's nine wards, with Labour winning three and the Liberal Democrats one. However, at the next city council elections held on the same day as the 2010 general election, the Conservatives carried only two of Sunderland Central's nine wards, with Labour winning seven and the Liberal Democrats none.
Members of Parliament
edit| Election | Member[5] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Julie Elliott | Labour | |
| 2024 | Lewis Atkinson | Labour | |
Elections
editElections in the 2020s
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lewis Atkinson | 16,852 | 42.2 | ±0.0 | |
| Reform UK | Chris Eynon | 10,779 | 27.0 | +15.4 | |
| Conservative | Gregory Peacock | 5,731 | 14.3 | −21.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Niall Hodson | 3,602 | 9.0 | +2.0 | |
| Green | Rachel Featherstone | 2,993 | 7.5 | +4.7 | |
| Majority | 6,073 | 15.2 | +8.4 | ||
| Turnout | 39,957 | 52.6 | −7.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 76,145 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | -7.7 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Julie Elliott | 18,336 | 42.2 | –13.3 | |
| Conservative | Tom D'Silva | 15,372 | 35.4 | +2.1 | |
| Brexit Party | Viral Parikh | 5,047 | 11.6 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Niall Hodson | 3,025 | 7.0 | +3.1 | |
| Green | Rachel Featherstone | 1,212 | 2.8 | +1.3 | |
| Independent | Dale McKenzie | 484 | 1.1 | New | |
| Majority | 2,964 | 6.8 | –15.4 | ||
| Turnout | 43,476 | 59.8 | –2.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –7.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Julie Elliott | 25,056 | 55.5 | +5.3 | |
| Conservative | Robert Oliver | 15,059 | 33.3 | +9.9 | |
| UKIP | Gary Leighton | 2,209 | 4.8 | −14.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Niall Hodson | 1,777 | 3.9 | +1.3 | |
| Green | Rachel Featherstone | 705 | 1.5 | −2.6 | |
| Independent | Sean Cockburn | 305 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 9,997 | 22.2 | −4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 45,111 | 62.0 | +5.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -2.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Julie Elliott | 20,959 | 50.2 | +4.3 | |
| Conservative | Jeff Townsend | 9,780 | 23.4 | −6.7 | |
| UKIP | Bryan Foster | 7,997 | 19.1 | +16.5 | |
| Green | Rachel Featherstone | 1,706 | 4.1 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Adrian Page | 1,105 | 2.6 | −14.3 | |
| Independent | Joseph Young | 215 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 11,179 | 26.8 | +11.0 | ||
| Turnout | 41,762 | 57.0 | ±0.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +5.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Julie Elliott | 19,495 | 45.9 | ||
| Conservative | Lee Martin | 12,770 | 30.1 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Dixon | 7,191 | 16.9 | ||
| BNP | John McCaffrey | 1,913 | 4.5 | ||
| UKIP | Pauline Fentonby-Warren | 1,094 | 2.6 | ||
| Majority | 6,725 | 15.8 | |||
| Turnout | 42,463 | 57.0 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ "2010 post-revision map Greater London and metropolitan areas of England" (PDF).
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 4 North East region.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
- ^ "Sunderland Central - General election results 2024". BBC News.
- ^ "Sunderland Central Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ "Revealed: the full list of 2017 general election candidates in Sunderland". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Sunderland Central". BBC News.
External links
edit- Sunderland Central UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Sunderland Central UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK