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.[3]
The constituency included much of Newcastle city centre from 1950 to 1983, despite the fact that the Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency was retained, albeit with redrawn boundaries.
Following the local government reorganisation arising from the Local Government Act 1972, major boundary changes resulted in a constituency composed entirely of wards that did not form any part of the pre-1983 seat. The majority of the old Newcastle upon Tyne North wards moved to Newcastle upon Tyne Central. The newly constituted seat comprised northern and western suburbs of the expanded metropolitan borough of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Boundaries
1918–1950
The County Borough of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Dene, Heaton, Jesmond, St Andrew's, and St Thomas.[3]
1950–1983
The County Borough of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Arthur's Hill, Elswick, Jesmond, Sandyford, and Westgate.[4]
Boundaries redrawn to take account of expansion of the County Borough and redistribution of wards. Dene and Heaton transferred to Newcastle upon Tyne East. Expanded westwards and into parts of the city centre, gaining Arthur's Hill and Elswick from Newcastle upon Tyne West and Westgate from Newcastle upon Tyne Central.
1983–2010
The City of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Castle, Denton, Fawdon, Grange, Lemington, Newburn, Westerhope, and Woolsington.[5][6]
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 existing seat formed no part of newly constituted version. With the exception of Sandyford, which was transferred to Newcastle upon Tyne East, the existing seat was absorbed into a redrawn Newcastle upon Tyne Central.
The new seat was made up of western parts of the now abolished constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne West, comprising the former Urban District of Newburn, the parts of Castle Ward transferred to the new metropolitan borough, previously in Hexham and a small area transferred from Wallsend.
2010–2024
Map of 2010–2024 boundaries
The City of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of Castle, Denton, East Gosforth, Fawdon, Lemington, Newburn, Parklands, Westerhope, and Woolsington.[7]
Minor changes due to redistribution of ward boundaries.
The City of Newcastle upon Tyne wards of: Castle (polling districts F04, F05 and F06); Dene & South Gosforth; Fawdon & West Gosforth; Gosforth; Kenton; Kingston Park South & Newbiggin Hall (polling district O04); North Jesmond; Parklands; South Jesmond.
The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside wards of: Benton; Longbenton.[8]
The constituency underwent wholesale changes, with the following areas being transferred out:
The districts of Denton, Lemington, Westerhope and Newbiggin Hall to the new constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West;
The northern part of Castle ward, including Dinnington, to the new constituency of Cramlington and Killingworth.
The redrawn seat now comprises the following areas:
Eastern parts of Gosforth, Fawdon, Parklands ward and most of Castle ward from the previous version of the seat;
Kenton and western parts of Gosforth from Newcastle upon Tyne Central (abolished);
Jesmond and Dene from Newcastle upon Tyne East (abolished); and
The North Tyneside Borough wards of Benton and Longbenton from the North Tyneside constituency (abolished).
Political history
From its creation in 1918, the seat was a safe Conservative Party seat, including six years of representation by Gwilym Lloyd George, who was aligned to the National Liberal Party but served as Home Secretary for almost three years until 1957 in a Conservative government. This continued until the 1983 general election, when the major boundary changes resulted in the majority of the old wards being moved to Newcastle upon Tyne Central, which the Conservatives won in 1983, while the new Newcastle North became a safe Labour seat, although in 1983 Labour's majority was just over 2,500 votes in a relatively close three-way race, despite a landslide defeat on the national scale. It has been a safe Labour seat ever since, with the Liberal Democrats being the greatest challengers in 2005 and 2010, and the Conservatives finishing in second place in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
The 1983 result is classed as a hold for Labour, rather than a gain from the Conservatives, because the pre-1983 Newcastle-upon-Tyne North constituency, which was a Conservative-held seat, covered a substantially different area, making the two seats entirely different. The constituency which replaced the pre-1983 Newcastle-upon-Tyne North constituency, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central, was won by the Conservatives and is classed as a hold for the Conservatives, as they were incumbent party in the pre-1983 Newcastle-upon-Tyne North seat. By contrast, this constituency was the closest successor to the pre-1983 Newcastle-upon-Tyne West seat where Robert Brown had been the MP.
^A borough 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.
^"Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change in the UK?".
^ abFraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the people act, 1918 : with explanatory notes. University of California Libraries. London : Sweet and Maxwell. p. 447.
^"Representation of the People Act 1948" (PDF). p. 115.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF). p. 74.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". In the county of Tyne and Wear.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". In Tyne and Wear.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 4 North East region.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 1)
^"Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll, and Situation of Polling Stations" (PDF). Newcastle Council. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
^"Newcastle upon Tyne North Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^"Green Party announces its Newcastle candidates". Newcastle upon Tyne Green Party. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
External links
Newcastle upon Tyne North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
Newcastle upon Tyne North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK