Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency)

Sunderland South
Sunderland South
Former Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Sunderland South in Tyne and Wear for the 2005 general election
	Location of Tyne and Wear within England
County	Tyne and Wear
1950–2010
Seats	One
Created from	Sunderland
Replaced by	Houghton and Sunderland South, Sunderland Central and Washington and Sunderland West

54°53′24″N 1°22′41″W / 54.890°N 1.378°W / 54.890; -1.378

Sunderland South was, from 1950 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

History

Sunderland South, as can be inferred from the name, formed the southern part of the County Borough (now City) of Sunderland. The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election when the existing two-member Sunderland seat was split in two. Parts also transferred from Houghton-le-Spring.

It was abolished for the 2010 general election when most of its contents were divided between the two new constituencies of Sunderland Central (eastern areas) and Houghton and Sunderland South (western areas). St Anne's ward was transferred to the new constituency of Washington and Sunderland West.^[1]

Boundaries

1950–1955

The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bishopwearmouth, Hendon, Humbledon, Pallion, Park, St Michael's, Sunderland East, Thornhill, and West.^[2]

1955–1974

The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bishopwearmouth, Hendon, Humbledon, Pallion, Park, Pennywell, St Michael's, Thorney Close, and Thornhill.^[2]

Minor changes.

1974–1983

The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bishopwearmouth, Hendon, Humbledon, Pennywell, Ryhope, St Chad's, St Michael's, Silksworth, Thorney Close, and Thornhill.^[3]

Boundaries expanded southwards in line with those of the County Borough, including the gain of Ryhope and Silksworth from Houghton-le-Spring. Existing boundary with Sunderland North realigned, including the loss of Pallion ward.

1983–1997

The Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland wards of Grindon, Hendon, Ryhope, St Chad's, St Michael's, Silksworth, Thorney Close, and Thornholme.^[4] Minor changes to take account of new ward boundaries.

1997–2010

The City of Sunderland wards of Grindon, Hendon, St Chad's, St Michael's, Silksworth, South Hylton, Thorney Close, and Thornholme.^[5] South Hylton ward transferred from Sunderland North. Ryhope ward transferred to the new constituency of Houghton and Washington East.

Political history

Having been a Labour–Conservative marginal in the 1950s and 1960s, Sunderland South was held by the Labour Party from 1964 until 2010. Its last MP was journalist-politician Chris Mullin, who served between the 1987 and 2010 general elections, inclusive. Sunderland South was abolished as a result of the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which took effect at the 2010 election. Mullin did not seek re-election in 2010.

The constituency was well known for trying to be the first seat to declare its results, doing so in the general elections of 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2005.^[6]

Members of Parliament

	Member^[7]	Party
1950	Richard Ewart	Labour
1953	Paul Williams	Conservative
1964	Gordon Bagier	Labour
1987	Chris Mullin	Labour
2010	constituency abolished: see Houghton and Sunderland South & Sunderland Central

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Richard Ewart	27,192	49.6
	Conservative	H. Wilkinson	22,012	40.2
	Liberal	Charles Jonathan Kitchell	5,604	10.2
Majority			5,180	9.4
Turnout			54,808	83.3
	Labour win (new seat)

General election 1951: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Ewart	27,257	50.3	+0.7
	Conservative	Paul Williams	26,951	49.7	+9.5
Majority			306	0.6	-8.8
Turnout			54,208	94.1	+10.8
	Labour hold		Swing

1953 Sunderland South by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Williams	23,114	48.6	−1.1
	Labour	Alexander G.S. Whipp	21,939	46.1	−4.2
	Liberal	Roy Francis Leslie	2,524	5.3	New
Majority			1,175	2.5	N/A
Turnout			47,557
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1955: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Williams	24,727	51.9	+2.2
	Labour	Ernest Armstrong	22,953	48.1	-2.2
Majority			1,774	3.8	N/A
Turnout			47,680	77.4	-16.7
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1959: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Williams	27,825	50.9	-1.0
	Labour	Ernest Armstrong	26,835	49.1	+1.0
Majority			990	1.8	-2.0
Turnout			54,660	80.3	+2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	25,900	51.6	+2.5
	Conservative	Paul Williams	24,334	48.4	―2.5
Majority			1,566	3.2	N/A
Turnout			50,234	75.8	―4.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1966: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	27,567	57.5	+5.9
	Conservative	Philip Edwin Heselton	20,398	42.5	―5.9
Majority			7,169	15.0	+11.8
Turnout			47,965	75.5	―0.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	26,840	56.4	―1.1
	Conservative	Denis Orde	20,722	43.6	+1.1
Majority			6,118	12.8	―2.2
Turnout			47,562	70.1	―5.4
	Labour hold		Swing	―1.1

General election February 1974: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	28,296	49.6	―6.8
	Conservative	Mark Thorpe Wright	19,700	34.5	―9.1
	Liberal	Wilfred John Nicholson	9,098	15.9	New
Majority			8,596	15.1	+2.2
Turnout			57,094	75.2	+5.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.0

General election October 1974: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	28,623	55.0	+5.4
	Conservative	John Charles Buchanan Riddell	15,593	30.0	―4.5
	Liberal	Wilfred John Nicholson	7,828	15.0	―0.9
Majority			13,030	25.0	+9.9
Turnout			52,044	68.1	―7.1
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Sunderland South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	29,403	53.1	―1.9
	Conservative	James Richard Harris	21,002	37.9	+7.9
	Liberal	Paul Macdonald Barker	4,984	9.0	―6.0
Majority			8,401	15.2	―9.8
Turnout			55,389	70.0	+1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	―4.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Sunderland South^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Bagier	22,869	45.7	―7.4
	Conservative	Andrew Mitchell	17,321	34.6	―3.3
	SDP	John Anderson	9,865	19.7	+10.7
Majority			5,548	11.1	―4.1
Turnout			50,055	66.6	―3.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1987: Sunderland South^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Mullin	28,823	54.0	+8.3
	Conservative	George Howe	16,210	30.4	―4.2
	SDP	Keith Hudson	7,768	14.6	―5.1
	Green	Douglas Jacques	516	1.0	New
Majority			12,613	23.6	+12.5
Turnout			53,317	71.1	+4.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Sunderland South^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Mullin	29,399	57.9	+3.9
	Conservative	George Howe	14,898	29.4	―1.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Lennox	5,844	11.5	―3.1
	Green	Terence Scouler	596	1.2	+0.2
Majority			14,501	28.5	+4.9
Turnout			50,737	69.9	―1.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

General election 1997: Sunderland South^[12]^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Mullin	27,174	68.1	+10.2
	Conservative	Timothy Schofield	7,536	18.9	―10.5
	Liberal Democrats	John Lennox	4,606	11.5	±0.0
	UKIP	Margaret Wilkinson	609	1.5	New
Majority			19,638	49.2	+20.7
Turnout			39,925	58.8	―11.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.4

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Sunderland South^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Mullin	19,921	63.9	―4.2
	Conservative	James Boyd	6,254	20.1	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Greenfield	3,675	11.8	+0.3
	BNP	Joseph Dobbie	576	1.8	New
	UKIP	Joseph Moore	470	1.5	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Rosalyn Warner	291	0.9	New
Majority			13,667	43.8	―5.4
Turnout			31,187	48.3	―10.5
	Labour hold		Swing	―2.7

General election 2005: Sunderland South^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Mullin	17,982	58.6	―5.3
	Conservative	Robert Oliver	6,923	22.5	+2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Gareth Kane	4,492	14.6	+2.8
	BNP	David Guynan	1,166	3.8	+2.0
	Monster Raving Loony	Rosalyn Warner	149	0.5	―0.4
Majority			11,059	36.0	―7.8
Turnout			30,712	49.3	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	―3.9

Notes and references

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