Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency)

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 (1950)–2010 (2010)
Number of members One
Replaced by Houghton and Sunderland South, Sunderland Central

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.

Contents

History

Having been a Labour-Conservative marginal in the 1950s and 60s, Sunderland South was held by the Labour Party from 1964 until 2010, being represented by the politician and author Chris Mullin from 1987 until its abolition in 2010. Mullin did not contest the 2010 general election.

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.[1]

Boundaries

The constituency, as can be inferred from the name, formed the southern part of the City of Sunderland.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Tyne and Wear, the Boundary Commission for England divided Sunderland South between two new constituencies, Houghton and Sunderland South and Sunderland Central. These new constituencies were first contested in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Election Member[2] Party
1950 Richard Ewart Labour
1953 by-election 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 2000s

General Election 2005: Sunderland South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Mullin 17,982 58.6 -5.3
Conservative Robert Oliver 6,923 22.5 +2.4
Liberal Democrat Gareth Kane 4,492 14.6 +2.8
BNP David Guynan 1,166 3.8 +2.0
Monster Raving Loony Roslyn Warner 149 0.5 -0.4
Majority 11,059 36.0
Turnout 30,712 49.3 -1.5
Labour hold Swing -3.9
General Election 2001: Sunderland South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Mullin 19,921 63.9 -4.2
Conservative Jim Boyd 6,254 20.1 +1.2
Liberal Democrat Mark Greenfield 3,675 11.8 +0.2
BNP Joe Dobbie 576 1.8 N/A
UKIP Joseph Moore 470 1.5 N/A
Monster Raving Loony The Mad Cow-Girl Warner 291 0.9 N/A
Majority 13,667 43.8
Turnout 31,187 48.3 -10.5
Labour hold Swing -2.7

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Sunderland South[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Mullin 27,174 68.06
Conservative Tim Schofield 7,536 18.88
Liberal Democrat John A. Lennox 4,606 11.54
UKIP M Wilkinson 609 1.53
Majority 19,638 49.19
Turnout 67,937 58.77
General Election 1992: Sunderland South[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Mullin 29,399 57.9 +3.9
Conservative George E. Howe 14,898 29.4 −1.0
Liberal Democrat John A. Lennox 5,844 11.5 −3.1
Green Terry Scouler 596 1.2 +0.2
Majority 14,501 28.6 +4.9
Turnout 50,737 69.9 −1.3
Labour hold Swing +2.5

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Daily Record; May 6, 2005; Sunderland Leads the Way
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
  3. ^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/238.htm
  4. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010. 
Constituencies in North East England (29)
Labour (25)
Conservative (2)
Liberal Democrats (2)