Stockton South
UK Parliament constituency (1983–2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stockton South was a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2019 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Matt Vickers of the Conservative Party.[n 2]
- County Durham
- North Yorkshire
- (Tees Valley combined authority)
| Stockton South | |
|---|---|
| Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
2010–2024 boundary of Stockton South in the former county of Cleveland | |
 Location of the former county of Cleveland within England | |
| County |
|
| Electorate | 74,698 (2018)[1] |
| Major settlements | Stockton, Thornaby, Yarm, Ingleby Barwick and Eaglescliffe |
| 1983–2024 | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Stockton-on-Tees, Thornaby, Easington and Richmond (Yorks)[2] |
| Replaced by | Stockton West |
Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished; subject to moderate boundary changes, it was reformed as Stockton West.[3]
Boundaries
1983–1997: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth, Egglescliffe, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick, Mandale, Parkfield, Preston, Stainsby, Victoria, Village, and Yarm, and the Borough of Middlesbrough wards of Ayresome, Brookfield, and Kader.
1997–2010: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth, Egglescliffe, Elm Tree, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick, Mandale, Parkfield, Preston, Stainsby, Victoria, Village, and Yarm. The three Middlesbrough wards were transferred to the redrawn Middlesbrough constituency.
2010–2024: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth and Elm Tree, Eaglescliffe, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick East, Ingleby Barwick West, Mandale and Victoria, Parkfield and Oxbridge, Stainsby Hill, Thornaby-on-Tees, and Yarm.
2024: Constituency was abolished as a result of 2023 review of Westminster constituencies.
Stockton South consisted of the south-western half of Stockton-on-Tees and on the same bank, upstream, the town of Eaglescliffe – on the southern bank of the River Tees are the towns of Thornaby-on-Tees, Yarm, and Ingleby Barwick.
History
The seat was formed from a combination of Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby in 1983, predominantly as a replacement to the latter seat.
- Political history
More middle-class than neighbouring Stockton North, this seat was first won by the SDP–Liberal Alliance in a narrow victory at the 1983. Ian Wrigglesworth, the former Labour MP for Thornaby, defected to the newly formed Social Democratic Party in 1981, and held the successor seat as the SDP candidate.
This result came after the Conservative candidate's nomination was withdrawn when he was revealed to have previously been in the National Front.
Following this, the seat was held by a Conservative for ten years, from 1987 to 1997. It was a bellwether in Labour's landslide at the 1997 general election, and its member, Dari Taylor, retained it until the 2010 general election, when the Conservative, James Wharton narrowly won back the seat.
It was the Conservative Party's only gain in the North East, with Wharton substantially increasing his majority at the 2015 general election. However, Labour's victory in the seat in 2017 saw the seat's 30 year status as a bellwether constituency come to an end. In 2019, the Conservatives took it back, in line with the general swing in their favour in multiple north east red wall seats, despite only being held by Labour for fifteen of its 39 years of existence.
Constituency profile
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[6] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Ian Wrigglesworth | SDP | |
| 1987 | Tim Devlin | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Dari Taylor | Labour | |
| 2010 | James Wharton | Conservative | |
| 2017 | Paul Williams | Labour | |
| 2019 | Matt Vickers | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | ||
Election results 1983–2024
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDP | Ian Wrigglesworth | 19,550 | 36.8 | ||
| Conservative | Tom Finnegan | 19,448 | 36.6 | ||
| Labour | Frank Griffiths | 13,998 | 26.3 | ||
| Independent | D. Fern | 205 | 0.4 | ||
| Majority | 102 | 0.2 | |||
| Turnout | 53,201 | 72.1 | |||
| SDP win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Tim Devlin | 20,833 | 35.0 |  1.6 | |
| SDP | Ian Wrigglesworth | 20,059 | 33.7 | 3.1 | |
| Labour | John McKie Scott | 18,600 | 31.3 |  5.0 | |
| Majority | 774 | 1.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 59,492 | 79.0 | 6.9 | ||
| Conservative gain from SDP | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Tim Devlin | 28,418 | 45.2 | 10.2 | |
| Labour | John McKie Scott | 25,049 | 39.8 | 8.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Kay R. Kirkham | 9,410 | 15.0 | 18.7 | |
| Majority | 3,369 | 5.4 | 4.1 | ||
| Turnout | 62,877 | 82.8 | 3.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 0.8 |
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dari Taylor | 28,790 | 55.2 | 15.4 | |
| Conservative | Tim Devlin | 17,205 | 33.0 | 12.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Monck | 4,721 | 9.1 | 5.9 | |
| Referendum | John Horner | 1,400 | 2.7 | New | |
| Majority | 11,585 | 22.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 52,116 | 75.9 | 6.9 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 14.0 |
|||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dari Taylor | 23,414 | 53.0 | 3.3 | |
| Conservative | Tim Devlin | 14,328 | 32.4 | 1.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Suzanne Fletcher | 6,012 | 13.6 | 4.4 | |
| Socialist Alliance | Lawrence Coombes | 455 | 1.0 | New | |
| Majority | 9,086 | 20.6 | 2.0 | ||
| Turnout | 44,209 | 62.9 | 11.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | 0.8 |
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dari Taylor | 21,480 | 47.8 | 5.2 | |
| Conservative | James Gaddas | 15,341 | 34.1 | 1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mike Barker | 7,171 | 16.0 | 2.4 | |
| UKIP | Sandra Allison | 931 | 2.1 | New | |
| Majority | 6,139 | 13.7 | 6.9 | ||
| Turnout | 44,923 | 63.0 | 0.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | 3.5 |
|||
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Wharton | 19,577 | 38.9 | 4.7 | |
| Labour | Dari Taylor | 19,245 | 38.3 | 9.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jacquie Bell | 7,600 | 15.1 | 1.0 | |
| BNP | Neil Sinclair | 1,553 | 3.1 | New | |
| UKIP | Peter Braney | 1,471 | 2.9 | 0.9 | |
| Independent | Yvonne Hossack | 536 | 1.1 | New | |
| Christian | Ted Strike | 302 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 332 | 0.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 50,284 | 67.4 | 4.4 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 7.0 |
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Wharton | 24,221 | 46.8 | 7.9 | |
| Labour | Louise Baldock | 19,175 | 37.0 | 1.3 | |
| UKIP | Ted Strike | 5,480 | 10.6 | 7.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Drew Durning | 1,366 | 2.6 | 12.5 | |
| Green | Jacqui Lovell | 952 | 1.8 | New | |
| Independent | Steve Walmsley | 603 | 1.2 | New | |
| Majority | 5,046 | 9.8 | 9.2 | ||
| Turnout | 51,797 | 69.0 | 1.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 4.55 |
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Paul Williams[18] | 26,102 | 48.5 | 11.5 | |
| Conservative | James Wharton | 25,214 | 46.8 |  0.0 | |
| UKIP | David Outterside[19] | 1,186 | 2.2 | 8.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Drew Durning | 951 | 1.8 | 0.8 | |
| Green | Jo Fitzgerald | 371 | 0.7 | 1.1 | |
| Majority | 888 | 1.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 53,824 | 71.2 | 2.2 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 5.8 |
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Matt Vickers | 27,764 | 50.7 | 3.9 | |
| Labour | Paul Williams | 22,504 | 41.1 | 7.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Brendan Devlin | 2,338 | 4.3 | 2.5 | |
| Brexit Party | John Prescott[n 3] | 2,196 | 4.0 | New | |
| Majority | 5,260 | 9.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 54,802 | 71.3 | 0.1 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 5.6 |
|||
See also
Notes
- 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.