Post by thirdchill on Apr 6, 2020 16:07:11 GMT
Durham North West constituency is, as described, covers a large part of the area of the North West of County Durham. The current constituency covers the northern part of the old Wear Valley district, and the western part of the old Derwentside District areas.
Pre-1983, the constituency had a very different make-up. It didn’t include Consett or the immediate surrounding area to the north (these were in a separate Consett Constituency from 1950-1983). Instead it covered areas further to the south and east such as Spennymoor (from 1974-1983, now in Bishop Auckland) and the area of Brandon (from 1950, now in City of Durham).
Going back to the current make-up of the constituency, the largest town in the current constituency is Consett. Famous for it’s Steelworks, which dominated the landscape for over a century and closed in 1980, the closure of this devastated the local economy and left unemployment at one point around 36%. It has since made a recovery, thanks to regeneration projects, housing development and it’s easy access as a commuter town to both Durham and Newcastle (with housing considerably cheaper than in both major cities).
Though consett is the major population centre of the constituency, it is a very rural constituency and there are many towns and villages in the constituency such as Crook and Willington (to the south east), Stanhope, Blanchland and Castleside (to the west), Shotley Bridge, Ebchester, Burnopfield and Dipton (to the north) and Lanchester (to the East, heading towards the City of Durham from Consett).
The make-up of this constituency has remained largely unchanged, with a few minor boundary changes, since 1983. None of the changes from 1950, however, have altered the political landscape nationally, at least not until recently. Durham North West was a safe labour seat from it’s creation in 1950 up until it’s loss in 2019 to the Conservatives. Consett has been very much an area where up until recently labour would have weighed their vote at a national level, and some of the more rural towns and villages, such as Willington and Tow Law have maintained much stronger labour support over the years than rural villages elsewhere in Northern England, thanks to their industrial heritage. There are a number of more affluent villages in Weardale which would have leant more to the conservatives, as well as the wealthier villages nearer to Consett such as Shotley Bridge and Lanchester, however these villages form a minority of the population. The decline of the industrial base, the re-emergence of Consett as an ideal commuter town for working in Durham and Newcastle and more recently issues such as Brexit, have seen a couple of major swings in recent elections towards the Conservatives, culminating in a Conservative victory in 2019. The phrase ‘Consett is now Tory’ would have been unthinkable in the 1980’s.
At a local level, it is a slightly different story. In the old districts of Derwentside and Weardale and in the current Unitary Authority, there has been very strong independent representation at local level for decades, with Wear Valley electing mostly independents and Derwentside Independents being the main opposition to labour (and running close to controlling the authority) up until the dissolution of the old Derwentside District Council in 2007. This has continued in current Unitary Authority representation. Other party representation is sparse and has been for some time, the Lib Dems being limited to Consett North and at most winning a handful of wards on the old district councils. The conservative's last councillor in the whole constituency when they won Willington in 2008, thanks to a personal vote, and before then they had representation in Lanchester in the early 90’s and a handful of councillors (including Consett North and Benfieldside) up until the early 1980’s. Despite a national success, it may be more difficult for the conservatives top build up much local representation in the constituency, thanks to the dominance of independent candidates in areas of the constituency where they are strongest at a national level.
Pre-1983, the constituency had a very different make-up. It didn’t include Consett or the immediate surrounding area to the north (these were in a separate Consett Constituency from 1950-1983). Instead it covered areas further to the south and east such as Spennymoor (from 1974-1983, now in Bishop Auckland) and the area of Brandon (from 1950, now in City of Durham).
Going back to the current make-up of the constituency, the largest town in the current constituency is Consett. Famous for it’s Steelworks, which dominated the landscape for over a century and closed in 1980, the closure of this devastated the local economy and left unemployment at one point around 36%. It has since made a recovery, thanks to regeneration projects, housing development and it’s easy access as a commuter town to both Durham and Newcastle (with housing considerably cheaper than in both major cities).
Though consett is the major population centre of the constituency, it is a very rural constituency and there are many towns and villages in the constituency such as Crook and Willington (to the south east), Stanhope, Blanchland and Castleside (to the west), Shotley Bridge, Ebchester, Burnopfield and Dipton (to the north) and Lanchester (to the East, heading towards the City of Durham from Consett).
The make-up of this constituency has remained largely unchanged, with a few minor boundary changes, since 1983. None of the changes from 1950, however, have altered the political landscape nationally, at least not until recently. Durham North West was a safe labour seat from it’s creation in 1950 up until it’s loss in 2019 to the Conservatives. Consett has been very much an area where up until recently labour would have weighed their vote at a national level, and some of the more rural towns and villages, such as Willington and Tow Law have maintained much stronger labour support over the years than rural villages elsewhere in Northern England, thanks to their industrial heritage. There are a number of more affluent villages in Weardale which would have leant more to the conservatives, as well as the wealthier villages nearer to Consett such as Shotley Bridge and Lanchester, however these villages form a minority of the population. The decline of the industrial base, the re-emergence of Consett as an ideal commuter town for working in Durham and Newcastle and more recently issues such as Brexit, have seen a couple of major swings in recent elections towards the Conservatives, culminating in a Conservative victory in 2019. The phrase ‘Consett is now Tory’ would have been unthinkable in the 1980’s.
At a local level, it is a slightly different story. In the old districts of Derwentside and Weardale and in the current Unitary Authority, there has been very strong independent representation at local level for decades, with Wear Valley electing mostly independents and Derwentside Independents being the main opposition to labour (and running close to controlling the authority) up until the dissolution of the old Derwentside District Council in 2007. This has continued in current Unitary Authority representation. Other party representation is sparse and has been for some time, the Lib Dems being limited to Consett North and at most winning a handful of wards on the old district councils. The conservative's last councillor in the whole constituency when they won Willington in 2008, thanks to a personal vote, and before then they had representation in Lanchester in the early 90’s and a handful of councillors (including Consett North and Benfieldside) up until the early 1980’s. Despite a national success, it may be more difficult for the conservatives top build up much local representation in the constituency, thanks to the dominance of independent candidates in areas of the constituency where they are strongest at a national level.
