# Spennymoor (UK Parliament constituency)

Spennymoor was a county constituency centred on the town of Spennymoor in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system from 1918 to 1950.

## History

Spennymoor was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election, comprising southern parts of the abolished Mid Division of Durham, including the communities of Brandon, Brancepeth, Tudhoe and Willington. Spennymoor was added from Bishop Auckland and Crook and Tow Law from Barnard Castle.
It was abolished for the 1950 general election under the Representation of the People Act 1948, with the bulk of the constituency being included in the re-established constituency of North West Durham, with the exception of the town of Spennymoor itself, which was transferred to Durham.

## Boundaries

* The Urban Districts of Brandon and Byshottles, Crook, Spennymoor, Tow Law, and Willington;
* in the Rural District of Auckland the parishes of Helmington Row, Hunwick and Helmington, and North Bedburn;
* the parish of Brancepeth in the Rural District of Durham; and
* the parish of Hedleyhope in the Rural District of Lanchester.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | Year | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Samuel Galbraith | Liberal |
| | 1922 | Joseph Batey | Labour |
| | 1942 | James Murray | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | *Samuel Galbraith | 9,443 | 53.5 | |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 8,196 | 46.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,247 | 7.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,639 | 55.8 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 31,617 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
* Galbraith was sponsored by the Durham Miners' Association

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 13,766 | 50.3 | +3.8 |
| | Unionist | Robert Anthony Eden | 7,567 | 27.6 | New |
| | Liberal | Thomas Edward Wing | 6,046 | 22.1 | −31.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,199 | 22.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,379 | 81.2 | +25.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,710 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +17.6 | |
General election 1923: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 15,567 | 65.7 | +15.4 |
| | Unionist | William Appleby | 8,116 | 34.3 | +6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,451 | 31.4 | +8.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,683 | 69.7 | −11.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,962 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.3 | |
General election 1924: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 17,211 | 63.0 | −2.7 |
| | Unionist | Herbert Conyers Surtees | 10,101 | 37.0 | +2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,110 | 26.0 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,312 | 78.3 | +8.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,865 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.7 | |
General election 1929: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 20,858 | 71.8 | +8.8 |
| | Unionist | Francis Page Gourlay | 8,202 | 28.2 | −8.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,656 | 43.6 | +17.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,060 | 72.7 | −5.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 39,961 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +8.8 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 18,072 | 56.22 |
| | Conservative | Michael Dodds McCarthy | 14,072 | 43.78 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,000 | 12.44 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,144 | 79.42 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1935: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Joseph Batey | 21,473 | 71.18 |
| | Conservative | Michael Dodds McCarthy | 8,696 | 28.82 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,777 | 42.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,169 | 74.37 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939–40:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
* Labour: Joseph Batey
* Conservative:
1942 Spennymoor by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Dixon Murray | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
General election 1945: Spennymoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Dixon Murray | 22,587 | 69.89 | |
| | Conservative | Frank Douglas Nicholson | 7,510 | 23.24 | |
| | Independent | Charles Joseph French Savill | 2,222 | 6.88 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,077 | 46.65 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,319 | 79.76 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |