# Norwich North (UK Parliament constituency)

Norwich North is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament represented by Alice Macdonald, member of the Labour Party, after winning the seat in the 2024 general election.
The constituency includes parts of two local government areas, Norwich and Broadland with the majority of the electorate in Broadland.

## History

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election, when the former two-seat constituency of Norwich was divided into two single-member seats, Norwich North and Norwich South.
It was initially a safe seat for the Labour Party, held continuously by the party until 1983, when major boundary changes made the seat much more favourable to the Conservatives, who then held the seat from 1983 to 1997. The Labour member from 1997 to 2009 was Ian Gibson, who resigned as an MP with immediate effect on 5 June 2009 after being implicated in the expenses scandal. A by-election was held to replace him on 23 July 2009, which was won by the Conservative Chloe Smith. She retained the seat in the 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections, achieving over 50% of the vote for the first time in 2019. In 2022, Smith announced she would stand down from Parliament at the dissolution in advance of the 2024 general election, when the seat was regained by Labour's Alice McDonald.

## Boundaries and boundary changes
### 1950–1951

* The County Borough of Norwich wards of Catton, Coslany, Fye Bridge, Heigham, Hellesdon, Mousehold, Thorpe, and Westwick.

### 1951–1974

* The County Borough of Norwich wards of Catton, Coslany, Fye Bridge, Heigham, Hellesdon, Mousehold, Thorpe, and Westwick; and
* The part of the civil parish of Thorpe-next-Norwich in the Rural District of Blofield and Flegg, and the part of the parish of Sprowston in the Rural District of St Faiths and Aylsham, added to the County Borough of Norwich by the Norwich Extension Act 1950.
Minor expansion of boundaries under the provisions of Statutory Instrument 1951/325.

### 1974–1983

* The County Borough of Norwich wards of Catton, Coslany, Crome, Heigham, Hellesdon, Mancroft, Mousehold, and Thorpe.
Further to the Second Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies a redistribution of seats was enacted in 1970. However, in the case of the two Norwich constituencies, this was superseded before the February 1974 general election by the Parliamentary Constituencies (Norwich) Order 1973 which followed on from a revision of the County Borough of Norwich wards in 1971, resulting in a realignment of the boundary with Norwich South.

### 1983–1997

* The District of Broadland wards of Catton, Hellesdon North, Hellesdon South East, Hellesdon West, Sprowston Central, Sprowston East, Sprowston South, Sprowston West, Thorpe St Andrew North East, Thorpe St Andrew North West, and Thorpe St Andrew South; and
* The City of Norwich wards of Catton Grove, Coslany, Crome, Mile Cross, and Mousehold.
Gained suburban areas now part of the District of Broadland, including Thorpe St Andrew from Yarmouth and Hellesdon and Sprowston from North Norfolk. Southern areas transferred to Norwich South.

### 1997–2010

* The District of Broadland wards of Catton, Drayton, Hellesdon North, Hellesdon South East, Hellesdon West, Sprowston Central, Sprowston East, Sprowston South, Sprowston West, Taverham, Thorpe St Andrew North East, Thorpe St Andrew North West, and Thorpe St Andrew South; and
* The City of Norwich wards of Catton Grove, Coslany, Crome, Mile Cross, and Mousehold.
District of Broadland wards of Drayton and Taverham transferred from Mid Norfolk.

### 2010–2024

* The District of Broadland wards of Hellesdon North West, Hellesdon South East, Old Catton and Sprowston West, Sprowston Central, Sprowston East, Thorpe St Andrew North West, and Thorpe St Andrew South East; and
* The City of Norwich wards of Catton Grove, Crome, Mile Cross, and Sewell.
Drayton and Taverham were transferred back out, to the new constituency of Broadland. In Norwich, the part of the Crome ward around Morse Road moved to Norwich North, while the area around Mousehold Street in Thorpe Hamlet became part of Norwich South.
Following their review of parliamentary constituencies in Norfolk that concluded in 2007 and came into effect for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England created a slightly modified Norwich North constituency. The changes were necessary to re-align the constituency boundaries with the new local government ward boundaries introduced in Broadland and Norwich and to take account of Norfolk being awarded an additional, ninth constituency by the Boundary Commission.

### Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was expanded slightly to regain Drayton (but not Taverham) from Broadland and the area around Mousehold Street from Norwich South.

## Members of Parliament

Norwich prior to 1950
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | John Paton | Labour |
| 1964 | George Wallace | Labour |
| February 1974 | David Ennals | Labour |
| 1983 | Patrick Thompson | Conservative |
| 1997 | Ian Gibson | Labour |
| 2009 by-election | Chloe Smith | Conservative |
| 2024 | Alice Macdonald | Labour |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alice Macdonald | 20,794 | 45.4 | +6.5 |
| | Conservative | Charlotte Salomon | 9,944 | 21.7 | −29.9 |
| | Reform UK | Nick Taylor | 8,229 | 18.0 | N/A |
| | Green | Ben Price | 4,372 | 9.6 | +7.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chika Akinwale | 2,073 | 4.5 | −1.7 |
| | Independent | Fiona Grace | 353 | 0.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,850 | 23.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,765 | 62.0 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +18.2 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chloe Smith | 23,397 | 50.5 | +2.8 |
| | Labour | Karen Davis | 18,659 | 40.3 | −6.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Thomas | 2,663 | 5.8 | +2.6 |
| | Green | Adrian Holmes | 1,078 | 2.3 | +0.6 |
| | UKIP | David Moreland | 488 | 1.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,738 | 10.2 | +9.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,285 | 68.9 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.6 | |
General election 2017: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chloe Smith | 21,900 | 47.7 | +4.0 |
| | Labour | Christopher Jones | 21,393 | 46.6 | +13.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hugh Lanham | 1,480 | 3.2 | −1.1 |
| | Green | Adrian Holmes | 782 | 1.7 | −2.7 |
| | Pirate | Liam Matthews | 340 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 507 | 1.1 | −9.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,977 | 68.7 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -4.6 | |
General election 2015: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chloe Smith | 19,052 | 43.7 | +3.1 |
| | Labour | Jessica Asato | 14,589 | 33.5 | +2.1 |
| | UKIP | Glenn Tingle | 5,986 | 13.7 | +9.3 |
| | Green | Adrian Holmes | 1,939 | 4.4 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Wright | 1,894 | 4.3 | −14.0 |
| | Independent | Mick Hardy | 132 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,463 | 10.2 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,592 | 66.9 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.6 | |
General election 2010: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chloe Smith | 17,280 | 40.6 | +10.1 |
| | Labour Co-op | John Cook | 13,379 | 31.4 | +15.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Stephen | 7,783 | 18.3 | +2.2 |
| | UKIP | Glenn Tingle | 1,878 | 4.4 | +2.1 |
| | Green | Jess Goldfinch | 1,245 | 2.9 | −0.3 |
| | BNP | Thomas Richardson | 747 | 1.8 | N/A |
| | Independent | Bill Holden | 143 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Christian | Andrew Holland | 118 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,901 | 9.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,573 | 65.2 | +4.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +12.9 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

By-election 2009: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chloe Smith | 13,591 | 39.5 | +6.3 |
| | Labour | Chris Ostrowski | 6,243 | 18.2 | −26.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | April Pond | 4,803 | 14.0 | −2.2 |
| | UKIP | Glenn Tingle | 4,068 | 11.8 | +9.4 |
| | Green | Rupert Read | 3,350 | 9.7 | +7.0 |
| | Put an Honest Man into Parliament | Craig Murray | 953 | 2.8 | N/A |
| | BNP | Robert West | 941 | 2.7 | N/A |
| | Independent | Bill Holden | 166 | 0.5 | −0.2 |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Alan Hope | 144 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | NOTA | Anne Fryatt | 59 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Libertarian | Thomas Burridge | 36 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Peter Baggs | 23 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,348 | 21.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,377 | 45.9 | −15.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +16.5 | |
General election 2005: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ian Gibson | 21,097 | 44.9 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative | James Tumbridge | 15,638 | 33.2 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robin Whitmore | 7,616 | 16.2 | +1.4 |
| | Green | Adrian Holmes | 1,252 | 2.7 | +1.0 |
| | UKIP | John Youles | 1,122 | 2.4 | +1.4 |
| | Independent | Bill Holden | 308 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,459 | 11.7 | −1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,033 | 61.1 | +2.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.6 | |
General election 2001: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ian Gibson | 21,624 | 47.4 | −2.3 |
| | Conservative | Kay Mason | 15,761 | 34.6 | +2.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Moira Toye | 6,750 | 14.8 | +2.2 |
| | Green | Rob Tinch | 797 | 1.7 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Guy Cheyney | 471 | 1.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Michael Betts | 211 | 0.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,863 | 12.8 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,614 | 59.1 | −16.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.2 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ian Gibson | 27,346 | 49.7 | +6.9 |
| | Conservative | Robert Kinghorn | 17,876 | 32.5 | −10.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Young | 6,951 | 12.6 | −0.3 |
| | Referendum | Tony Bailey-Smith | 1,777 | 3.2 | N/A |
| | Legalise Cannabis | Howard Marks | 512 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | James Hood | 495 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | Natural Law | Diana Mills | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,470 | 17.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,057 | 75.9 | −5.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.8 | |
General election 1992: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Thompson | 22,419 | 43.3 | −2.5 |
| | Labour | Ian Gibson | 22,153 | 42.8 | +12.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Harrison | 6,706 | 12.9 | −11.1 |
| | Green | Lou Betts | 433 | 0.8 | N/A |
| | Natural Law | R. Arnold | 93 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 266 | 0.5 | −15.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,804 | 81.8 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −7.6 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick Thompson | 22,772 | 45.8 | +1.1 |
| | Labour | Mary Honeyball | 14,996 | 30.2 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal | Paul Nicholls | 11,922 | 24.0 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,776 | 15.6 | +3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,690 | 79.2 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.7 | |
General election 1983: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Patrick Thompson | 21,355 | 44.7 |
| | Labour | David Ennals | 15,476 | 32.4 |
| | Liberal | Graham Jones | 10,796 | 22.6 |
| | Workers Revolutionary | F. Cairns | 194 | 0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,879 | 12.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,821 | 76.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
Note: This constituency underwent boundary changes after the 1979 election, so was notionally a Conservative-held seat.

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Ennals | 17,927 | 50.8 | −5.2 |
| | Conservative | P. H. Rippon | 12,336 | 35.0 | +7.7 |
| | Liberal | P. Moore | 4,253 | 12.1 | −4.7 |
| | Ecology | G. Hannah | 334 | 1.0 | N/A |
| | National Front | L. Goold | 250 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Communist | A. Panes | 106 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Workers Revolutionary | S. Colling | 92 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,591 | 15.8 | −12.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,298 | 75.6 | +4.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.5 | |
General election October 1974: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Ennals | 17,958 | 56.0 | +7.4 |
| | Conservative | T. P. Doe | 8,754 | 27.3 | −0.6 |
| | Liberal | E. M. Wheeler | 5,378 | 16.8 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,204 | 28.7 | +8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,090 | 71.2 | −7.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.0 | |
General election February 1974: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Ennals | 17,111 | 48.6 | −10.1 |
| | Conservative | T. P. Doe | 9,817 | 27.9 | −10.3 |
| | Liberal | E. M. Wheeler | 7,773 | 22.1 | N/A |
| | National Front | G. Goold | 544 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,294 | 20.7 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,245 | 78.9 | +7.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.1 | |
General election 1970: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Wallace | 18,564 | 59.7 | −5.9 |
| | Conservative | Amédée Turner | 11,868 | 38.2 | +3.8 |
| | Independent Progressive | C. C. Fairhead | 658 | 2.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,696 | 21.5 | −9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,090 | 71.3 | −2.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −4.9 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Wallace | 18,777 | 65.6 | +4.7 |
| | Conservative | Amédée Turner | 9,851 | 34.4 | −4.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,926 | 31.2 | +9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,628 | 74.2 | −0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.7 | |
General election 1964: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Wallace | 18,111 | 60.9 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative | Amédée Turner | 11,620 | 39.1 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,491 | 21.8 | +1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,731 | 74.5 | −2.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.7 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Paton | 19,092 | 60.2 | −0.5 |
| | Conservative | Dudley R Chance | 12,609 | 39.8 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,483 | 20.4 | −1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,701 | 76.9 | +1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.5 | |
General election 1955: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Paton | 18,682 | 60.7 | −2.0 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Eaton | 12,087 | 39.3 | +2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,595 | 21.4 | −4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,769 | 75.3 | −8.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.0 | |
General election 1951: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Paton | 22,880 | 62.7 | +3.5 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Eaton | 13,587 | 37.3 | +13.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,293 | 25.4 | −10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,467 | 84.1 | −2.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.2 | |
General election 1950: Norwich North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Paton | 21,898 | 59.2 |
| | Conservative | V. R. Rees | 8,704 | 23.5 |
| | Liberal | Don Bennett | 6,376 | 17.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,194 | 35.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,978 | 86.2 |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |