# Sunderland North (UK Parliament constituency)

54°55′16″N 1°22′26″W﻿ / ﻿54.921°N 1.374°W﻿ / 54.921; -1.374
Sunderland North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

## History

Sunderland North, as can be inferred from the name, formed the northern part of the County Borough (now City) of Sunderland. The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election when the existing two-member Sunderland seat was split into two. Fulwell was transferred from Houghton-le-Spring.
It was abolished for the 2010 general election when it was replaced by the new constituency of Sunderland Central, with the exception of the two western wards of Castle and Redhill, which were transferred to the new constituency of Washington and Sunderland West.
It was considered to be a safe seat for the Labour Party throughout its existence.

## Boundaries
### 1950–1974

* The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Bridge, Central, Colliery, Deptford, Fulwell, Monkwearmouth, Monkwearmouth Shore, Roker, and Southwick.

### 1974–1983

* The County Borough of Sunderland wards of Castletown, Central, Colliery, Deptford, Downhill, Ford, Fulwell, Hylton Castle, Monkwearmouth, Pallion, Roker, and Southwick.
Boundaries expanded in line with those of the County Borough, including the gain of Hylton from Houghton-le-Spring. Existing boundary with Sunderland South realigned, including the gain of Pallion ward.

### 1983–1997

* The Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland wards of Castletown, Central, Colliery, Fulwell, Pallion, St Peter's, South Hylton, Southwick, and Town End Farm.
Minor changes to take account of new ward boundaries.

### 1997–2010

* The City of Sunderland wards of Castletown, Central, Colliery, Fulwell, Pallion, St Peter's, Southwick, and Town End Farm.
South Hylton ward transferred to Sunderland South.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | Fred Willey | Labour |
| 1983 | Bob Clay | Labour |
| 1992 | Bill Etherington | Labour |
| 2010 | Constituency abolished: see Sunderland Central | Constituency abolished: see Sunderland Central |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 24,816 | 54.1 | |
| | Conservative | S. Hudson | 17,469 | 38.1 | |
| | Liberal | James Louis Hurst | 3,614 | 7.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,347 | 16.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,899 | 84.4 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 23,792 | 54.0 | −0.1 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Kendall | 20,302 | 46.0 | +7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,490 | 8.0 | −8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,094 | 72.3 | −12.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −4.0 | |
General election 1955: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 24,237 | 53.1 | −0.9 |
| | Conservative | Auberon M. Herbert | 21,401 | 46.9 | +0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,836 | 6.2 | −1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,638 | 75.7 | +3.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.9 | |
General election 1959: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 24,341 | 52.4 | −0.7 |
| | Conservative | Philip E. Heselton | 22,133 | 47.6 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,208 | 4.8 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,474 | 80.5 | +4.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.7 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 23,826 | 55.8 | +3.4 |
| | Conservative | Philip Edwin Heselton | 17,696 | 41.5 | −6.1 |
| | Ind. Conservative | Robert C. Middelwood | 1,157 | 2.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,130 | 14.3 | +9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,679 | 75.1 | −5.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.8 | |
General election 1966: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 25,438 | 60.8 | +5.0 |
| | Conservative | Peter Rost | 16,423 | 39.2 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,015 | 21.6 | +7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,861 | 74.5 | −0.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.7 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 25,779 | 60.6 | −0.2 |
| | Conservative | John M. Reay-Smith | 16,738 | 39.4 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,041 | 21.2 | −0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,517 | 69.7 | −4.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.2 | |
General election February 1974: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 28,933 | 52.2 | −8.4 |
| | Conservative | John David Stuart Brown | 17,533 | 31.6 | −7.8 |
| | Liberal | John Anthony Lennox | 9,015 | 16.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,400 | 20.6 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,481 | 74.0 | +4.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 29,618 | 58.5 | +6.3 |
| | Conservative | John David Stuart Brown | 13,497 | 27.5 | −4.1 |
| | Liberal | John Anthony Lennox | 7,077 | 14.0 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,671 | 31.0 | +10.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,642 | 67.0 | −7.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +5.2 | |
General election 1979: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Fred Willey | 29,213 | 57.7 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Lindsay James Keith | 16,311 | 32.1 | +4.6 |
| | Liberal | John Anthony Lennox | 5,238 | 10.3 | −3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,902 | 25.6 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,762 | 69.5 | +2.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.9 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Clay | 24,179 | 46.3 | −11.4 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Lewis | 16,983 | 32.5 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal | Douglas McCourt | 11,090 | 21.2 | +10.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,196 | 13.8 | −11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,292 | 66.5 | −3.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Clay | 29,767 | 55.8 | +9.5 |
| | Conservative | Iain Pickton | 15,095 | 28.3 | −4.2 |
| | Liberal | Terence Jenkinson | 8,518 | 15.9 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,672 | 27.5 | +13.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,380 | 70.5 | +4.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.9 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bill Etherington | 30,481 | 60.7 | +4.9 |
| | Conservative | Judith Barnes | 13,477 | 26.9 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Vic Halom | 5,389 | 10.7 | −5.2 |
| | Liberal | Winifred Lundgren | 841 | 1.7 | −14.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,004 | 33.9 | +6.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,188 | 68.9 | −1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.2 | |
General election 1997: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bill Etherington | 26,067 | 68.2 | +8.6 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Selous | 6,370 | 16.7 | −11.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Geoffrey Pryke | 3,973 | 10.4 | −0.6 |
| | Referendum | Mark Nicholson | 1,394 | 3.6 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Kenneth Newby | 409 | 1.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,697 | 51.5 | +17.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,213 | 59.1 | −9.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bill Etherington | 18,685 | 62.7 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative | Michael Harris | 5,331 | 17.9 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Lennox | 3,599 | 12.1 | +1.7 |
| | Independent | Neil Herron | 1,518 | 5.1 | New |
| | BNP | David Guynan | 687 | 2.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,354 | 44.8 | −6.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,820 | 49.0 | −10.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 2005: Sunderland North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bill Etherington | 15,719 | 54.4 | −8.3 |
| | Conservative | Stephen Daughton | 5,724 | 19.8 | +1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Hollern | 4,277 | 14.8 | +2.7 |
| | Independent | Neil Herron | 2,057 | 7.1 | +2.0 |
| | BNP | Debra Hiles | 1,136 | 3.9 | +1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,995 | 34.6 | −10.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,913 | 49.7 | +0.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.1 | |