Consett (UK Parliament constituency)
# Consett (UK Parliament constituency)

Consett was a county constituency, centred on the town of Consett 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 voting system from 1918 to 1983.

## History

### Creation

Consett was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election. It succeeded the abolished North West Division of Durham, comprising the whole of that seat, excluding Tanfield, which was included in the new constituency of Blaydon, and Lanchester, which was transferred to Barnard Castle.

### Boundaries

**1918–1950**

* The Urban Districts of Annfield Plain, Benfieldside, Consett, Leadgate, and Stanley; and
* in the Rural District of Lanchester, the parishes of Craghead, Ebchester, Healeyfield, Knitsley, and Medomsley.

**1950–1983**

* The Urban Districts of Consett and Stanley.

Only minor changes - the Urban Districts of Annfield Plain and Tanfield (transferred back from Blaydon) had been merged with Stanley; and Benfieldside and Leadgate with Consett, along with the parishes of Ebchester and Medomsley.

### Abolition

The seat was abolished for the 1983 general election as a result of the periodic review of parliamentary constituencies following the re-organisation of local government under the Local Government Act 1972. On abolition, eastern areas, comprising the former Urban District of Stanley, were included in the newly created constituency of North Durham, and eastern areas, comprising the former Urban District of Consett, were transferred back to North West Durham (which had been re-established in 1950).

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1918 | Aneurin Williams | Liberal |
| | 1922 | Herbert Dunnico | Labour |
| | 1931 | John Dickie | Liberal National |
| | 1935 | David Adams | Labour |
| | 1943 | James Glanville | Labour |
| | 1955 | William Stones | Labour |
| | 1966 | David Watkins | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Aneurin Williams | 7,576 | 34.3 | |
| C | National Democratic | Robert Gee | 7,283 | 32.9 | |
| | Labour | G. H. Stuart-Bunning | 7,268 | 32.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 293 | 1.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,127 | 64.3 | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Herbert Dunnico | 14,469 | 46.5 | +13.7 |
| | Liberal | Aneurin Williams | 9,870 | 31.8 | −2.5 |
| | Unionist | Sydney Erskine Dare Wilson | 6,745 | 21.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,599 | 14.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,084 | 82.0 | +17.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,886 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +8.1 | |

General election 1923: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Herbert Dunnico | 15,862 | 52.0 | +5.5 |
| | Liberal | Ursula Williams | 14,619 | 48.0 | +16.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,243 | 4.0 | −10.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,481 | 78.2 | −3.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 38,989 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.4 | |

General election 1924: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Herbert Dunnico | 18,842 | 55.9 | +3.9 |
| | Constitutionalist | James E Davies | 14,836 | 44.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,006 | 11.8 | +7.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,678 | 83.4 | +5.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,363 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

General election 1929: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Herbert Dunnico | 22,256 | 56.5 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal | John Dickie | 10,772 | 27.3 | New |
| | Unionist | John William Watts | 6,400 | 16.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,484 | 29.2 | +17.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,428 | 80.1 | −3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 49,233 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | National Liberal | John Dickie | 22,474 | 53.0 | +25.7 |
| | Labour | Herbert Dunnico | 19,927 | 47.0 | -9.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,547 | 6.01 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,401 | 83.24 | +3.1 |
| | National Liberal gain from Labour | National Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | +17.6 | |

General election 1935: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | David Adams | 25,419 | 58.7 | +9.7 |
| | National Liberal | John Dickie | 17,897 | 41.3 | -11.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,522 | 17.4 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,316 | 83.8 | +0.6 |
| | Labour gain from National Liberal | Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | | |

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

* Labour: David Adams

### Elections in the 1940s

1943 Consett by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | James Glanville | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

General election 1945: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | James Glanville | 28,617 | 70.1 | +11.4 |
| | National Liberal | James Aloysius McGilley | 12,198 | 29.9 | -11.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,419 | 40.2 | +22.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,815 | 77.4 | -6.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | James Glanville | 34,907 | 66.79 | |
| | Conservative | Philip Goodhart | 12,634 | 24.17 | |
| | Liberal | Norman Dees | 4,721 | 9.03 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,273 | 42.62 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,262 | 86.84 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

General election 1951: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | James Glanville | 35,705 | 69.24 |
| | Conservative | George Frederick H Walker | 15,861 | 30.76 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,844 | 38.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,566 | 85.06 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

General election 1955: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | William Stones | 30,979 | 67.05 |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 15,224 | 32.95 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,755 | 34.10 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,203 | 77.51 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

General election 1959: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | William Stones | 32,307 | 66.83 |
| | Conservative | Denis Alan Orde | 16,037 | 33.17 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,270 | 33.66 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,344 | 81.65 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | William Stones | 29,676 | 68.10 |
| | Conservative | Denis W Stokoe | 13,901 | 31.90 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,775 | 36.20 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,577 | 76.73 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

General election 1966: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | David Watkins | 29,753 | 73.26 |
| | Conservative | Robert William G Sanderson | 10,858 | 26.74 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,895 | 46.52 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,611 | 73.51 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | David Watkins | 28,985 | 70.87 |
| | Conservative | Neville Trotter | 11,914 | 29.13 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,071 | 41.74 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,899 | 70.17 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

General election February 1974: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | David Watkins | 27,401 | 61.10 | |
| | Conservative | T Wilkinson | 9,058 | 20.20 | |
| | Liberal | R McClure | 8,384 | 18.70 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,343 | 40.90 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,843 | 76.50 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

General election October 1974: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | David Watkins | 27,123 | 66.98 |
| | Conservative | M Lycett | 7,677 | 18.96 |
| | Liberal | J Gillinder | 5,695 | 14.06 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,446 | 48.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,495 | 68.62 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

General election 1979: Consett :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | David Watkins | 26,708 | 61.26 |
| | Conservative | M Lycett | 10,841 | 24.87 |
| | Liberal | R Kennedy | 6,048 | 13.87 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,867 | 36.39 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,597 | 75.76 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
