Newcastle-under-Lyme is a constituency in northern Staffordshire created in 1354 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Adam Jogee of the Labour Party.
Contents
Constituency profile
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a constituency in Staffordshire. It covers the large town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, which has a population of around 80,000, and the rural area to its west. This includes Madeley, Audley and other smaller villages.
Newcastle-under-Lyme is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent and forms part of its wider urban area. The town has an industrial history, with hatmaking, textile manufacturing and coal mining traditionally being the most important industries. The constituency has a large student population as the site of Keele University, which has around 14,000 students. The constituency has an overall average level of wealth; there is some deprivation in the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme and some of its contiguous villages like Chesterton and Knutton, whilst the town's southern suburbs are affluent. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the rest of the West Midlands region and the national average.
In general, residents of the constituency have average levels of education and homeownership. Rates of household income and child poverty are similar to national averages. A high proportion of residents work in the business administration, education and transport sectors, and the percentage claiming unemployment benefits is low. White people made up 92% of the population at the 2021 census.
At the local council level, most of the constituency is represented by Reform UK with some Conservative councillors in the town's southern suburbs. Voters in Newcastle-under-Lyme strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 61% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the nationwide figure of 52%.
Boundaries
Historic
1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, so much of the municipal borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme as was not already included in the parliamentary borough, the local government district of Tunstall, and so much of the parish of Wolstanton as lay south of a line drawn along the centre of the road leading west from Chatterley railway station to the boundary of Audley parish.
1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Urban Districts of Audley and Wolstanton United.
1950–1983: The Municipal Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Rural District of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
1983–2010: The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of Audley and Bignall End, Bradwell, Chesterton, Clayton, Cross Heath, Halmerend, Holditch, Keele, May Bank, Porthill, Seabridge, Silverdale, Thistleberry, Town, Westlands and Wolstanton.
2010–2024: The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of Audley and Bignall End; Bradwell; Chesterton; Clayton; Cross Heath; Halmerend; Holditch; Keele; Knutton and Silverdale; May Bank; Porthill; Seabridge; Silverdale and Parksite; Thistleberry; Town; Westlands; and Wolstanton.
Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for the 2010 general election. The contents were changed to reflect the revised ward structure in the Borough, but the parliamentary boundaries were unchanged.
Current
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies (in effect since 2024 general election), the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of: Audley; Bradwell; Clayton; Crackley & Red Street; Cross Heath; Holditch & Chesterton; Keele; Knutton; Madeley & Betley; May Bank; Silverdale; Thistleberry; Town; Westbury Park & Northwood; Westlands; Wolstanton.
Minor boundary change including the addition of the village of Madeley from the (abolished constituency of Stone, in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range.
The constituency includes most of the Newcastle-under-Lyme borough, primarily comprising Newcastle-under-Lyme town and including the villages of Audley, Keele and Madeley.
History
From its creation in 1354, Newcastle-under-Lyme returned two MPs to the House of Commons. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency's representation was cut to one member.
Prominent frontbenchers or members
Before the 20th century the constituency was often influenced and represented by members of the Leveson, Leveson-Gower and related Egerton family who owned in this constituency the Trentham estate - their most important MP was the Viscount Trentham who obtained a Dukedom (1st Duke of Sutherland).
Josiah Wedgwood of the pottery family was repeatedly elected to the seat from 1906. In 1919, he shifted his allegiance from the Liberal Party (the Lloyd George Coalition Liberals allying with the Conservatives) to the Labour Party; he was among many Liberals and their supporters deserting the party in or around 1918 due to the steering of David Lloyd George to the right and inviting Conservatives into government with him. He was ennobled to join the Lords in 1942, as 1st Baron Wedgwood, and campaigned in the United States for that country to join World War II and for Indian Independence.
Results
Since Wedgwood joined the Independent Labour Party in 1919, the seat elected the Labour candidate at each election for the next hundred years, a total of 29 elections in succession. Labour came close to losing the seat in 1969, 1986, 2015 and 2017, and eventually lost the seat in 2019; the first time a member of the Conservative Party had represented the seat since it had been a dual-member borough before the 1885 general election which followed the Reform Act 1884 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
The 2015 result was the 9th-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. Its 2017 general election result was the fifth-closest result overall and the second closest to being taken by the Conservatives, a winning margin of 30 votes (behind Dudley North, where the result was a Labour majority of 22 votes).
In 2019, it was finally won by the Conservatives for the first time since it became a single-member seat, by over 7,000 votes. It was one of the twelve Staffordshire seats (100%) won (held or gained) by Conservative candidates. However, Labour regained the seat at the 2024 election with a majority of just over 5,000.
Results of candidates of other parties
In 2015 one of four other parties' candidates standing, UKIP's Wood, won more than 5% of the vote in 2015 therefore keeping his deposit, the party which campaigned consistently for the public vote for leaving the European Union in 2016. In 2017 the three largest British parties fielded candidates only — Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates in order of votes won.
Turnout since 1945
Turnout has ranged from 87.6% in 1950 to 58.4% in 2024.
2017 election issues
In the 2017 election, 1,500 eligible voters were turned away while 2 ineligible voters were able to vote. An independent report by Andrew Scallan found a "complex picture of administrative mistakes around registration and postal voting processes", and because of the small margin of victory (30 votes) concluded that "it is impossible to have absolute confidence that the result... reflects the will of the electorate."
2024 election
On 31 May Aaron Bell announced that he would not be standing again for Newcastle-under-Lyme at the 2024 General Election. He announced the news on Facebook with an open letter in which he said 'It is with a heavy heart that I have decided not to contest the forthcoming general election for personal and family reasons'.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1353–1509
Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.
Burgesses in the English Parliament 1510–1707
As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments held in this period, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given.
The Roman numerals after some names are those used in The House of Commons 1509-1558 and The House of Commons 1558-1603 to distinguish a member from another politician of the same name.
Elections
Elections in the 1980s
Resignation of John Golding on 24 June 1986, upon appointment as General Secretary of the National Communications Union.
Election results 1868-1918
Elections in the 1870s
Buckley resigned, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1910s
General Election 1914/15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
Liberal: Josiah Wedgwood
Unionist: Edgar Percy Hewitt
* Wedgwood was issued with a Coalition Coupon but did not accept it. He was also adopted by the local Liberal association, but considered himself an independent candidate.
Election results 1832-1868
Elections in the 1840s
Harris' election was declared void on petition on 11 May 1842, due to bribery by his agent, causing a by-election.
Harris' election was again declared void on 23 July 1842, due to bribery by his agents, and Colquhoun was declared elected in his place.
Christy resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds due to holding a government contract, causing a by-election in which he stood.