| Berwick-upon-Tweed | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Map2: | EnglandNorthumberland |
| Year: | 1885 |
| Abolished: | 2024 |
| Type: | County |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Population: | 75,718 (2011 census)[1] |
| Electorate: | 55,785 (December 2010)[2] |
| Year2: | 1512 |
| Abolished2: | 1885 |
| Type2: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany2: | Two |
| Region: | England |
Berwick-upon-Tweed was a parliamentary constituency in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2015 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Conservative.
It was a parliamentary borough in the county of Northumberland of the House of Commons of England from 1512 to 1706, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system. It was a county constituency since 1885, electing one MP under the first-past-the-post system.
Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was expanded and renamed North Northumberland to reflect the inclusion of the town of Morpeth from the abolished constituency of Wansbeck.[3]
The constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed is in the county of Northumberland. It includes as its northernmost point the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed and stretches south to include the towns of Alnwick and Amble — the Northumberland coast forms its long eastern boundary. Its length is roughly 50 miles (80 km) and its area is 2,310 square kilometres.
Predominantly rural in character, this constituency is the most northerly in England and is relatively sparsely populated.
Berwick had been intermittently represented in Scottish Parliaments but it is thought that it was first enfranchised as an English borough between 1491 and 1512.[4]
It was unaffected by the Reform Act 1832 and continued to elect two MPs until it was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. The 1885 Act re-constituted the constituency as one of four divisions of Northumberland, each electing one MP.
The contents of the parliamentary borough, as defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832, were:
The Parish of Berwick, and the Respective Townships of Tweedmouth and Spittal.[5] [6]
The contents of the county division, as defined by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, were:
The Sessional Divisions of Bamburgh, Coquetdale East (part), Coquetdale North, Glendale, and Norhamshire and Islandshire; and the Municipal Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed.[7]
Gained small areas to south from Wansbeck (Amble) and Hexham (Rothbury).
No change (the Urban District of Rothbury had been absorbed into the Rural District).
Contents changed following reorganisation of local authorities in 1974. The seat was expanded southwards, adding the (rural) wards in Castle Morpeth Borough, previously part of the abolished constituency of Morpeth.
In the fifth periodic boundary review of parliamentary representation in Northumberland, which came into effect for the 2010 general election, the contents of the existing Berwick constituency were unchanged and the Boundary Commission for England made only minor changes to take account of ward boundary changes. A proposal to rename the historic seat "Berwick-upon-Tweed and Mid Northumberland" was rejected: whilst it is geographically accurate, it was thought unwieldy.[13]
In 2009, a further government reorganisation resulted in the abolition of all local government boroughs and districts in Northumberland and the establishment of the county as a unitary authority.[14] However, this did not affect the constituency boundaries.
In the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was abolished and replaced by re-established North Northumberland constituency.
Rural in nature, sparse of population and with agriculture as a major source of employment, Berwick-upon-Tweed has never elected a Labour candidate, one of two constituencies in the north east of England not to have done so. The closest Labour have ever come to winning the seat was at the 1966 general election, where they finished just 4,373 votes behind incumbent Conservative MP Antony Lambton.
The area has been notable for its Liberal politicians – both Sir William Beveridge (influential in the formation of the National Health Service) and Edward Grey (Foreign Secretary at the beginning of World War I, best remembered for the "lamps are going out all over Europe...." remark) have served this constituency.
It was represented by Liberal Democrat Sir Alan Beith from 1973 (formerly Liberal) until his retirement in 2015, when it was gained by the Conservative candidate Anne-Marie Trevelyan. Beith was first elected at a by-election, required as a result of the resignation of the then incumbent MP Antony Lambton (Conservative), who had been caught up in a scandal involving call girls, marijuana and a tabloid newspaper.
In 1923, Mabel Philipson, a former music hall actress, took over the seat as a Conservative, when her husband was forced to resign. In doing so she became only the third female MP to sit in the House of Commons since female members became legal five years previously.
The seat has sent members to Parliament since its enfranchisement by Henry VIII. It initially sent two members; this was reduced to one in 1885.
| Parliament | First member | Second member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1510–1523 | No names known[15] | ||
| 1529 | John Martin | John Cooper, died and replaced after 1532 by ?John Uvedale | |
| 1536 | ? | ||
| 1539 | Odinel Selby | ? | |
| 1542 | ? | ||
| 1545 | ? | ||
| 1547 | Odinel Selby | John Watson | |
| 1553 (Mar) | ? | ||
| 1553 (Oct) | ? | ||
| 1554 (Apr) | George Browne | Odinel Selby | |
| 1554 (Nov) | ? | ||
| 1555 | Thomas Bradford | Charles Wharton | |
| 1558 | ? | ||
| 1562–3 | Anthony Temple | Thomas Norton[16] | |
| 1571 | Sir Valentine Browne | Henry Carey | |
| 1572 | Martin Garnett | Robert Newdigate | |
| 1584 | William Morton | Thomas Parkinson | |
| 1586 (Oct) | Sir Valentine Browne | ||
| 1589 (Jan) | William Morton | William Selby | |
| 1593 | William Morton | William Selby | |
| 1597 (Oct) | William Selby | Thomas Parkinson | |
| 1601 | William Selby | David Waterhouse | |
| 1604 | Christopher Parkinson | ||
| 1614 | Meredith Morgan | ||
| 1621 | Sir Robert Jackson | ||
| 1624 | Edward Lively | ||
| 1625 | Sir John Selby | ||
| 1626 | Richard Lowther | ||
| 1628 | Edward Liveley | ||
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments convened | ||
| 1640 (Apr) | Sir Thomas Widdrington | Hugh Potter | |
| 1640 (Nov) | Sir Thomas Widdrington | Robert Scawen | |
| 1645 | Sir Thomas Widdrington | Robert Scawen | |
| 1648 | Sir Thomas Widdrington | Robert Scawen | |
| 1653 | Berwick not represented in Barebones Parliament | ||
| 1654 | George Fenwick | Only one representative in 1st Protectorate Parliament | |
| 1656 | George Fenwick, died 1657 and replaced by John Rushworth | Only one representative in 2nd Protectorate Parliament | |
| 1659 | John Rushworth | George Payler | |
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Edward Grey | Liberal | ||
| 1916 by-election | Francis Blake | Liberal | ||
| 1922 | Hilton Philipson | National Liberal | ||
| 1923 by-election | Mabel Philipson | Conservative | ||
| 1929 | Alfred Todd | Conservative | ||
| 1935 | Hugh Seely | Liberal | ||
| 1941 by-election | George Grey | Liberal | ||
| 1944 by-election | William Beveridge | Liberal | ||
| 1945 | Robert Thorp | Conservative | ||
| 1951 | Antony Lambton | Conservative | ||
| 1973 by-election | Sir Alan Beith | Liberal | ||
| 1988 | Liberal Democrats | |||
| 2015 | Conservative | |||
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | |||
| 2010s –2000s –1990s –1980s –1970s –1960s –1950s –1940s –1930s –1920s –1910s –1900s –1890s –1880s –1832 to 1880 |
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