| Middlesbrough | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Map2: | EnglandCleveland |
| Year: | 1974 |
| Abolished: | 2024 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Electorate: | 59,744 (2018)[1] |
| Region: | England |
| County: | North Yorkshire (Tees Valley) |
| European: | North East England |
| Year2: | 1868 |
| Abolished2: | 1918 |
| Type2: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany2: | One |
Middlesbrough was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, recreated in 1974, and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2012 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Andy McDonald of the Labour Party. An earlier version of the seat existed between 1868 and 1918.
Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to expansion to include the Borough of Stockton wards of Mandale & Victoria, and Stainsby Hill, it was replaced by the new Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency.[2]
Since the constituency's re-creation in 1974, Middlesbrough has elected the Labour Party's candidate as its MP. In areas formerly part of Middlesbrough East, the MPs elected have been Labour since 1935.
Middlesbrough West took in rural and semi-rural areas outside the borough to the west, and was a marginal seat passing three times between the two largest parties after the Second World War, but a Liberal stronghold from 1918 until 1945; former soldier and iron and steel merchant Trevelyan Thomson ran unopposed at the polls for re-election in 1924.
1868–1885: The township of Linthorpe, and so much of the townships of Middlesbrough, Ormesby, and Eston as lie to the north of the road leading from Eston towards Yarm.[6]
1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, and so much of the municipal borough of Middlesbrough as was not already included in the parliamentary borough.[7]
1974–1983: The County Borough of Teesside wards of Berwick Hills, Marton, North Ormesby, St Hilda's, Thorntree, and Tollesby.
1983–1997: The Borough of Middlesbrough wards of Acklam, Beckfield, Beechwood, Berwick Hills, Gresham, Grove Hill, Kirby, Linthorpe, North Ormesby, Pallister, Park, St Hilda's, Southfield, Thorntree, and Westbourne.
1997–2010: The Borough of Middlesbrough wards of Acklam, Ayresome, Beckfield, Beechwood, Berwick Hills, Brookfield, Gresham, Grove Hill, Kader, Kirby, Linthorpe, North Ormesby, Pallister, Park, St Hilda's, Southfield, Thorntree, and Westbourne.
2010–2024: The Borough of Middlesbrough wards of Acklam, Ayresome, Beckfield, Beechwood, Brookfield, Clairville, Gresham, Kader, Grove Hill, Linthorpe, Middlehaven, North Ormesby and Brambles Farm, Pallister Park, Thorntree, and University.
The boundaries of the constituency were loosely based on the pre-1968 County Borough of Middlesbrough boundaries; the exclusions are its Easterside and Park End Wards, instead in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
2024: Constituency was abolished as a result of 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.
The constituency was mostly the urban city itself, largely in the sunset of its once world-leading steelmaking output. It suffers high unemployment and its adult population has mostly a low income; however, with modern advanced engineering, design and tourism, the city forms with nearby Redcar a bellwether for the North East region's economy firmly in the British forefront of a determined return to increasing national output.[8] In November 2012, male and female unemployment (based on the more up-to-date claimant statistics) placed Middlesbrough topmost of 29 constituencies in the region, well ahead for example the City of Durham at the bottom of the list, with just 3.4% claimants whereas this area had 9.4% claimants.[9]
In terms of housing stock, the authority is one of few authorities to see the proportion of detached and semi-detached homes increase (to 13.6% and 39.9%), in this instance this was coupled with a similar rise in flats to 11.9%, all at a loss to the share of terraced properties, down 4.7%.[10]
The film ToryBoy The Movie followed the election, directed by and starring John Walsh who documented how he became a candidate for the Conservative Party in Middlesbrough, challenging the sitting MP, Stuart Bell.[11] [12] In 2011, Neil Macfarlane, in a report for local newspaper Teesside Gazette, asked "Are Teessiders getting enough from Sir Stuart Bell?" when he failed to answer over one hundred telephone calls made to his constituency office over a three-month period.[13] The Gazette story was picked up by national newspapers. The Independent asked "is Sir Stuart Bell Britain's laziest MP?"[14] [15] The Guardian fact-checked the "laziest MP" claims and found that was false.[16] The Labour Party said it was looking into the allegations.[15] [17]
| Year | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1868 | Henry Bolckow | Liberal | ||
| 1878 | Isaac Wilson | |||
| 1892 | Havelock Wilson | Ind. Labour | ||
| 1893 | Lib-Lab | |||
| 1900 | Samuel Sadler | Conservative | ||
| 1906 | Havelock Wilson | Liberal | ||
| 1910 | Penry Williams | |||
| 1918 | Constituency abolished | |||
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Arthur Bottomley | Labour | ||
| 1983 | Stuart Bell | |||
| 2012 by-election | Andy McDonald | |||
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | |||
thumb|120px|Wilson
General Election 1914–15:
A 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;
"Bell has been an MP for nearly 30 years and has had a distinguished career in parliament as a frontbench spokesman on trade and industry in opposition and the spokesman for the Church of England in the House of Commons and member of the House of Commons commission until last year. He's part of a breed of politicians – also including the Tory Edward Leigh and Labour's Gerald Kaufman – who have been extremely active parliamentarians but not always maintained an office in their constituency. One measure of their parliamentary work is the proportion of votes they turn up to."