Changes to Northumberland constituencies proposed by Boundary Commission

Under latest proposals by the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) that were published on Tuesday, the number of Parliamentary constituencies in the region would be cut from 29 to 27.

The final plans, revised from a previous version unveiled in summer 2021, include a number of key changes that could see residents move into a new constituency – and leave some existing MPs struggling to keep their job.

It could mean the abolition of a number of existing seats, including North Tyneside, Wansbeck, North West Durham, and Tony Blair’s former seat of Sedgefield.

The BCE has backtracked on some of the most controversial aspects of its previous designs, including major changes in Sunderland and a possible Whitley Bay and Cramlington constituency, but others have remained – including shifting Newcastle International Airport and other outlying parts of the city into the Hexham seat.

A new, month-long consultation has been launched to give the public a final say on the proposals, before they are submitted to Parliament by July 2023.

The changes could be enacted by the time of the next general election, which must be held before January 2025.

Here is a summary of the proposals:

Newcastle, Northumberland, and North Tyneside

The number of constituencies covering the three ‘North of Tyne’ areas will drop from nine to eight, as was the case under the Boundary Commission’s initial proposals, but there have been some major changes since last year.

Most notable is that the creation of a new Whitley Bay and Cramlington constituency, described by the BCE as “by far the most contentious issue in the North East region”, has been scrapped.

Instead, the Tynemouth constituency would be made more similar to its existing form – no longer severing Whitley Bay from neighbouring Cullercoats.

Mary Glindon’s existing North Tyneside seat would be abolished, with its wards split up between Tynemouth, a significantly altered Newcastle North, a Newcastle East and Wallsend constituency, and a new Cramlington and Killingworth seat.

The Blyth Valley seat held by Conservative Ian Levy would be divided up between that Cramlington and Killingworth constituency and a Blyth and Ashington seat, which also includes a good chunk of Labour MP Ian Lavery’s Wansbeck.

The town of Morpeth moves into the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency, which would be renamed Berwick and Morpeth.

In Newcastle, the villages of Callerton and Throckley – as well as Newcastle International Airport – would still be moved into the Hexham constituency.

However, a new Newcastle Central and West seat would retain the West End ward of Arthur’s Hill, which had been shifted into Newcastle East under the original plans – much to the confusion of some locals.

While the revised Newcastle North seat does take in the Benton and Longbenton wards from neighbouring North Tyneside, it is much changed from the original proposed – no longer including Camperdown, Killingworth, or Weetslade, and gaining the areas of Jesmond and South Gosforth.