Location of Hartlepool constituency

Hartlepool is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons.

Boundaries

The seat is currently coterminous with the borough of Hartlepool, which has close to the average population for a UK parlimentary constituency.

Westminster elections

The Member of Parliament since a by-election in 2004 is Iain Wright of the Labour Party. He succeeded Peter Mandelson of the Labour Party.

MPs since 1964

• 1964 - 1992 Edward Leadbitter Labour Party
• 1992 - 2004 Peter Mandelson Labour Party
• 2004 (by-election) - present - Iain Wright Labour Party

Politics and History of the constituency

Hartlepool was enfranchised as a borough constituency by the Reform Act of 1867, being given 1 MP. It had previously been part of a 2-MP electoral division in County Durham.

Hartlepool is a traditionally Labour constituency, though it has attracted surprises at times. In 1992 Edward Leadbitter stood down and was succeed by the former Labour Director of Communications Peter Mandelson. Mandelson's pivotal role in the reshaping of the Labour Party into New Labour has attracted much attention and he has become a prominent target. During the first term of office of the Labour government he was twice appointed to the Cabinet and twice forced to resign amidst controversial scandals. In the 2001 there was a prominent contest when the former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers and current leader of the Socialist Labour Party, Arthur Scargill stood, hoping to exploit uneasiness about "New Labour" in the traditional Labour heartlands. In the event Mandelson held his seat, while Scargill polled only 912 votes. Mandelson shocked many with a highly triumphalist victory speech in which he declared "But they underestimated the people of Hartlepool. And they underestimated me, Peter Mandelson, for I AM A FIGHTER AND NOT A QUITTER!"

The following year the town's first direct Mayoral election generated surprise when the mascot of Hartlepool United F.C., H'Angus the monkey, real name Stuart Drummond, was elected on a platform which included free bananas for schoolchildren.

Mandelson then went on to quit his role as MP for Hartlepool as he was appointed as a European Commissioner in the summer of 2004 triggered a by-election which took place on September 30 2004. The Hartlepool by-election is likely to be the last before the next General Election.

Election results

General election 1979

Lab     28,079  55.4
C       19,192  37.9
L        3,408   6.7
   maj.  8,887  17.5

General election 1983

electorate 69,346; turnout 69.8%

E. Leadbitter            Lab     22,048  45.5  - 9.9
F. Rogers                C       18,958  39.2  + 1.3
N. Bertram               SDP      7,422  15.3  + 8.6
                            maj.  3,090   6.3

General election 1987

electorate 68,686; turnout 73.0%

E. Leadbitter            Lab     24,296  48.5  + 3.0
P.C. Catchpole           C       17,007  33.9  - 5.3
A. Preece                L        7,047  14.0  - 1.3
I.J.H. Cameron           Ind      1,786   3.6
                            maj.  7,289  14.6

General election 1992

Electorate 67,969; turnout 76.1%

P.B. Mandelson           Lab     26,816  51.8  + 3.3
G.M. Robb                C       18,034  34.9  + 1.0
I.J.H. Cameron           L Dem    6,860  13.3  - 0.7
                            maj.  8,782  16.9

General election 1997

Electorate 67,712; turnout 65.6%

P.B. Mandelson           Lab     26,997  60.7  + 8.9
M.A. Horsley             C        9,489  21.3  -13.5
R.B. Clark               L Dem    6,248  14.1  + 0.8
Miss M.A. Henderson      RP       1,718*  3.9
                            maj. 17,508  39.4      

General election 2001

Electorate 68,164; turnout 55.8%

Rt. Hon. P.B. Mandelson  Lab     22,506  59.1  - 1.6
A.A. Robinson            C        7,935  20.9  - 0.5
N.F.H. Boddy             L Dem    5,717  15.0  + 1.0
A. Scargill              S Lab P    912*  2.4
I.J.H. Cameron           Ind        557*  1.5
J.R. Booth               Ind Lab    424*  1.1
                         maj. 14,571  38.2

By-election 2004

I.D. Wright              Lab     12,752  40.7  -18.5
Mrs. J. Dunn             L Dem   10,719  34.2  +19.2
S. Allison               UKIP     3,193  10.2
J.P. Middleton           C        3,044   9.7  -11.1
J.A. Bloom               RU         572*  1.8
Mrs. I. Ryder            GP         255*  0.8
J.W. Starkey             NF         246*  0.8
P.M. Watson              Ind        139*  0.4
C. Herriot               S Lab P     95*  0.3  - 2.1
Rev. Dr. R.T.B. Rodgers  Ind         91*  0.3
P. Berriman              Ind         90*  0.3
A. Hope                  MRLP        80*  0.3
R. Carroll               Rainbow     45*  0.1
R.E. Abrams              EDP         41*  0.1
                            maj.  2,033   6.5