History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Cleveland

The non-metropolitan county of Cleveland was created under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, comprising the urban areas around the mouth of the River Tees, previously parts of the administrative counties of Durham and North Riding of Yorkshire. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 both as a county council and a non-metropolitan county, being succeeded by the unitary authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees. The constituency boundaries used up to the 2005 United Kingdom general election were drawn up when the county still existed. For the review which came into effect for the 2010 general election, the four authorities were considered separately, with Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland being combined.^[1]^[2]

For the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, coming into effect for the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England considered the area comprising the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which also comprises the unitary authority of Darlington, as a sub-region of the North East Region.^[3] For the purposes of this series of articles, the constituency of Darlington continues to be included in History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Durham.

The area has returned 6 MPs to the UK Parliament since 1983.

Constituencies timeline

County seat Borough seat

Constituencies	1974-1983	1983-1997	1997-2024	2024-present
Hartlepool	←present
Stockton¹	←1983
Stockton North		1983-2024		2024-present
Thornaby¹	←1983
Stockton South		1983-2024
Stockton West				2024-present
Middlesbrough¹	←2024
Middlesbrough and Thornaby East				2024-present
Redcar¹	←present
Cleveland and Whitby	←1983
Langbaurgh		1983-1997
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland			1997-present

¹ From 1974 to 1983, these constituencies were formally named as sub-divisions of the County Borough of Teesside.

Boundary reviews

1974

At the time of its creation, Cleveland contained the equivalent of approximately 6 constituencies: four boroughs contained within the County Borough of Teesside, namely Stockton, Thornaby, Middlesbrough and Redcar; Hartlepool in the county of Durham; and the majority of Cleveland and Whitby in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It also contained small areas of Easington and Richmond (Yorks).

1983

The next change to parliamentary constituency boundaries, following the recommendations of the Third Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, reflected the change in county boundaries and reorganisation of local government authorities in 1974. The review did not come into effect for a further nine years, at the 1983 general election.

The new constituency of Stockton North comprised the majority of the abolished Stockton constituency, including Billingham, Norton and the town centre of Stockton-on-Tees. The new constituency of Stockton South was based on the abolished constituency of Thornaby and included Thornaby-on-Tees and three wards in the borough of Middlesbrough. It also included parts of the old Stockton seat, parts transferred from Easington in Durham (Egglescliffe) and parts transferred from Richmond (Yorks) (Ingleby Barwick and Yarm). Middlesbrough gained some areas of the old Thornaby seat, including Acklam and Linthorpe, but lost southern areas, including Marton, to Langbaurgh. This new constituency was based on the “Cleveland” part of the abolished Cleveland and Whitby, with Whitby and surrounding rural areas being transferred to Scarborough in North Yorkshire.

There were only minor changes to Hartlepool and Redcar was unchanged.^[4]

1997

Under the Fourth Periodic Review, the three Middlesbrough borough wards (Ayresome, Brockfield and Kader) in Stockton South were transferred to the Middlesbrough constituency.

Markse-by-the-Sea was transferred to Redcar from Langbaurgh, which was renamed Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.^[5]

2010

At the Fifth Review there were only minor changes due to the revision of local authority ward boundaries.^[1]^[2]

2024

For the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England opted to treat the area comprising the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which includes the unitary authority of Darlington, as a sub-region of the North East Region.

Two Stockton Borough wards (Mandale & Victoria and Stainsby Hill) were transferred from Stockton South (renamed Stockton West) to Middlesbrough (renamed Middlesbrough and Thornaby East). Stockton West included some rural areas of the Borough of Darlington (previously part of the abolished constituency of Sedgefield). Saltburn-by-the-Sea was transferred from Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland to Redcar. Other minor changes to take account of revised ward boundaries.^[6]^[3]

Maps

1974-1983
1983-1997
2010-2024

2024-present

Communities timeline

The table below shows which constituencies represented selected communities within the current county from 1885 onwards.

Community		1885-1918	1918-1950	1950-1974	1974-1983	1983-1997	1997-2024	2024-present
Billingham		South East Durham	Sedgefield		Teesside, Stockton	Stockton North
Egglescliffe		South East Durham	Sedgefield		Easington	Stockton South		Stockton West
Eston		Cleveland			Teesside, Redcar	Redcar
Greatham		South East Durham	Sedgefield		Easington	Hartlepool
Guisborough		Cleveland			Cleveland and Whitby	Langbaurgh	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Hartlepool (incorporatingWest Hartlepool)		The Hartlepools			Hartlepool
Ingleby Barwick		Cleveland		Richmond		Stockton South		Stockton West
Loftus		Cleveland			Cleveland and Whitby	Langbaurgh	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Norton		Stockton-on-Tees			Teesside, Stockton	Stockton North
Marske-by-the-Sea		Cleveland			Cleveland and Whitby	Langbaurgh	Redcar
Middlesbrough	Acklam	Cleveland		Middlesbrough West	Teesside, Thornaby	Middlesbrough		Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
	Ayresome	Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough West		Teesside, Thornaby	Stockton South	Middlesbrough
	Linthorpe	Cleveland	Middlesbrough West		Teesside, Thornaby	Middlesbrough
	Marton	Cleveland		Richmond	Teesside, Middlesbrough	Langbaurgh	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	Newport	Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough West	Middlesbrough East	Teesside, Thornaby	Middlesbrough		Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
	North Ormesby	Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough East		Teesside, Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough
	Town centre	Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough East		Teesside, Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough
Ormesby		Cleveland		Richmond	Teesside, Redcar	Redcar
Redcar		Cleveland			Teesside, Redcar	Redcar
Saltburn-by-the-Sea		Cleveland			Cleveland and Whitby	Langbaurgh	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland	Redcar
Skelton and Brotton		Cleveland			Cleveland and Whitby	Langbaurgh	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Stockton-on-Tees		Stockton-on-Tees			Teesside, Stockton	Stockton North
Thornaby-on-Tees (town centre)		Stockton-on-Tees		Middlesbrough West	Teesside, Thornaby	Stockton South		Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
Yarm		Cleveland	Richmond			Stockton South		Stockton West
Community		1885-1918	1918-1950	1950-1974	1974-1983	1983-1997	1997-2024	2024-present

References

^ ^a ^b "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007".
^ ^a ^b "Boundary Commission for England Fifth Periodical Report" (PDF). pp. 337–341.
^ ^a ^b "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. paras 686-698. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF). pp. 13–14.
^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". In the County of Cleveland.
^ "Political boundaries across the North East could change - here's what it could mean for you". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

[:1-1] "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007".

[:2-2] "Boundary Commission for England Fifth Periodical Report" (PDF). pp. 337–341.

[:0-3] "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. paras 686-698. Retrieved 2023-07-09.

[4] "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF). pp. 13–14.

[5] "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". In the County of Cleveland.

[6] "Political boundaries across the North East could change - here's what it could mean for you". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

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