Houghton and Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency)

Houghton and Sunderland South is a constituency in Tyne and Wear represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since its creation in 2010, the seat has been represented by Bridget Phillipson of the Labour Party, who currently serves as Secretary of State for Education under the government of Keir Starmer.

In the 2010 and 2015 general elections, it was the first constituency to declare its result, continuing the record of its predecessor seat, Sunderland South, in the four general elections from 1992 to 2005. However, in the 2017 and 2019 general elections, it was beaten by Newcastle upon Tyne Central. It regained the position as first constituency to declare in the 2024 election.

Constituency profile
Houghton and Sunderland South is a medium density inland area, partly situated on the south banks of the River Wear, which is mostly populated by people of working age, and a minority of the population living in rural villages. The majority of the population historically relied on coal mining, steelworks and shipbuilding from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries on Wearside, with Tyne and Wear at the forefront of some of the earliest Labour Party activity, and several of its earliest Members of Parliament.

Boundaries
Houghton and Sunderland South was created for the 2010 general election when the Boundary Commission reduced the number of seats in Tyne and Wear from 13 to 12, with the constituencies in the City of Sunderland, in particular, being reorganised. The constituency was formed from the majority of the former Houghton and Washington East seat (Copt Hill, Doxford, Hetton, Houghton and Shiney Row wards) and parts of the former Sunderland South seat (St Chad's, Sandhill and Silksworth wards).

2010–2024
The City of Sunderland wards of: Copt Hill, Doxford, Hetton, Houghton, St Chad's, Sandhill, Shiney Row, and Silksworth.

2024–present
The City of Sunderland wards of: Copt Hill; Doxford; Hetton; Houghton; Sandhill; Shiney Row; Silksworth; St. Anne's; and St. Chad's.

The boundaries for 2024 election were established by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, where the constituency was expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range, by adding the City of Sunderland ward of St Anne's, transferred from Washington and Sunderland West (abolished).