Jarrow (UK Parliament constituency)

Jarrow was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2019 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Kate Osborne of the Labour Party.

The seat was created in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885''. '' and abolished in the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. With moderate boundary changes the constituency was replaced by the new Jarrow and Gateshead East, to be first contested in the 2024 general election.

1885–1918

 * The Sessional Division of South Shields;
 * the Municipal Boroughs of Jarrow and South Shields; and
 * so much of the Parish of Heworth as is not included in the Municipal Borough of Gateshead. 

NB included only non-resident freeholders in the parliamentary borough of South Shields.

''The constituency was created for the 1885 general election by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as one of eight new single-member divisions of the county of Durham, replacing the two 2-member seats of North Durham and South Durham. See map on Vision of Britain website. ''

1918–1950

 * The Borough of Jarrow; and
 * the Urban Districts of Felling and Hebburn.

Areas to the south and east transferred to the expanded constituencies of South Shields and Houghton-le-Spring (the Boldons).

1950–1955

 * The Borough of Jarrow; and
 * the Urban Districts of Boldon, Felling, and Hebburn.

Regained the Boldons from Houghton-le-Spring.

1955–1983

 * The Borough of Jarrow; and
 * the Urban Districts of Boldon and Hebburn.

''Felling transferred to Gateshead East. Redesignated as a borough constituency.''

1983–1997

 * The Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside wards of Bede, Biddick Hall, Boldon Colliery, Cleadon and East Boldon, Fellgate and Hedworth, Hebburn Quay, Hebburn South, Monkton, Primrose, and Whitburn and Marsden.

Minor changes to take account of ward boundaries of the newly formed metropolitan borough, including the transfer of Biddick Hall from South Shields.

1997–2010

 * The Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside wards of Bede, Boldon Colliery, Cleadon and East Boldon, Fellgate and Hedworth, Hebburn Quay, Hebburn South, Monkton, Primrose, and Whitburn and Marsden; and
 * the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead ward of Wrekendyke.

Biddick Hall returned to South Shields; Wrekendyke transferred from the abolished constituency of Gateshead East.

2010–2024

 * The Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside wards of Bede, Boldon Colliery, Cleadon and East Boldon, Fellgate and Hedworth, Hebburn North, Hebburn South, Monkton, and Primrose; and
 * the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead wards of Pelaw and Heworth, and Wardley and Leam Lane.

''Boundary changes for the 2010 general election transferred the community of Whitburn into the neighbouring South Shields seat. Pelaw and Heworth transferred from the abolished constituency of Gateshead East and Washington West. (The Wrekendyke ward had been renamed Wardley and Leam Lane).''

Abolition
As a result of 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the consistency was abolished with new constituencies being contested in the 2024 general election. Jarrow constituency was split between modified South Shields and newly created Jarrow and Gateshead East the following way:

Constituency profile
The constituency consisted of part of the metropolitan district of South Tyneside, including the settlements of Jarrow, Boldon, Cleadon and Hebburn, as well as two wards from the adjacent Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, covering Pelaw and Wardley.

In 2005 The Guardian described Jarrow as:

"'[A] former shipbuilding town south of Newcastle famous for its march against unemployment in the 1930s.'"

Political history
The last Liberal to serve the seat lost his seat at the 1922 general election and the last Conservative to serve the seat held it from 1931 to 1935, since which it has been served by MPs from the Labour Party.

Since 1935, just five people have served as MP for Jarrow; the first, Ellen Wilkinson, served as Labour's first Minister of Education during the first Attlee government. While the seat has been loyally Labour by comfortable margins since 1935, it has seen unusual swings a number of times; in the 1983 Conservative landslide, incumbent MP Don Dixon actually increased his majority; in the close 1992 election his majority fell somewhat despite the general swing to Labour; and in 2001 his successor Stephen Hepburn managed to increase his majority to 51.1% (incidentally the biggest any candidate has ever held in the seat).

Elections in the 2010s
This was the only seat in England at the 2019 general election where five candidates saved their deposit by securing over 5% of the vote.