Derby North (/ˈdɑːrbi/) is a constituency[n 1] formed of part of the city of Derby, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Catherine Atkinson from the Labour Party. It was previously held by Amanda Solloway, a Conservative.[n 2]
Between 1983 and 2005, the seat was a bellwether; in 2010 and 2017, the seat leaned more to the political left than the overall result. The seat was, relative to others, a marginal seat from 2001, as well as a swing seat, as its winner's majority had not exceeded 8.6% of the vote since the 15.9% majority won at that year's general election. The seat had changed hands twice since then. In the 2024 general election, that changed, with Atkinson winning with a majority of 21.4%.
Boundaries
Historic
Boundaries of Derby North from 1983 to 2010
1950–1955: The County Borough of Derby wards of Abbey, Babington, Becket, Bridge, Derwent, Friar Gate, King's Mead, and Rowditch.
1955–1974: The County Borough of Derby wards of Abbey, Babington, Becket, Bridge, Derwent, Friar Gate, King's Mead, and Rowditch, and the parish of Chaddesden in the Rural District of Shardlow.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Derby wards of Abbey, Allestree, Breadsall, Chaddesden, Darley, Derwent, Friar Gate, Mickleover, and Spondon.
1983–2010: The City of Derby wards of Abbey, Allestree, Breadsall, Chaddesden, Darley, Derwent, Mackworth, and Spondon.
2010–present: The City of Derby wards of Abbey, Chaddesden, Darley, Derwent, Littleover, Mackworth, and Mickleover.
The constituency covers a largely residential area immediately north of Derby city centre, including some of the city's most affluent suburbs, as well as some of its council housing, though much of this is now in private ownership because of Right to Buy. Unemployment is below the national average. Average incomes are above the national average.[4]
History
A seat contested relatively closely between the two largest parties since 1950, Derby North was held consecutively by the Labour Party's Clifford Wilcock, Niall MacDermot, and Phillip Whitehead.[n 3] At the 1979 general election, it was covered by the BBC as the bellwether seat as the 41st of 41 seats that the Conservative Party needed to win; that year it stayed under control of Labour, but the Conservatives won the election regardless. Its exit poll was a central point of discussion of the BBC's election night coverage.[5]
The Conservative Greg Knight gained the seat in 1983, and held it until 1997.[n 4]
Labour's Bob Laxton defeated Knight in 1997 and held the seat until retiring in 2010, when the seat was retained for Labour by Chris Williamson. In 2015, Amanda Solloway, a Conservative; gained the seat with a swing of 0.8%. The 2015 result gave the seat the second-most marginal majority (measured by percentage) of the Conservative Party's 331 seats.[6] Williamson regained the seat in 2017. He was subsequently suspended from the Labour Party, and was blocked in November 2019 from running as a Labour candidate at the following election;[7] he resigned from the party and stated his intention to run as an independent, but came sixth out of the six candidates as Solloway was returned.[8]
^A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
^Knight was Deputy Chief Whip from 1993 to 1996 and Minister for Industry from 1996 to 1997.
References
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – East Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 1)
^"Labour MP Chris Williamson suspended over antisemitism row". Sky News.
^"Local statistics- Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
^Page 516, When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies by Andy Beckett
^"Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^Syal, Rajeev (6 November 2019). "Labour NEC drops antisemitism row MP as election candidate". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
^Williamson, Chris [@derbychrisw] (6 November 2019). "After almost 44 years of loyal service and commitment, it's with a heavy heart that I'm resigning from the Labour Party. I'll be standing as an independent candidate for Derby North to fight for social justice, internationalism and socialist values" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Derby North - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
^"Derby North Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^"Lucy Care". libdems.org.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
^"Who are Derbyshire's UKIP candidates in the General Election?". 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Amanda Solloway". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
^"John Charlesworth: UKIP replaces its General Election candidate for Derby North". 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
^"General Election: Green Party announces it will contest both Derby seats". 17 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.