North Northumberland is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 2024 it has been represented by David Smith of the Labour Party.
Between 1832 and 1885 (then formally the Northern Division of Northumberland), it was represented by two Members of Parliament, elected by the bloc vote system.
Following the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was re-established as a single-member seat for the 2024 general election.
Constituency profile North Northumberland is a constituency in Northumberland in North East England. Its largest town is Morpeth, which has a population of around 15,000. Other settlements include the towns of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnwick, Amble, Rothbury and Wooler and the village of Pegswood.
This is a large, rural, sparsely-populated constituency which includes the Cheviot Hills area of the Northumberland National Park and the Northumberland Coast National Landscape. The area is popular with tourists; it contains coastal holiday parks at Beadnell and Seahouses and is known for its castles, particularly at Bamburgh, Warkworth, Alnwick and Lindisfarne. Mortpeth and Berwick-upon-Tweed are historic market towns. Berwick is notable for being England's northernmost town and having changed hands between England and Scotland numerous times throughout history; many residents today identify as being Scottish. The constituency has overall average levels of wealth; there is some deprivation in Berwick and in the former coal mining villages of Ellington and Lynemouth, whilst Morpeth and Alnwick are more affluent. House prices are generally higher than the rest of North East England but lower than the UK average.
North Northumberland has a low proportion of young adults and a high retired population; 31% of residents are over the age of 65. In general, residents have average levels of education, homeownership and income, and the child poverty rate is in line with the rest of the country. A high proportion of residents work in the agriculture, tourism and retail sectors, and the percentage claiming unemployment benefits is low. White people made up 98% of the population at the 2021 census.
Most of the constituency is represented by Conservatives at the local county council, although there were some Reform UK councillors elected around Berwick and Amble and Labour Party councillors elected in the former coal mining areas east of Morpeth. An estimated 53% of voters in North Northumberland supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the UK-wide figure of 52%.
Boundaries
1832–1885
The Wards of Bamborough, Coquetdale, Glendale and Morpeth, and the Berwick Bounds.
The seat was created by the Great Reform Act 1832 by the splitting of Northumberland constituency into Northern and Southern divisions. It was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when Northumberland was divided into four single member divisions: Berwick-upon-Tweed, Hexham, Tyneside and Wansbeck.
Current Further to the 2023 boundary review, the constituency was defined as composing the following electoral divisions of the County of Northumberland from the 2024 general election (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
Alnwick, Amble, Amble West with Warkworth, Bamburgh, Berwick East, Berwick North, Berwick West with Ord, Druridge Bay, Longhoughton, Lynemouth, Morpeth Kirkhill, Morpeth North, Morpeth Stobhill, Norham and Islandshires, Pegswood, Rothbury, Shilbottle, and Wooler.
It comprises the former constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed, together with the town of Morpeth, transferred from the former Wansbeck seat.
Further to a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2025, the constituency now comprises the following electoral divisions of Northumberland:
Alnwick Castle, Alnwick Hotspur, Amble, Amble West with Warkworth, Bamburgh, Berwick East, Berwick North, Berwick West with Ord, Druridge Bay, Longhirst, Longhorsley (part), Longhoughton, Lynemouth, Morpeth Kirkhill, Morpeth North, Morpeth Stobhill, Norham and Islandshires, Pegswood, Rothbury, Shilbottle, and Wooler.
Members of Parliament MPs 1832–1885 Constituency created (1832)
Election1st Member1st Party2nd Member2nd Party 1832 Viscount Howick Whig Lord Ossulston Conservative 1841 Addison Cresswell Conservative 1847 Sir George Grey, Bt Whig 1852 Lord Lovaine Conservative 1859 Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt Conservative 1865 Lord Henry Percy Conservative 1868 Earl Percy Conservative Matthew White RidleyKnown as Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt, from 1877. Conservative 1885 Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished
MPs since 2024
Berwick-upon-Tweed prior to 2024
ElectionMemberParty 2024 David Smith Labour
Elections Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional resulthttps://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/2387 Party Vote % Conservative 29,497 55.9 Labour 12,191 23.1 Liberal Democrats 8,484 16.1 Green 1,793 3.4 Brexit 775 1.5Turnout52,74072.7Electorate72,541
Election results 1832–1885 Elections in the 1830s
Grey was appointed as Secretary at War, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s
Elections in the 1850s
Percy was appointed a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.
Percy was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1860s
Elections in the 1870s
Percy was appointed Treasurer of the Household, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1880s
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Northumberland History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Northumberland List of parliamentary constituencies in North East England (region)
Notes
Sources
External links North Northumberland UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK