1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, so much of the municipal borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme as was not already included in the parliamentary borough, the local government district of Tunstall, and so much of the parish of Wolstanton as lay south of a line drawn along the centre of the road leading west fromChatterley railway station to the boundary of Audley parish.[2]
1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Urban Districts of Audley and Wolstanton United.
1950–1983: The Municipal Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Rural District of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
1983–2010: The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of Audley and Bignall End, Bradwell, Chesterton, Clayton, Cross Heath, Halmerend, Holditch, Keele, May Bank, Porthill, Seabridge, Silverdale, Thistleberry, Town, Westlands and Wolstanton.
2010–2024: The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards ofAudley andBignall End;Bradwell; Chesterton;Clayton;Cross Heath; Halmerend; Holditch;Keele;Knutton and Silverdale; May Bank; Porthill; Seabridge; Silverdale and Parksite; Thistleberry; Town; Westlands; andWolstanton.[3]
The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of: Audley; Bradwell; Clayton; Crackley & Red Street; Cross Heath; Holditch & Chesterton; Keele; Knutton; Madeley & Betley; May Bank; Silverdale; Thistleberry; Town; Westbury Park & Northwood; Westlands; Wolstanton.[4]
Minor boundary change including the addition of the village ofMadeley from the (abolished constituency ofStone, in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range.
From its creation in 1354, Newcastle-under-Lyme returned two MPs to the House of Commons. Under theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency's representation was cut to one member.
Before the 20th century the constituency was often influenced and represented by members of the Leveson, Leveson-Gower[n 3] and related Egerton family who owned in this constituency theTrentham estate[n 4] - their most important MP was theViscount Trentham who obtained a Dukedom (1st Duke of Sutherland).
Josiah Wedgwood of the pottery family was repeatedly elected to the seat from 1906. In 1919, he shifted his allegiance from theLiberal Party (theLloyd GeorgeCoalition Liberals allying with the Conservatives) to theLabour Party; he was among many Liberals and their supporters deserting the party in or around 1918 due to the steering of David Lloyd George to the right and inviting Conservatives into government with him. He was ennobled to join the Lords in 1942, as 1st Baron Wedgwood, and campaigned in theUnited States for that country to joinWorld War II and forIndian Independence.
Since Wedgwood joined theIndependent Labour Party in 1919, the seat elected the Labour candidate at each election for the next hundred years, a total of 29 elections in succession. Labour came close to losing the seat in 1969, 1986, 2015 and 2017, and eventually lost the seat in 2019; the first time a member of theConservative Party had represented the seat since it had been a dual-member borough before the1885 general election which followed theReform Act 1884 and theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885.
The 2015 result was the 9th-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[5] Its2017 general election result was the fifth-closest result overall and the second closest to being taken by the Conservatives, a winning margin of 30 votes (behindDudley North, where the result was a Labour majority of 22 votes).[6]
In2019, it was finally won by the Conservatives for the first time since it became a single-member seat, by over 7,000 votes. It was one of the twelveStaffordshire seats (100%) won (held or gained) by Conservative candidates. However, Labour regained the seat at the2024 election with a majority of just over 5,000.
In 2015 one of four other parties' candidates standing,UKIP's Wood, won more than 5% of the vote in 2015 therefore keeping hisdeposit, the party which campaigned consistently for thepublic vote for leaving the European Union in 2016. In 2017 the three largest British parties fielded candidates only — Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates in order of votes won.
In the 2017 election, 1,500 eligible voters were turned away while 2 ineligible voters were able to vote.[7] An independent report by Andrew Scallan found a "complex picture of administrative mistakes around registration and postal voting processes", and because of the small margin of victory (30 votes) concluded that "it is impossible to have absolute confidence that the result... reflects the will of the electorate."[8]
On 31 May Aaron Bell announced that he would not be standing again for Newcastle-under-Lyme at the 2024 General Election. He announced the news on Facebook with an open letter in which he said 'It is with a heavy heart that I have decided not to contest the forthcoming general election for personal and family reasons'.[9]
As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments held in this period, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given.
The Roman numerals after some names are those used inThe House of Commons 1509-1558 andThe House of Commons 1558-1603 to distinguish a member from another politician of the same name.
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Wedgwood was issued with aCoalition Coupon but did not accept it. He was also adopted by the local Liberal association, but considered himself an independent candidate.
Christy resigned by accepting the office ofSteward of the Chiltern Hundreds due to holding a government contract,[43] causing a by-election in which he stood.
^Date whenOliver Cromwell dissolved the Rump Parliament by force.
^Date when the members of the nominated orBarebones Parliament were selected at a "Convention". The parliamentary borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme was not represented in this body.
^Date when the members of theFirst Protectorate Parliament were elected. The parliamentary borough was represented in this body.
^Date when the members of theSecond Protectorate Parliament were elected. The parliamentary borough was entitled to be represented in this body.
^The Rump Parliament was recalled and subsequently Pride's Purge was reversed, allowing the full Long Parliament to meet until it agreed to dissolve itself.
^The MPs of the lastParliament of England and 45 members co-opted from the formerParliament of Scotland, became the House of Commons of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain which assembled on 23 October 1707 (see below for the members in that Parliament).
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