Derby North (UK Parliament constituency)

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]}

Derby North
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2010
Boundary of Derby North in the East Midlands
County	Derbyshire
Electorate	71,867 (2023)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Catherine Atkinson (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Derby

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.

2010–2023: The City of Derby wards of Abbey, Chaddesden, Darley, Derwent, Littleover, Mackworth, and Mickleover.

Boundary changes before the 2010 general election resulted in significant changes – removing three wards (Allestree, Spondon and Oakwood) to the newly created Mid Derbyshire seat. In their place, Littleover and Mickleover wards moved in from Derby South.

Current

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,^[2][3] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the City of Derby:

• Arboretum (very small part); Abbey (most), Chaddesden East, Chaddesden North (most), Chaddesden West, Darley (most), Littleover, Mackworth & New Zealand; Mickleover; Normanton (small part); Oakwood (small part).^[4]

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.^[5]

Members of Parliament

Derby prior to 1950

Election		Member[6]	Party
	1950	Clifford Wilcock	Labour
	1962 by-election	Niall MacDermot
	1970	Phillip Whitehead
	1983	Greg Knight	Conservative
	1997	Bob Laxton	Labour
	2010	Chris Williamson
	2015	Amanda Solloway	Conservative
	2017	Chris Williamson	Labour
	2019[7]		Independent
	2019		Labour
	2019		Independent
	2019	Amanda Solloway	Conservative
	2024	Catherine Atkinson	Labour

Constituency profile

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10] 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;^[11] 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.^[12]

Elections

Derby North election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Derby North^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Catherine Atkinson	18,619	45.5	+5.7
	Conservative	Amanda Solloway	9,704	23.7	−21.5
	Reform UK	Tim Prosser	7,488	18.3	+14.2
	Green	Helen Hitchcock	3,286	8.0	+5.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Sweeney	1,822	4.5	−2.8
Majority			8,915	21.8	N/A
Turnout			40,919	57.2	−7.0
Registered electors			71,900
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.6

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Derby North^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amanda Solloway	21,259	45.2	+0.8
	Labour	Tony Tinley	18,719	39.8	−8.7
	Liberal Democrats	Greg Webb	3,450	7.3	+2.7
	Brexit Party	Alan Graves	1,908	4.1	New
	Green	Helen Hitchcock	1,046	2.2	New
	Independent	Chris Williamson	635	1.4	N/A
Majority			2,540	5.4	N/A
Turnout			47,017	64.2	−4.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+4.8

Results of UK House of Commons seat Derby North, created 1950, since 2005

General election 2017: Derby North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Williamson	23,622	48.5	+11.9
	Conservative	Amanda Solloway	21,607	44.4	+7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Lucy Care[15]	2,262	4.6	−4.0
	UKIP	Bill Piper[16]	1,181	2.4	−12.2
Majority			2,015	4.1	N/A
Turnout			48,672	69.1	0.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.1

General election 2015: Derby North^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amanda Solloway[18]	16,402	36.66	+5.0
	Labour	Chris Williamson	16,361	36.57	+3.6
	UKIP	Tilly Ward[19]	6,532	14.6	+12.8
	Liberal Democrats	Lucy Care	3,832	8.6	−19.4
	Green	Alice Mason-Power[20]	1,618	3.6	New
Majority			41	0.09	N/A
Turnout			44,745	69.1	+6.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+0.8

General election 2010: Derby North^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris Williamson	14,896	33.0	−9.0
	Conservative	Stephen Mold	14,283	31.7	+5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Lucy Care	12,638	28.0	+0.5
	BNP	Pete Cheeseman	2,000	4.4	New
	UKIP	Elizabeth Ransome[23]	829	1.8	−0.2
	Independent	David Gale	264	0.6	New
	Pirate	David Geraghty[24]	170	0.4	New
Majority			613	1.4	−13.2
Turnout			45,080	63.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.4

Boundary changes occurred in 2010, so percentage changes are based on notional results

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Derby North^[25][26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Laxton	19,272	44.0	−6.9
	Conservative	Richard Aitken-Davies	15,515	35.4	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Beckett	7,209	16.5	+2.4
	Veritas	Martin Bardoe	958	2.2	New
	UKIP	Michelle Medgyesy	864	2.0	New
Majority			3,757	8.6	−7.3
Turnout			43,818	64.3	+6.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.8

General election 2001: Derby North^[28][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Laxton	22,415	50.9	−2.3
	Conservative	Barry Holden	15,433	35.0	+0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Charlesworth	6,206	14.1	+5.1
Majority			6,982	15.9	−3.0
Turnout			44,054	57.8	−16.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Derby North^[29][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Laxton	29,844	53.2	+12.3
	Conservative	Gregory Knight	19,229	34.3	−14.1
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Charlesworth	5,059	9.0	−0.6
	Referendum	Paul Reynolds	1,816	3.2	New
	ProLife Alliance	Jane H.M. Waters	195	0.3	New
Majority			10,615	18.9	N/A
Turnout			56,143	73.8	−6.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.2

General election 1992: Derby North^[30][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gregory Knight	28,574	48.4	−0.5
	Labour	Bob Laxton	24,121	40.9	+3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Charlesworth	5,638	9.6	−3.8
	Green	Eric Wall	383	0.7	+0.2
	National Front	Peter Hart	245	0.4	New
	Natural Law	N. Onley	58	0.1	New
Majority			4,453	7.5	−3.8
Turnout			59,019	80.7	+4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.0

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Derby North^[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gregory Knight	26,561	48.9	+5.2
	Labour	Phillip Whitehead	20,236	37.2	+0.4
	Liberal	Stephen Connolly	7,268	13.4	−6.1
	Green	Eric Wall	291	0.5	New
Majority			6,325	11.7	+4.8
Turnout			54,356	75.8	+3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

General election 1983: Derby North^[34][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gregory Knight	22,303	43.7	−0.8
	Labour	Phillip Whitehead	18,797	36.8	−8.1
	Liberal	Stephen Connolly	9,924	19.5	+10.0
Majority			3,506	6.9	+6.5
Turnout			51,024	72.5	−4.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+3.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Derby North^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phillip Whitehead	28,797	44.9	+0.4
	Conservative	R.N. Kemm	28,583	44.5	+6.9
	Liberal	R.F. Whitehouse	6,093	9.5	−8.0
	National Front	C. Bayliss	592	0.9	New
	United English National	S.P. Gibson	116	0.2	New
Majority			214	0.4	−6.5
Turnout			64,181	76.8	+3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.3

General election October 1974: Derby North^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phillip Whitehead	26,960	44.5	+4.3
	Conservative	D.J. Penfold	22,767	37.6	−0.6
	Liberal	M.D. Peel	10,595	17.5	−4.1
	More Prosperous Britain	H. Smith	242	0.4	New
Majority			4,193	6.9	+4.9
Turnout			60,564	73.2	−5.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Derby North^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phillip Whitehead	26,029	40.2	−14.5
	Conservative	D.J. Penfold	24,736	38.2	−7.1
	Liberal	M.D. Peel	13,995	21.6	New
Majority			1,293	2.0	−7.4
Turnout			64,760	79.1	+6.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Derby North^[39][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phillip Whitehead	20,114	54.7	−7.1
	Conservative	John W Roberts	16,635	45.3	+7.1
Majority			3,479	9.4	−14.2
Turnout			36,749	64.2	−6.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Derby North^[41][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Niall MacDermot	23,033	61.8	+8.9
	Conservative	Derek H Hene	14,215	38.2	+3.6
Majority			8,818	23.6	+5.3
Turnout			37,248	70.8	−3.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Derby North^[43][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Niall MacDermot	21,386	52.9	+0.1
	Conservative	Derek H Hene	13,991	34.6	−12.6
	Liberal	Alfred Leslie Smart	5,057	12.5	n/a
Majority			7,395	18.3	+12.7
Turnout			40,434	74.4	−2.3
	Labour hold		Swing

1962 Derby North by-election^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Niall MacDermot	16,497	49.4	−3.4
	Liberal	Lyndon Irving	8,479	25.4	new
	Conservative	T.M. Wray	7,502	22.5	−24.7
	Independent	T. Lynch	886	2.7	new
Majority			8,018	24.0	+18.4
Turnout			33,364
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Derby North^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clifford Wilcock	22,673	52.8	−3.0
	Conservative	Robin Maxwell-Hyslop	20,266	47.2	+3.0
Majority			2,407	5.6	−6.0
Turnout			42,939	76.7	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Derby North^[47][48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clifford Wilcock	24,162	55.8	+0.6
	Conservative	Rolla CP Rouse	19,156	44.2	+7.3
Majority			5,006	11.6	−6.7
Turnout			43,318	75.7	−9.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Derby North^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clifford Wilcock	22,390	57.09	+1.89
	Conservative	Victor Echevarri Waldron	16,828	42.91	+6.01
Majority			5,562	14.18	−4.12
Turnout			39,218	82.49	−3.01
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Derby North^[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clifford Wilcock	22,410	55.2	New
	Conservative	V. Seely	14,980	36.9	New
	Liberal	Gerald Ivan Walters	3,190	7.9	New
Majority			7,430	18.3	New
Turnout			40,580	85.5	New
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Derbyshire

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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.
3. Whitehead was later an MEP
4. Knight was Deputy Chief Whip from 1993 to 1996 and Minister for Industry from 1996 to 1997.