Newcastle-under-Lyme is a constituency in northern Staffordshire created in 1354 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Adam Jogee of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile Newcastle-under-Lyme is a constituency in Staffordshire. It covers the large town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, which has a population of around 80,000, and the rural area to its west. This includes Madeley, Audley and other smaller villages.

Newcastle-under-Lyme is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent and forms part of its wider urban area. The town has an industrial history, with hatmaking, textile manufacturing and coal mining traditionally being the most important industries. The constituency has a large student population as the site of Keele University, which has around 14,000 students. The constituency has an overall average level of wealth; there is some deprivation in the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme and some of its contiguous villages like Chesterton and Knutton, whilst the town's southern suburbs are affluent. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the rest of the West Midlands region and the national average.

In general, residents of the constituency have average levels of education and homeownership. Rates of household income and child poverty are similar to national averages. A high proportion of residents work in the business administration, education and transport sectors, and the percentage claiming unemployment benefits is low. White people made up 92% of the population at the 2021 census.

At the local council level, most of the constituency is represented by Reform UK with some Conservative councillors in the town's southern suburbs. Voters in Newcastle-under-Lyme strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 61% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the nationwide figure of 52%.

Boundaries

Historic 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 from Chatterley railway station to the boundary of Audley parish.

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 of Audley and Bignall End; Bradwell; Chesterton; Clayton; Cross Heath; Halmerend; Holditch; Keele; Knutton and Silverdale; May Bank; Porthill; Seabridge; Silverdale and Parksite; Thistleberry; Town; Westlands; and Wolstanton.

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for the 2010 general election. The contents were changed to reflect the revised ward structure in the Borough, but the parliamentary boundaries were unchanged.

Current Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies (in effect since 2024 general election), the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

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.

Minor boundary change including the addition of the village of Madeley from the (abolished constituency of Stone, in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range.

The constituency includes most of the Newcastle-under-Lyme borough, primarily comprising Newcastle-under-Lyme town and including the villages of Audley, Keele and Madeley.

History From its creation in 1354, Newcastle-under-Lyme returned two MPs to the House of Commons. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency's representation was cut to one member.

Prominent frontbenchers or members Before the 20th century the constituency was often influenced and represented by members of the Leveson, Leveson-Gower and related Egerton family who owned in this constituency the Trentham estate - their most important MP was the Viscount 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 the Liberal Party (the Lloyd George Coalition Liberals allying with the Conservatives) to the Labour 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 the United States for that country to join World War II and for Indian Independence.

Results Since Wedgwood joined the Independent 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 the Conservative Party had represented the seat since it had been a dual-member borough before the 1885 general election which followed the Reform Act 1884 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

The 2015 result was the 9th-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. Its 2017 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 (behind Dudley North, where the result was a Labour majority of 22 votes).

In 2019, 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 twelve Staffordshire seats (100%) won (held or gained) by Conservative candidates. However, Labour regained the seat at the 2024 election with a majority of just over 5,000.

Results of candidates of other parties In 2015 one of four other parties' candidates standing, UKIP's Wood, won more than 5% of the vote in 2015 therefore keeping his deposit, the party which campaigned consistently for the public 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.

Turnout since 1945 Turnout has ranged from 87.6% in 1950 to 58.4% in 2024.

2017 election issues In the 2017 election, 1,500 eligible voters were turned away while 2 ineligible voters were able to vote. 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."

2024 election 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'.

Members of Parliament MPs 1353–1509 Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.

Burgesses in the English Parliament 1510–1707 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 in The House of Commons 1509-1558 and The House of Commons 1558-1603 to distinguish a member from another politician of the same name.

ElectedAssembledDissolvedFirst memberSecond member 1510 21 January 1510 23 February 1510 John Welles William Pury 1512 4 February 1512 4 March 1514 John Welles Thomas Rider 1515 5 February 1515 22 December 1515 John Welles Thomas Rider 1523 15 April 1523 13 August 1523 unknown unknown 1529 3 November 1529 14 April 1536 John PersallRichard Grey 1536 8 June 1536 18 July 1536 unknown unknown 1539 28 April 1539 24 July 1540 unknown unknown 1542 16 January 1542 28 March 1544 Harry BrokeJohn Smith 1545 23 November 1545 31 January 1547 Humphrey WellesHarry Broke 1547 4 November 1547 15 April 1552James RolstonWilliam Layton (died)Alexander Walker in place of Layton 1553 1 March 1553 31 March 1553 Roger FowkeJohn Smyth 1553 5 October 1553 5 December 1553 Roger FowkeJames Rolston 1554 2 April 1554 3 May 1554 James RollestonFrancis Moore 1554 12 November 1554 16 January 1555Sir Ralph BagnallRichard Smyth 1555 21 October 1555 9 December 1555Sir Richard Bagnall (properly Sir Nicholas Bagenal)Richard Smyth 14 January 1558 20 January 1558 17 November 1558 Richard HusseyThomas Egerton 5 January 1559 23 January 1559 8 May 1559 Sir Nicholas BagenalWalter Blount 1562 or 1563 11 January 1563 2 January 1567 Sir Ralph BagnallJohn Long 1571 2 April 1571 29 May 1571 Sir Ralph BagnallRalph Bourchier 12 April 15728 May 157219 April 1583 Ralph BourchierThomas Grimsdiche 16 November 1584 23 November 1584 14 September 1585 Peter WarburtonWalter Chetwynd 28 September 1586 13 October 1586 23 March 1587 James ColyerWalter Chetwynd 10 October 1588 4 February 158929 March 1589 Thomas HumphreyFrancis Angier 1593 18 February 1593 10 April 1593 John JamesThomas Fitzherbert 16 October 1597 24 October 1597 9 February 1598Sir Walter LevesonJohn Bowyer 1 October 1601 27 October 1601 19 December 1601Edward MainwaringThomas Trentham 1603 [sic] 19 March 1604 9 February 1611 Sir Walter ChetwyndJohn Bowyer (replaced in by-election 1605 by Rowland Cotton) 1614 5 April 1614 7 June 1614 Edward WymarkeRobert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey 1621 16 January 1621 8 February 1622 Sir John DaviesEdward Kerton 1624 12 February 1624 27 March 1625 Sir Edward Vere (disabled, replaced April 1624 by Charles GlemhamRichard Leveson 1625 17 May 1625 12 August 1625 Edward MainwaringJohn Keeling 1626 6 February 1626 15 June 1626 Sir John SkeffingtonJohn Keeling 1628 17 March 1628 10 March 1629 Sir George Gresley, 1st BaronetSir Rowland CottonNo parliament held 1640 13 April 1640 5 May 1640 Sir John Merrick (Country)Richard Lloyd (Court) 1640 3 November 1640 5 December 1648Sir Richard Leveson (Royalist) (until 1643)replaced by Samuel Terrick (Parl.)Sir John Merrick (Parl.)N/A 6 December 1648 20 April 1653unrepresented N/A 4 July 1653 12 December 1653unrepresented 1654 3 September 1654 22 January 1655Edward Keeling 1656 17 September 1656 4 February 1658John Bowyer(never sat) 1659 27 January 1659 22 April 1659Edward KeelingTobias Bridge N/A 7 May 1659 20 February 1660 unknown unknown

MPs 1660–1885