South East Durham (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids

South East Durham was a special area in the United Kingdom that elected one person to the House of Commons. This person was called a Member of Parliament (MP). They represented the people of South East Durham in the UK Parliament. This area existed from 1885 to 1918. People voted for their MP using a system called "first past the post," which means the candidate with the most votes wins.

History of South East Durham

How the Area Was Created

The South East Durham area was created in 1885. Before this, there were two larger areas called North Durham and South Durham. A new law, the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, changed how areas were divided for elections. This law split the bigger Durham areas into eight new smaller ones, including South East Durham. This made sure that more specific parts of the county had their own representative in Parliament.

What Areas It Covered

The South East Durham area included several towns and regions. It covered parts of the Sessional Divisions of Castle Eden, Darlington, Seaham Harbour, Stockton-on-Tees, and West Hartlepool. It also included the towns of Darlington, Hartlepool, and Stockton-on-Tees. This mix of towns and rural areas made up the constituency.

When the Area Was Abolished

The South East Durham area stopped being an election area in 1918. This happened because of another big change in how election areas were drawn. The northern parts of South East Durham became part of a new area called Seaham. The southern parts, including towns like Billingham, became part of the new Sedgefield area. So, the old South East Durham area was split up to form parts of these new constituencies.

Members of Parliament

The people listed below were the Members of Parliament for South East Durham:

Images for kids

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  Joseph Richardson, who served as an MP for South East Durham.

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  Sir Henry Havelock-Allan, another MP for South East Durham.