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Berwick-upon-Tweed County constituency
Berwick-upon-Tweed shown within Northumberland, and Northumberland shown within England
Created:	1512
MP:	Alan Beith
Party:	Liberal Democrat
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Northumberland
EP constituency:	North East England

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Contents 1 Boundaries 1.1 Boundary review 2 History 3 Members of Parliament 3.1 MPs 1660-1885 3.2 MPs 1885-present 4 Elections 5 See also 6 References

The constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed is located in the county of Northumberland. It includes at its northern-most point the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed itself and stretches south, to cover the towns of Alnwick and Amble. The Northumberland coast forms its eastern boundary. Its length is roughly 50 miles (80 km), with an area of 2,310 square kilometres.

Predominantly rural in character, this constituency is the most northerly in England, and the most sparsely populated, having only 57,000 electors.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Northumberland, the Boundary Commission for England have made only minor changes to the existing Berwick constituency. A proposal to re-name the historic seat "Berwick-upon-Tweed and Mid Northumberland" was rejected for whilst being geographically accurate it was thought unwieldy.

The electoral wards used to form the slightly modified constituency are;

• The entire district of Alnwick
• The entire district of Berwick-upon-Tweed
• The Castle Morpeth wards of Chevington, Ellington, Hartburn, Longhorsley, Lynemouth, Ulgham

Rural in nature, sparse of population and with agriculture as a major employer, Berwick-upon-Tweed is at first sight a typical Conservative seat. However, it has been under the aegis of Liberal (later Liberal Democrat) Alan Beith since 1973, and previously the area has been notable for its liberal leanings - both Sir William Beveridge (influential in the formation of the National Health Service) and Edward Grey (Foreign Secretary at the start of World War I, best remembered for the "lamps are going out all over Europe...." remark) have served this constituency.

Beith was first elected in a by-election, required as a result of the resignation of the then holder Antony Lambton (Conservative), who had been caught up in a scandal involving call girls, marijuana and a tabloid newspaper.

In 1923, Mabel Philipson, a former music-hall actress, took over the seat as a Conservative, when her husband was forced to resign. In doing so she became only the third female member to take the oath since this had become legally possible five years previously.

The seat has sent members to Parliament since its enfranchisement by Henry VIII. It initially sent two members, this was reduced to one in 1885.

Year	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
April 1660		Sir Thomas Widdrington			John Rushworth
June 1660		Edward Grey
1661					Sir Thomas Widdrington
1665					Daniel Collingwood
1677		Viscount Osborne
1679		Ralph Grey			John Rushworth
1685		Philip Bickerstaffe			Hon. Ralph Widdrington
1689		Francis Blake			Philip Babington
1690					Samuel Ogle
1695		Ralph Grey
1698		Sir Francis Blake
January 1701		Ralph Grey
December 1701		Sir Francis Blake
1702		Jonathan Hutchinson
1710					William Kerr
1711		Richard Hampden
1713					William Orde
1715		Grey Neville	Whig		John Shute Barrington[1]
March 1723					Henry Grey
May 1723		William Kerr
1727		George Liddell			Joseph Sabine
1734					Lord Polwarth
March 1740					The Viscount Barrington
November 1740		Thomas Watson
1754					John Hussey Delaval
1761					John Crauford
January 1765					Sir John Hussey Delaval
December 1765		Wilmot Vaughan[2]
1768		Robert Paris Taylor
1774		Jacob Wilkinson			John Vaughan
1780		Sir John Hussey Delaval
1786		Sir Gilbert Elliot
1790		Charles Carpenter
1795					John Callender
1796		Earl of Tyrconnel
1802		Thomas Hall			John Fordyce
1803		Francis Sitwell			Alexander Allan
1806		Sir John Callender			Alexander Tower
1807		Alexander Allan			Sir Alexander MacDonald Lockhart
1812					Henry Heneage St Paul
March 1820		Viscount Ossulston			Sir David Milne
July 1820					Henry Heneage St Paul
December 1820					Sir Francis Blake
1823		Sir John Poo Beresford
1826		Marcus Beresford			John Gladstone	Tory
1827					Sir Francis Blake	Whig
1832		Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin	Whig
1835					James Bradshaw	Whig
1837		Richard Hodgson	Tory		William Holmes	Tory
1841					Matthew Forster	Whig
1847		John Campbell Renton	Conservative
1852		John Stapleton	Liberal
1853		Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks	Liberal		John Forster	Liberal
1857					John Stapleton	Liberal
May 1859		Charles William Gordon	Conservative		Ralph Anstruther Earle	Conservative
August 1859					Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks	Liberal
1863		William Walter Cargill	Conservative
1865		Alexander Mitchell	Liberal
1868		William Coutts Keppel	Liberal		John Stapleton	Liberal
1874		Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks	Liberal		David Milne Home	Conservative
1880					Henry Strutt	Liberal
1880					David Milne Home	Conservative
1881		Hubert Jerningham	Liberal
1885	Redistribution of Seats Act: membership reduced to one

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Sir Edward Grey, Bt	Liberal
	1916	Sir Francis Douglas Blake, Bt	Liberal
	1922	Hilton Philipson	National Liberal
	1923	Mabel Philipson	Conservative
	1929	Alfred John Kennett Todd[3]	Conservative
	1935	Sir Hugh Michael Seely, Bt	Liberal
	1941	Hon. George Charles Grey	Liberal
	1944	Sir William Beveridge	Liberal
	1945	Robert Thorp	Conservative
	1951	Antony Lambton	Conservative
	1973	Alan Beith	Liberal
	1988		Liberal Democrats

Notes

1. ^ Created The Viscount Barrington (in the Peerage of Ireland), 1720
2. ^ Succeeded as The 4th Viscount Lisburne (in the Peerage of Ireland), January 1766
3. ^ Mark Todd, the grandson of Alfred John Kennett Todd, currently serves as MP for South Derbyshire

General Election 2005: Berwick-upon-Tweed
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Alan Beith	19,052	52.8	+1.4
	Conservative	Mike Elliott	10,420	28.9	+0.8
	Labour	Glen Reynolds	6,618	18.3	+0.6
Majority			8,632	23.9
Turnout			36,090	63.4	-0.4
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+0.3

General Election 2001: Berwick-upon-Tweed
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Alan Beith	18,651	51.4	+5.9
	Conservative	Glen Sanderson	10,193	28.1	+4.0
	Labour	Martin Walker	6,435	17.7	-8.5
	UK Independence	John Pearson	1,029	2.8	+2.0
Majority			8,458	23.3	+4.1
Turnout			36,308	63.8	-9.7

General Election 1997: Berwick-upon-Tweed
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Alan Beith	19,007	45.5	+1.1
	Labour	Paul Brannen	10,965	26.2	+3.4
	Conservative	Nick Herbert	10,058	24.1	-8.7
	Referendum Party	Ned Lambton	1,423	3.4	+3.4
	UK Independence	Ian Dodds	352	0.8	+0.8
Majority			8,042	19.3	+8.7
Turnout			41,805	73.5	-5.6

• Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1941
• Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1944
• Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1973
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northumberland

• politics.co.uk. Berwick-upon-Tweed: Big seat, big issues. Retrieved on April 30, 2005.
• bbc.co.uk. BBC NEWS - Vote 2001 - Results & Constituency - Berwick-upon-Tweed. Retrieved on April 30, 2005.
• Women in the house of commons. House of Commons Factsheet. Retrieved on May 1, 2005.
• Burton Mail. Todd reveals his expenses claim. Retrieved on May 2, 2005.
• Constituencies in the unreformed House. David Boothroyd Page. Retrieved on September 8, 2006.

• This page incorporates information from Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page.

Constituencies in North East England
Labour	Bishop Auckland | Blaydon | Blyth Valley | City of Durham | Darlington | Easington | Gateshead East and Washington West | Hartlepool | Houghton and Washington East | Jarrow | Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend | Newcastle upon Tyne North | North Durham | North Tyneside | North West Durham | Redcar | Sedgefield | South Shields | Stockton North | Stockton South | Sunderland North | Sunderland South | Tyne Bridge | Tynemouth | Wansbeck
Liberal Democrat	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Conservative	Hexham
North East European constituency: Labour (1) | Conservative (1) | Liberal Democrats (1)