Derby North
Derby North is a constituency 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.
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%.
Constituency profile
Derby North is an entirely urban and suburban constituency located in Derbyshire and covers the western and northern neighbourhoods of the city of Derby. This includes the areas of Mickleover, Littleover, Mackworth Estate, Darley Abbey and Chaddesden. Derby is a centre for engineering, particularly in rail transport. The city has a large deaf community, second only to London. Parts of the constituency close to the city centre have high levels of deprivation, falling within the 10% most-deprived areas in England, whilst the suburbs of Mickleover and Darley Abbey are affluent.Residents of Derby North are generally younger and have average levels of income, education and professional employment when compared to national averages. At the 2021 census, White people made up 80% of the population and Asians were the largest ethnic minority group at 11%. At the city council, the neighbourhoods close to the city centre are represented by Labour Party councillors, whilst Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were elected in the more wealthy south-west of the constituency. An estimated 54% of voters in Derby North supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the nationwide figure of 52%.
Boundaries
Historic
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 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, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the City of Derby:- Arboretum ; Abbey, Chaddesden East, Chaddesden North, Chaddesden West, Darley, Littleover, Mackworth & New Zealand; Mickleover; Normanton ; Oakwood.
Members of Parliament
''Derby prior to 1950''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. 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.The Conservative Greg Knight gained the seat in 1983, and held it until 1997.
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 of the Conservative Party's 331 seats. 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; 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.