Stoke-on-Trent Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom
Stoke-on-Trent Central is a constituency in Staffordshire. It has been represented by Gareth Snell of the Labour Party since 2024. He previously represented the constituency between 2017 and 2019. He succeeded Jo Gideon of the Conservative Party who defeated him in the general election of 2019. She announced in early 2023 that she would not be seeking reelection and accordingly left office at the dissolution of that parliament.
Boundaries
1950–1955: Wards 10 to 18 and 28 of the county borough of Stoke on Trent.[2]
1955–1983: Wards 9 to 16 of the county borough of Stoke on Trent.[3]
1983–2010: The Abbey, Berryhill, Brookhouse, Hanley Green, Hartshill, Shelton and Stoke West wards of the City of Stoke-on-Trent.[4]
The City of Stoke-on-Trent wards of: Abbey Hulton and Townsend; Bentilee and Ubberley; Birches Head and Central Forest Park; Boothen and Oak Hill; Eaton Park; Etruria and Hanley; Fenton East; Fenton West and Mount Pleasant; Hanley Park and Shelton; Hartshill and Basford; Joiner’s Square; Meir Hay; Penkhull and Stoke; Sandford Hill; Sneyd Green; Springfields and Trent Vale.[7]
In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range, significant parts of the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency will be transferred in, including the town of Fenton. In addition, the boundary with Stoke-on-Trent North will be re-aligned to take account of changes to ward boundaries.
Following a further local government boundary review in the City of Stoke-on-Trent which came into effect in May 2023,[8][9] the constituency will now comprise the following from the 2024 general election:
The City of Stoke-on-Trent wards of: Abbey Hulton; Basford & Hartshill; Bentilee, Ubberley & Townsend; Birches Head & Northwood; Boothen; Etruria and Hanley (nearly all); Bucknall & Eaton Park; Fenton East; Fenton West & Mount Pleasant; Hanley Park, Joiner’s Square & Shelton; Hartshill Park & Stoke; Meir Hay North, Parkhall & Weston Coney (part); Moorcroft & Sneyd Green (part); Penkhull & Springfields; Sandford Hill; Trent Vale & Oak Hill; and a very small part of Longton & Meir Hay South.[10]
Owing to a reduction in clay and coal excavation works in the area, and canal trade, this seat has the highest unemployment rates of the three Stoke seats; this seat has 6.2% of workless registered unemployment benefit claimants, compared to a national average of 3.8% and regional average of 4.7%.[11]
History
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election. The large town had, in succession, two forerunners, the first of which gained representation by way of the "Great Reform Act" in 1832. The constituency has a majority of residents from a clear-cut working-class background, many of whom work or have worked in trade union-represented industries. Of these, many were employed in The Potteries, the smaller foundries or in nearby hubs for the civil infrastructure and automotive industries; the latter of these remains an important source of employment in the region. The constituency's housing—overwhelmingly low-rise, and in some cases highly ornate Victorian terraces and semi-detached houses—is, compared with Staffordshire as a whole, a relatively dense urban network of streets.
Political history
Statistics are confusing as to the current status of the area, reflecting the great demographic—in particular, economic sector—changes in the constituency. Tristram Hunt's result at the 2015 general election gave the seat the 60th-most marginal majority of the Labour Party's 232 seats, measured by percentage of majority.[12] Labour's continuous tenure of Stoke-on-Trent Central from 1950 to 2019 placed it among the approximately 120 constituencies of the 232 which returned Labour members in 2015—all their predecessor areas included—to have withstood landslides for the Conservative Party during the intervening period (such as the 1983 general election). Stoke-on-Trent Central ranked highest for political apathy at the 2015 election, recording the lowest turnout in the United Kingdom.[13]
Prominent members
Barnett Stross was awarded the Order of the White Lion in recognition of his role in the development of relations between the UK and Czechoslovakia, and for his role in the renewal of the substantial village of Lidice; he also led statutory efforts that began specific protection of workers against industrial disease.
^"Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (Stoke on Trent) Order 1955. SI 1955/172". Statutory Instruments 1955. Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1956. pp. 2170–2171.
