Durham North West
Labour hold

The North West Durham constituency includes some industrial scenery of an almost brutal nature. The seat of this name has always included several lonely little towns founded for coal mining among the hills and moors around the upper Wear valley - Tow Law, Crook and Willington, Esh Winning. Since 1983 this territory has been supplemented by Consett, a town which suffered economic and social disaster in the early 1980s when its steelworks were closed. Consett wa every much a one industry town, and most of its families depended directly or indirectly on the steel industry. Located in Derwentside district, Consett is a bleak place, the highest town in County Durham, and for some years the ruined site of the steelworks stood on typ of the hill, eerily dominating the redstone town like a kind of ghost. Things have moved on now, but this is still a rock-solid Labour seat, in the Armstrong dynasty for fifty years, and unlikely to change in either respect for quite some time to come.

Hilary Armstrong, a worthy and earnest lisping Methodist, was elected here in 1987 in succession to her father. As an MP's daughter, well-schooled in the political arts, she helped John Smith secure union backing for his introduction of OMOV (One member one vote) in 1993. Born 1945 and educated at Monkwearmouth Grammar School, West Ham College of Technology and Birmingham University, she was a social worker and then lecturer. She was appointed to government in 1997 and has been stuck as a local government and housing minister. Dubbed "a dull Harriet Harman", she has a rather relentless debating style.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 5.81% 14.99% 38.74 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 2.22% 2.13% 104.41 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.00% 2.49% 0.00 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 1.44% 4.43% 32.64 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 3.76% 7.27% 51.70 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.00% 2.56% 0.00 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.00% 3.94% 0.00 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 10.86% 13.04% 83.30 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 31.30% 12.70% 246.39 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 18.24% 8.14% 224.01 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 2.00% 4.02% 49.65 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 5.70% 3.19% 178.99 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 17.25% 11.31% 152.47 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.06% 3.06% 1.94 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 1.36% 2.52% 54.07 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 12.16% 9.41% 129.21 £5-10K 20.47% 16.63% 123.07 £10-15K 18.79% 16.58% 113.35 £15-20K 14.13% 13.58% 104.03 £20-25K 9.96% 10.39% 95.85 £25-30K 6.90% 7.77% 88.80 £30-35K 4.79% 5.79% 82.69 £35-40K 3.35% 4.33% 77.37 £40-45K 2.37% 3.27% 72.69 £45-50K 1.70% 2.48% 68.54 £50-55K 1.23% 1.90% 64.84 £55-60K 0.91% 1.47% 61.52 £60-65K 0.67% 1.15% 58.52 £65-70K 0.51% 0.91% 55.80 £70-75K 0.38% 0.72% 53.32 £75-80K 0.29% 0.57% 51.04 £80-85K 0.23% 0.46% 48.96 £85-90K 0.18% 0.37% 47.03 £90-95K 0.14% 0.31% 45.25 £95-100K 0.11% 0.25% 43.60 £100K + 0.48% 1.34% 35.54