Blaydon
Labour hold

Although technically included in Tyne and Wear and in Gateshead Borough, this is a County Durham seat which fits the picture of a working class corner of the land steeped in Labour party tradition and with a long and untroubled history of representation. The Liberal Democrat local activity, for example in Whickham and Ryton, surfaced perceptibly in 1997 with a slight increase in the share of the vote and an advance into second place, but this scarcely impacted on the huge lead of John McWilliam, who was not elected Speaker three years later.

John McWilliam, one of a score of Labour Scots in English seats, was elected here in 1979. Born 1941, educated at Leith Academy, Heriot Watt and Napier Colleges, and a former telephone engineer, he was a whip for three years in the eighties before disappearing into the obscurity of committee chairmanships. Cocky and loquacious he is a soft Eurosceptic who introduced a Bill to tighten rules on phone tapping and defends defence industry jobs.

Northern Labour Party

Gateshead East and Washington West Labour Party

Gateshead Borough Council

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 5.05% 14.99% 33.65 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.59% 2.49% 23.56 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 3.85% 4.43% 87.06 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 13.75% 7.27% 189.09 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.09% 2.56% 3.56 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.18% 3.94% 4.48 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 14.59% 13.04% 111.93 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 20.88% 12.70% 164.41 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 14.02% 8.14% 172.18 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.19% 4.02% 4.78 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 7.32% 3.19% 229.77 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 15.63% 11.31% 138.23 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.96% 3.06% 31.22 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 2.89% 2.52% 114.83 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 10.77% 9.41% 114.36 £5-10K 19.08% 16.63% 114.74 £10-15K 18.35% 16.58% 110.66 £15-20K 14.38% 13.58% 105.87 £20-25K 10.48% 10.39% 100.84 £25-30K 7.44% 7.77% 95.76 £30-35K 5.26% 5.79% 90.80 £35-40K 3.73% 4.33% 86.07 £40-45K 2.67% 3.27% 81.63 £45-50K 1.92% 2.48% 77.51 £50-55K 1.40% 1.90% 73.72 £55-60K 1.04% 1.47% 70.23 £60-65K 0.77% 1.15% 67.02 £65-70K 0.58% 0.91% 64.08 £70-75K 0.44% 0.72% 61.37 £75-80K 0.34% 0.57% 58.86 £80-85K 0.26% 0.46% 56.54 £85-90K 0.20% 0.37% 54.39 £90-95K 0.16% 0.31% 52.39 £95-100K 0.13% 0.25% 50.52 £100K + 0.55% 1.34% 41.12