The placeConstituency · South East · Electorate 70,972 · 2023 boundaries

Washington and Gateshead South.

Labour Party MP Sharon Hodgson holds the seat on 47.8% of the vote — a split-council geography across 2 councils.

Member of ParliamentSharon Hodgson · Labour Party
CouncilsSunderland · Gateshead
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001567
Electorate · 2024
71.0k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
47.8%
Labour Party · +18.7pp over Ref
Settlements
7
Largest: Washington
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
9.9
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
2 Jun 2026

Sharon Hodgson's most prominent recent coverage came not from the chamber but from a criminal act: in September 2025, her Washington constituency office was set on fire in a suspected arson attack, prompting a police investigation and an arrest. Her response -- stating she would "not be deterred" and would continue supporting constituents -- drew cross-party solidarity. In the Commons she has voted in lockstep with Labour throughout this parliament, backing the government's King's Speech programme, supporting steel nationalisation, and voting for tighter asylum support rules that allow ministers to withdraw accommodation from asylum seekers who work illegally.

A 100% party-line voter with no rebel votes on record, Hodgson participates in roughly two thirds of Commons divisions -- below the average for most active MPs, though participation rates vary widely. Her speeches tell a clearer story: health and social care dominate, accounting for more than half of her 111 contributions across 52 debates, with economy, jobs, and local government also featuring regularly. Compared with her Labour colleagues, she votes more consistently in favour of public services funding and child welfare, but deviates notably on pension protection, where she is 26 percentage points below the Labour average.

Hodgson has sat as a Washington and Gateshead South MP since 2005 and holds no current committee roles. Her long tenure and concentrated focus on health and social care suggest a well-established constituency and policy base rather than a parliamentarian seeking a higher profile. Recent news coverage is limited to the arson incident; no data on her wider local media presence is available beyond the past 90 days.

47.8%
Lab vote · 2024 GE
2
Councils overlapping the seat
9
Wards · 9 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.9 wards · 9 councillors · 2 councils

Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line. Each ward links to the council that runs it.

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Birtley Joe Sowerby892Gateshead LabMay 2024
Castle Denny Wilson1,130Sunderland LabMay 2024
Lamesley Judith Turner1,447Gateshead LabMay 2024
Redhill Alison Smith931Sunderland LabMay 2024
Washington Central Dianne Elizabeth Snowdon1,673Sunderland LabMay 2024
Washington East Sean Robert Laws1,632Sunderland LabMay 2024
Washington North Michael Lee Walker1,389Sunderland LabMay 2024
Washington South Brandon Mark Feeley1,555Sunderland LabMay 2024
Washington West Jimmy Warne1,412Sunderland LabMay 2024

Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

§ 02Settlements.7 named places

The seat’s population is concentrated in Washington (51,878), with Sunderland (22,292) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 95,127.

city 23,851large-town 51,878town 14,404village 4,994

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Washington51,878large town
Sunderland22,292city
Birtley14,404town
Kibblesworth1,795village
Rural & dispersed1,625village
Springwell1,574village
Showing 6 of 7·All 7 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate52.8%57.1%-8%
Owner-occupied56.7%63.1%-10%
Private rented12.4%20.0%-38%
Social rented30.9%16.8%+84%

Ethnicity.

White97.0%
Asian1.4%
Black0.4%
Mixed0.8%
Other0.4%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 48.2% Female 51.8% Median seat
MaleAgeFemale
85+
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
16-19
10-15
5-9
0-4

Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band

§ 04Local economy.Income · tax · businesses · schools
Median income
£25,100
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£30,700
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
2,480
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
46
32 primary · 7 secondary
GCSE pass
60.5%
Attainment 8: 42.4

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£155m
Taxpayers40,000
Median per taxpayer£2,310
Mean per taxpayer£3,880

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

This constituency is served by Sunderland and Gateshead. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.

For household tax breakdown

Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.

§ 05Recorded crime.data.police.uk · 12-month rolling

Headline rate.

Per 1k pop · 3mo
9.9
-52% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
3.3
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
27% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences2.6
Anti-social behaviour2.5
Shoplifting1.1
Criminal damage & arson1.0
Burglary0.5
Public order0.5
Vehicle crime0.5

Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop

Showing 7 of 15·All 15 categories — full monthly trend & settlement breakdown
§ 06Election history.1 contest · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Sharon HodgsonWONLab17,68247.8
Paul DonaghyRef10,76929.1
Shaun ParsonsCon4,65412.6
Michal ChantkowskiGrn1,6874.6
Ciaran MorrisseyLD1,6024.3
Sharon McLaffertyInd6271.7

Turnout 37,021

Prior contests.

Created on the 2023 boundary review. 2024 General Election was the first contest on these boundaries.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
BoundariesONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundary review
Wards & councilsLGBCE · Democracy Club
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
SettlementsONS Built-Up Areas
Census 2021
DemographicsONS · Nomis · Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
Income & taxHMRC SPI
±8% confidence
SchoolsDfE · attainment data
Crimedata.police.uk
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo
ElectionsElectoral Commission