Constituency profile

Middlesbrough and Thornaby East

North East · Borough constituency

Andy McDonald MP
Sitting MP

Andy McDonald

Labour

First elected November 2012

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
North East
Borough constituency
Last 5 GE winners
LLLLL
Labour 5/5
EU referendum 2016
63.0% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +11.1pp above mean
Current outlook
Labour +4.2pp
vs Reform UK 28.1%
NorthernStrong Leave areaWorking-class profile

About the Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency

Middlesbrough and Thornaby East is a borough constituency in the North East, spanning parts of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and neighbouring councils. The sitting MP is Andy McDonald (Labour), first elected in November 2012.

At the 2024 general election, Labour won Middlesbrough and Thornaby East with 47.2% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 20.5%, a majority of 9,192 votes. Turnout was 45.8%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has Labour on 32.3% and Reform UK on 28.1% in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, a margin of 4.2 points. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, Middlesbrough and Thornaby East is a strongly Leave-voting area (an estimated 63.0% voted Leave in 2016). About 24.7% of residents hold a degree, 49.1% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 35 (2021 Census).

Across the most recent general elections on record here, the seat has been won by Labour each time.

Who lives in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
63.0%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
24.7%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
25.6%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
49.1%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
50.1%
UK average ~36%
Median age
35.3
UK median ~40
Age 65+
18.5%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
36.7%
UK average ~28%

How did Middlesbrough and Thornaby East vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab hold · majority 9,192 votes (26.7pp) · turnout 45.8%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Middlesbrough and Thornaby East

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Council layer (not Westminster)

Middlesbrough and Thornaby East within Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees

Middlesbrough and Thornaby East crosses multiple council boundaries: Middlesbrough (84%), Stockton-on-Tees (16%). English councils rotate their election cycles and none of the constituent councils were due to vote in 2026, so the figures below show the most recent ward result available for each ward.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
Middlesbrough
58 LSOAs
84%
Stockton-on-Tees
11 LSOAs
16%

Recent council by-elections

Council ward by-elections held inside this seat, most recent first. The result column shows which party won; the share column shows the top three parties’ vote shares on the day.

DateWardResultTop 3 vote shares
19 Jul 2024Acklam
Middlesbrough
Lab HOLD
19 Jul 2024Central
Middlesbrough
Lab HOLD
18 Aug 2023Ayresome
Middlesbrough
Ind GAIN from Lab

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Middlesbrough and Thornaby East at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorLab holdStuart Bell Middlesbrough MP45.9%18.8%19.9%3.7% UKIP-11.7%8,68951.4%
2015predecessorLab holdAndy McDonald Middlesbrough MP56.8%16.5%3.7%18.7% UKIP4.3%-12,47752.9%+1.5
2017predecessorLab holdAndy McDonald Middlesbrough MP65.7%26.7%1.0%4.1% UKIP0.7%1.8%13,87358.4%+5.5
2019notionalLabour winnerAndy McDonald Middlesbrough MP, pre-review boundary54.0%24.3%2.6%-1.5%17.6%11,14152.4%
2024Lab holdAndy McDonald47.2%17.9%3.0%20.5% Ref4.4%6.9%9,19245.8%-6.6

Middlesbrough and Thornaby East was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Middlesbrough (the seat that covered most of this area), so vote shares and majorities aren’t directly comparable to the post-2024 figures.

Constituencies most like Middlesbrough and Thornaby East

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Middlesbrough and Thornaby East. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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