Constituency profile

Washington and Gateshead South

North East · Borough constituency

Mrs Sharon Hodgson MP
Sitting MP

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

Labour

First elected May 2005

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
North East
Borough constituency
Last 5 GE winners
LLLLL
Labour 5/5
EU referendum 2016
59.0% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +7.1pp above mean
Current outlook
Reform UK +2.4pp
Vulnerability score 9/10 (Labour projected to lose)
NorthernLeave-leaningWorking-class profile

About the Washington and Gateshead South constituency

Washington and Gateshead South is a borough constituency in the North East. The sitting MP is Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Labour), first elected in May 2005. At the 2024 general election, Labour won with 47.8% to 29.1% for Reform UK, a majority of 6,913 votes on a 52.2% turnout. PollCheck's current projection, at the seven-poll average, has Reform UK on 39.4% and Labour on 37.0%, a margin of 2.4 points - a projected change of hands from Labour.

Who lives in Washington and Gateshead South? Constituency demographics

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

Leave vote 2016
59.0%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
22.5%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
22.9%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
57.3%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
42.3%
UK average ~36%
Median age
43.5
UK median ~40
Age 65+
25.3%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
27.1%
UK average ~28%

How did Washington and Gateshead South 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 6,913 votes (18.7pp) · turnout 52.2%

Current projection

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

Map of Washington and Gateshead South

Switch between GE2024 ward winners (modelled estimates, ~4pp average error) and a demographic view from the 2021 Census. Hover any area for detail. How the map is built ›

Council layer (not Westminster)

Washington and Gateshead South within Sunderland and Gateshead

Washington and Gateshead South crosses council boundaries: Sunderland (85%), Gateshead (15%). The figures below are from the 7 May 2026 council elections where held, otherwise the most recent available ward result. About this layer ›

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seatProjection
Sunderland
56 LSOAs
85%View projection ›
Gateshead
10 LSOAs
15%View projection ›

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward - May 2026 results where the council voted, otherwise the most recent available result. How this table is sourced ›

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout
BirtleyLabour 43.3%vs Reform 31.4%2024 Lib Dem 43.0%vs Labour 42.8%-33.4%
CastleLabour 48.7%vs Reform 30.2%May 2026 Reform 55.2%vs Labour 32.4%now part of Hylton Castle
Labour→Reform
+20.6pp
-
LamesleyLabour 45.1%vs Reform 33.5%May 2026 Reform 47.6%vs Labour 28.4%now part of Birtley North Lamesley
Labour→Reform
+15.4pp
43.2%
RedhillLabour 45.4%vs Reform 33.4%2024 Labour 51.9%vs Reform 32.3%-22.7%
Washington CentralLabour 51.2%vs Reform 26.5%May 2026 Reform 42.1%vs Labour 32.0%
Labour→Reform
+17.4pp
-
Washington EastLabour 48.1%vs Reform 26.5%May 2026 Reform 42.5%vs Labour 33.5%
Labour→Reform
+15.3pp
-
Washington NorthLabour 50.1%vs Reform 29.1%May 2026 Reform 46.2%vs Labour 32.3%
Labour→Reform
+17.5pp
-
Washington SouthLabour 45.6%vs Reform 26.6%May 2026 Reform 38.7%vs Labour 27.0%
Labour→Reform
+15.4pp
-
Washington WestLabour 50.3%vs Reform 26.9%May 2026 Labour 42.6%vs Reform 38.8%
Labour share
-7.7pp
-

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Washington and Gateshead South at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Washington and Gateshead South at past general elections?

2024 and notional 2019 rows are on current boundaries; 2010-2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time. More on boundaries ›

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorLab holdSharon Hodgson Washington and Sunderland West MP52.5%21.8%17.1%3.4% UKIP-5.1%11,45854.2%
2015predecessorLab holdSharon Hodgson Washington and Sunderland West MP55.0%18.9%2.7%19.6% UKIP2.9%0.9%13,15754.6%+0.4
2017predecessorLab holdSharon Hodgson Washington and Sunderland West MP60.7%28.8%2.4%6.8% UKIP1.3%-12,94060.3%+5.7
2019notionalLabour winnerSharon Hodgson Washington and Sunderland West MP, pre-review boundary43.1%33.7%4.9%1.8% Brx2.7%13.8%3,93858.5%
2024Lab holdSharon Hodgson47.8%12.6%4.3%29.1% Ref4.6%1.7%6,91352.2%-6.3

Washington and Gateshead South was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Washington and Sunderland West (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 Washington and Gateshead South

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Washington and Gateshead South. 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

Every figure on this page is computed from the sources below. Read the full methodology ›

Show full source list
  • 2024 general election results · UK Parliament Election Results portal and House of Commons Library briefing CBP-10009.
  • Notional 2019 results on 2024 boundaries · UK Parliament Election Results portal. Recalculated by Parliament; carries assumptions about how 2019 voters would have distributed across the redrawn boundaries.
  • Historic general election results (2010-2017) · House of Commons Library historic results files (on the boundaries in force at the time).
  • Ward-level GE2024 estimates · Britain Elects / New Statesman - article by Ben Walker, underlying spreadsheet. Modelled from constituency totals; average ~4pp per-ward MoE.
  • May 2026 council ward results · Democracy Club via PollCheck's locals 2026 dataset.
  • Earlier council ward results (2014-2024) · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (Jason Leman, drawing on Andrew Teale's LEAP dataset and Democracy Club).
  • Demographics · ONS Census 2021 (England and Wales), aggregated to constituency level using the ONS LSOA21 -> PCON24 best-fit lookup.
  • EU referendum 2016 estimates · Constituency-level Leave vote estimates (Hanretty 2017 method).
  • MP details and Cabinet roles · UK Parliament Members API. MP photos are fetched live from the same source.
  • Boundary geometry and lookups · ONS Open Geography Portal (PCON24 boundaries, LSOA21 boundaries, LSOA21-WD24-LAD24 best-fit lookup).
  • Current projection and trajectory · PollCheck's demographic swingometer applied to the rolling 7-poll average from aggregated GB polls. Not a true MRP - vote-share movements are applied through per-constituency sensitivity multipliers derived from demographic regressions.

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