Constituency view

Washington and Gateshead South

North East, England

Lab hold

Current MP

Current representation

Sharon Hodgson

Labour

Female

Majority6,913

Turnout52.2%

Electorate70,972

Valid votes37,021

2024 Results

Party breakdown

Labour17,682 - 47.8%

Reform10,769 - 29.1%

Conservative4,654 - 12.6%

Green1,687 - 4.6%

Lib Dem1,602 - 4.3%

Other627 - 1.7%

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Benefits bill · 2025/26

£298,955,376

Estimated yearly spend on the six main working-age and disability benefits paid to residents of this constituency.

£3,100 total benefits bill per resident · 37% above average

Washington and Gateshead South: £3,100
England and Wales average: £2,259

Ranked 72 of 575 constituencies (1 = highest)

Total benefits bill	£298,955,376	141/575
Change over 2 years	+19.7%
Median local wage (2025)	£34,268	+9.6%

Universal Credit£158,656,182
£1,645 per resident · 13,808 households claiming
Assessed LCWRA: 5,440 · 1 in 11 working-age adults
Personal Independence Payment£78,198,398
£811 per resident · 10,792 claimants (+16.1% since Jul 2024)
Psychiatric conditions: 4,014 · 37% of claimants
Enhanced mobility (Motability-eligible): 5,084
Disability Living Allowance£20,759,696
£215 per resident · 3,451 claimants
Housing Benefit£17,950,715
£186 per resident · 3,189 claimants
Carer's Allowance£12,291,597
£127 per resident · 2,834 claimants
Employment Support Allowance£11,098,788
£115 per resident · 1,728 claimants

Ranks are out of England and Wales constituencies, highest first. Source: TaxPayers' Alliance, benefitsdata.uk (estimated from DWP Stat-Xplore claimant counts). England and Wales only. See this seat on benefitsdata.uk ↗

Demographics

Source: ONS Census 2021 (England, Wales, NI) and Scotland's Census 2022, aggregated to 2024 constituency boundaries by the House of Commons Library.

Ethnic composition

2021

White 97.0%White British 95.3%Asian 1.4%Black, African or Caribbean 0.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 0.9%Other 0.4%

England & Wales (2021)

White 83.0%White British 74.4%Asian 8.6%Black, African or Caribbean 3.7%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 2.7%Other 2.0%

2011

White 97.9%White British 97.0%Asian 1.1%Black, African or Caribbean 0.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 0.6%Other 0.1%

England & Wales (2011)

White 86.0%White British 80.5%Asian 7.5%Black, African or Caribbean 3.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 2.2%Other 1.0%

2001

White 98.8%White British 98.1%Asian 0.7%Black, African or Caribbean 0.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 0.3%Other 0.1%

England & Wales (2001)

White 91.3%White British 87.5%Asian 4.8%Black, African or Caribbean 2.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 1.3%Other 0.4%

1991

White 99.3%White British N/AAsian 0.5%Black, African or Caribbean 0.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 0.0%Other 0.1%

England & Wales (1991)

White 94.1%White British N/AAsian 3.6%Black, African or Caribbean 1.8%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups 0.0%Other 0.6%

Year-over-year comparison uses broad ethnic groups.

2011 values are reaggregated from 2011 Output Areas onto 2024 boundaries.

2001 values are reaggregated from 2001 LSOAs onto 2024 boundaries.

1991 values are reaggregated from 1997 parliamentary constituencies onto 2024 boundaries.

Country of birth

Washington and Gateshead South (2021)

UK 96.4%Other EU 1.7%Other countries 1.9%

England & Wales (2021)

UK 84.0%Other EU 6.0%Other countries 10.1%

Washington and Gateshead South (2011)

UK 97.4%Other EU 1.0%Other countries 1.6%

England & Wales (2011)

UK 86.6%Other EU 3.6%Other countries 9.8%

Washington and Gateshead South (2001)

UK 98.2%Other EU 0.5%Other countries 1.3%

England & Wales (2001)

UK 91.1%Other EU 1.4%Other countries 7.5%

Washington and Gateshead South (1991)

UK 98.7%Other EU 0.6%Other countries 0.7%

England & Wales (1991)

UK 92.7%Other EU 2.5%Other countries 4.8%

1991 country of birth data uses the 1991 census's Commonwealth-based classification. Ireland and EU countries are not separately broken out. Regional figures are approximations.

Inset map

Washington and Gateshead South

Loading constituency outline.

Comparison

How this seat compares

Metric	Washington and Gateshead South	National	Difference	Rank
% White	97.0%	83.0%	+13.9pp	99/650
% White British	95.3%	74.4%	+20.9pp	30/632
% Asian	1.4%	8.6%	-7.2pp	505/650
% Black, African or Caribbean	0.4%	3.7%	-3.3pp	511/650
% Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups	0.9%	2.7%	-1.8pp	589/650
% Other ethnic group	0.4%	2.0%	-1.6pp	516/650
% UK-born	96.4%	84.0%	+12.5pp	25/650
% Non-UK-born	3.6%	16.0%	-12.5pp	626/650
% Other EU-born	1.7%	6.0%	-4.3pp	619/650
% Other countries-born	1.9%	10.1%	-8.2pp	618/650
% Christian	51.9%	46.7%	+5.2pp	133/575
% Muslim	0.7%	6.3%	-5.7pp	417/575
% Hindu	0.1%	1.6%	-1.5pp	505/575
% Sikh	0.3%	0.9%	-0.5pp	197/575
% Jewish	0.1%	0.5%	-0.4pp	435/575
% Buddhist	0.1%	0.4%	-0.3pp	574/575
% Other religion	0.3%	0.6%	-0.2pp	527/575
% No religion	42.2%	37.0%	+5.2pp	166/575
% Religion not stated	4.3%	6.0%	-1.7pp	574/575
% Has any religion	53.5%	57.0%	-3.5pp	347/575

Nearby seats

Constituencies around Washington and Gateshead South

Neighbouring constituencies on 2024 boundaries, ordered by the length of the shared border.

Source: ONS Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies (July 2024) Boundaries UK BSC. Seats with a short coastline or none, such as islands, are completed with the closest constituencies by distance.