Nottingham North (UK Parliament constituency)

Nottingham North
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Nottingham North in Nottinghamshire.
Location of Nottinghamshire within England.
County	Nottinghamshire
Electorate	64,578 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1955
Member of parliament	Graham Allen (Labour)
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Nottingham North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1987 by Graham Allen of the Labour Party.

1955-1974: The County Borough of Nottingham wards of Byron, Mapperley, Portland, and St Albans, and the Urban District of Hucknall.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Nottingham wards of Byron, Forest, Mapperley, Portland, Radford, and St Albans.

1983-2010: The City of Nottingham wards of Aspley, Beechdale, Bestwood Park, Bilborough, Bulwell East, Bulwell West, Byron, Portland, and Strelley.

2010-present: The City of Nottingham wards of Aspley, Basford, Bestwood, Bilborough, Bulwell, and Bulwell Forest.

The constituency consists mostly of residential areas, a majority of neighbourhoods of which were council housing. Of these a slight majority, rather than being social housing, is now private under the Right to Buy, such as Bulwell. Overall its census Super Output Areas have the lowest income of the three Nottingham constituencies, and has become the safest seat for the Labour Party. Male unemployment in 2010 was significantly higher than female unemployment in this constituency, which had the highest overall percentage of claimants in the county of Nottinghamshire, slightly more than Nottingham East.

The decline of coalmining and the textile industry in the area in 1970-2000 brought the highest unemployment in the county to Nottingham North, with a peak of 12.8% of its residents being registered unemployed in 2009.

The constituency was created in 1955 and elected Labour candidates as MPs until Richard Ottaway surprisingly gained it for the Conservative Party in their landslide victory of 1983, before narrowly losing in 1987 to Graham Allen, for Labour, who has held it since then.