for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England made only minor changes to the boundaries of Easington (on the southern part of the boundary with Sedgefield). In the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, the local authority districts in Durham were abolished and replaced with a single unitary authority; however, this has not affected the boundaries of the constituency. Political history Results of the winning party The area has been held by the Labour Party since the 1922 election (including predecessor seat), when the seat was held by the party leader and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Labour's majority in the seat has never fallen below 19% (the result in the party's 2019 landslide defeat) in its history, and has only been below 40% three times (in 1979, 1983 and 2019). Labour won a majority of votes in every election from the seat's creation in 1950 until 2019, when their vote share fell below 50% for the first time. The 2015 result made the seat the 27th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. Results of other parties The 2015 general election saw an above-average swing to UKIP of 18.7%; the national average was 9.5% . Prior to 2019, the Conservative Party had last come second in the seat in 2001. Labour's candidate won more than three times that of UKIP in 2015, scoring 61%, although the latter polled the strongest second-place in the seat since 1983. 2017 saw the UKIP vote collapse and the Conservative vote rise, although a slight rise in the Labour vote ensured the majority remained above 40%. Turnout Turnout has ranged from 87.7% in 1950 to 52.1% in 2005. It has been somewhat inconsistent with national averages, falling in 1992 and 2005 when national turnout increased. Members of Parliament Elections Elections in the 2010s Elections in the 2000s Elections in the 1990s Elections in the 1980s Elections in the 1970s Elections in the 1960s Elections in the 1950s See also List of parliamentary constituencies in County Durham History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Durham Notes References Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950