Newton Aycliffe & Spennymoor / data
Alan Strickland · Labour Party · sitting since 04 Jul 2024 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
660days
from 04 Jul 2024
Divisions
444
of 504 possible
Attendance
88%
60 absent / paired
Whip alignment
98%
vs party majority
Speeches
36
25 debates
Written Qs
4
4 answered
Committees
0
memberships
Expenses
£175k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 157 claims
Interests
0
Register
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 97 | |
| Economy | 85 | |
| Crime & Policing | 44 | |
| Education | 41 | |
| Employment | 39 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 27 | |
| Housing | 24 | |
| Pensions | 23 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Jobs | 17 | 6,228 |
| Defence | 12 | 3,623 |
| Culture Community | 3 | 2,492 |
| Transport | 2 | 2,394 |
| Labour Market | 3 | 2,241 |
| Local Government | 8 | 1,098 |
| Crime | 5 | 925 |
| Technology | 3 | 855 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
| Date | Division | Whip | MP voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 24Vote on whether to prevent someone from qualifying as 'terminally ill' under the assisted dying bill solely because they have chosen to stop… | Free vote | Aye |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: New Clause 16A procedural vote on whether to allow New Clause 16 to be formally considered as part of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Rep… | Free vote | Aye |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 12Vote on whether to add a provision to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ensuring that if an independent doctor dies or becomes to… | Free vote | Aye |
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Apr 2026 | North Atlantic Submarine ActivityIt was a privilege recently to spend a week at Camp Viking with our Royal Marines, seeing at first hand the work they are doing to defend the High North. Does the Minister agree th… DefenceEnergy | 119 |
| 16 Mar 2026 | Topical QuestionsT4. Having worked with the Defence Secretary to save the semiconductor plant in Newton Aycliffe in my constituency, I was proud the other week to meet Sam and Evan, two new apprent… DefenceEconomy JobsEnergy | 83 |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Royal Mail: Universal Service ObligationI met a resident at my surgery at the weekend who has a long-term health condition. They have been sent testing packs by the NHS, which arrive late, and appointment letters have be… UtilitiesLabour MarketEconomy Jobs | 70 |
| 04 Feb 2026 | EngagementsQ9. It was a privilege to join fellow north-east MPs at the weekend on the destroyer HMS Duncan, to meet the crew and to be briefed on the exciting plans for the innovative future … CrimeDefenceLocal Government | 113 |
| 27 Jan 2026 | Topical QuestionsT3. A recent Sunday Times investigation found worrying evidence that multiple businesses run by the Reform leader of Durham county council had failed, owing hundreds of thousands o… Economy JobsCost Of LivingLocal Government | 62 |
| 20 Jan 2026 | County Durham: Cultural OpportunitiesI thank my hon. Friend for her excellent speech about the rich cultural heritage of County Durham. Does she agree that a key part of that cultural heritage is the history of the St… Culture CommunityLocal GovernmentEducation | 98 |
| 18 Dec 2025 | Christmas AdjournmentI have three minutes to celebrate three fantastic community organisations. Since Chance Drama in Ferryhill was established in 2017, it has trained hundreds of local young people fr… Local GovernmentTransportHousing | 492 |
| 18 Dec 2025 | UkraineI welcome the Minister’s announcement that readiness levels have been revised and increased so that, if a just peace can be successfully negotiated, forces are ready to deploy to p… DefenceEconomy Jobs | 69 |
| 18 Dec 2025 | Business of the HouseMy constituents Mellissa and Nikita were left devastated a few months ago when their four-month-old puppy was mauled to death in the streets by XL bullies that had escaped from a n… Local GovernmentHealthEconomy Jobs | 117 |
| 16 Dec 2025 | Electoral ResilienceDoes the Secretary of State agree that this appalling case of a senior Reform politician being jailed for accepting Russian bribes shows that the corrupt Putin regime is not only c… CrimeDefenceMp Performance | 94 |
| 15 Dec 2025 | Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) BillI am pleased to speak in support of the Bill, particularly as a Member of Parliament representing a proud manufacturing seat. Our country as a whole has a proud tradition as one of… Economy JobsDefenceTechnology | 724 |
| 15 Dec 2025 | Topical QuestionsT6. Last week, I was proud to meet Filtronic, a leading satellite communications business at NETPark that is part of a growing space cluster. How will Ministers from the Ministry o… DefenceEconomy JobsTechnology | 48 |
| 08 Dec 2025 | Ajax Armoured VehicleI thank the Minister for the action that he has taken on Ajax. As other Members have said, this relates not only to issues in that programme but to long-running issues in defence p… DefenceEconomy Jobs | 110 |
| 13 Nov 2025 | Water Sector ReformIt is crucial that the Government have the powers to crack down on polluting companies, but the Environment Agency’s budget was cut by half by the previous Conservative Government.… UtilitiesEnvironmentCost Of Living | 50 |
| 13 Nov 2025 | Water Sector Reform8. What steps she is taking to reform the water sector. UtilitiesEnvironmentCost Of Living | 11 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General | 1 | 25.0% |
| Church Commissioners | 1 | 25.0% |
| Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | 25.0% |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 1 | 25.0% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05 Nov 2025 | Attorney General | To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Crown Prosecution Service's performance in the North East. | Answered |
| 02 Dec 2024 | Church Commissioners | To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Church will take steps to improve the maintenance of Quarrington Hill Graveyard in County Durham. | Answered |
| 21 Nov 2024 | Department for Culture, Media and Sport | To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of grassroots sports facilities. | Answered |
| 20 Nov 2024 | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support Ukraine. | Answered |
E · Committees
No committee memberships recorded for this MP.
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Costs | 112 | 25,668 | 14.7% |
| Accommodation | 26 | 14,363 | 8.2% |
| Staffing | 1 | 122,949 | 70.4% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 8,141 | 4.7% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 3,490 | 2.0% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel - London | Accommodation | 26 | 14,363 |
| Rent | Office Costs | 4 | 7,429 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 8 | 6,996 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 17 | 5,772 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 2 | 2,040 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 67 | 1,954 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 7 | 619 |
| Utilities | Office Costs | 5 | 606 |
| Pooled staffing services | Staffing | 1 | 500 |
| Advertising and contact cards | Office Costs | 1 | 216 |
| Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | Office Costs | 1 | 38 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 89 | Paid |
| 01 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 65 | Paid |
| 01 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 46 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -2,921 | Paid |
| 25 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-7870] | 593 | Paid |
| 24 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | CARTRIDGE SAVE [200011725-8906] | 363 | Paid |
| 24 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | CARTRIDGE SAVE [200011725-8905] | 363 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 17 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 17 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 6 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 3 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | Rent | 3,450 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-6628] | 597 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-5289] | 548 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 89 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 46 | Paid |
| 10 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 137 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011726-7748] | 597 | Paid |
| 28 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 50 | Paid |
| 26 Feb 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] | 796 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
No financial interests declared by this MP.
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 10 wards, 20 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aycliffe East | Jim Atkinson | Labour Party | 556 | 06 May 2021 |
| Aycliffe East | Neville Jones | Liberal Democrats | 966 | 06 May 2021 |
| Aycliffe North Middridge | David Sutton-Lloyd | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,269 | 06 May 2021 |
| Aycliffe North Middridge | Michael Stead | Liberal Democrats | 1,130 | 06 May 2021 |
| Aycliffe North Middridge | Tony Stubbs | Conservative and Unionist Party | 905 | 06 May 2021 |
| Aycliffe West | Eddy Adam | Labour Party | 539 | 06 May 2021 |
| Aycliffe West | Ken Robson | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 439 | 06 May 2021 |
| Bishop Middleham Cornforth | Elaine Peeke | Conservative and Unionist Party | 451 | 06 May 2021 |
| Chilton | Julie Cairns | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 491 | 06 May 2021 |
| Ferryhill | Curtis Bihari | Labour Party | 876 | 24 Feb 2022 |
| Sedgefield | Chris Lines | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,042 | 06 May 2021 |
| Sedgefield | David Ralph Brown | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,084 | 06 May 2021 |
| Spennymoor | Liz Maddison | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,029 | 06 May 2021 |
| Spennymoor | Luke Allan Holmes | Conservative and Unionist Party | 749 | 06 May 2021 |
| Spennymoor | Pete Molloy | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 930 | 06 May 2021 |
| Trimdon Thornley | Chris Varty | Labour Party | 1,009 | 06 May 2021 |
| Trimdon Thornley | Jake Miller | Labour Party | 1,178 | 06 May 2021 |
| Trimdon Thornley | Lucy Hovvels | Labour Party | 1,399 | 06 May 2021 |
| Tudhoe | Billy McAloon | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 766 | 06 May 2021 |
| Tudhoe | Mark Antony Abley | Conservative and Unionist Party | 896 | 06 May 2021 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 94,523 | Electorate 72,215 (2024) |
| Median age | 44 | years |
| Degree-educated | 26.6% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 97.8% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 62.1% | households |
| Private-rented | 15.7% | households |
| Social-rented | 22.1% | households |
| Employment rate | 53.8% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.