FORECASTS by the UK Polling Report suggest Labour could win the majority of votes in Hexham's constituency - for the first time in nearly 140 years.

The data predicts Labour will win the next general election with 45.3 per cent of votes in the Hexham constituency, compared to Hexham's current Conservative MP Guy Opperman, who was predicted to get 38.8 per cent of votes.

This is a decrease from Mr Opperman's current 54.5 per cent.

Votes for the Liberal Democrats were predicted to decrease to 9.2 per cent while the Green Party's increased to 6.6 per cent.

Labour's prediction is a significant increase from its current status of 31.64 per cent.

Other recent polls by the 38 Degrees Group and Survation suggested that the Conservatives were facing an almost total wipeout in the north-east at the next election. The polls said the party would be reduced to a single seat – North Northumberland.

The polls included the Hexham seat, which is newly expanded to take in parts of Callerton following a boundary review, turning red for the first time in its 138-year history.

The issue was explored in a BBC podcast titled The Week in Westminster, featuring Conservative MP Peter Bottomley and journalist Michael Crick, which was broadcast on November 25. 

Mr Crick was asked by presenter Ben Riley-Smith which constituencies he would expect to vote differently on election night. 

"Labour is targeting Macclesfield [...] and Hexham is on their target list, and Basingstoke and Whickham, which hasn't been a Labour seat since 1951. Those are the places to look out for," he said.

Joe Morris, who was selected as the Labour parliamentary candidate for the Hexham constituency at a hustings in Hexham earlier this year, said: "Hexham constituency is ready for change.

"After decades of Conservative complacency that have inflicted a spiralling cost of living, declining local services and poor public transport, people are increasingly coming to the view that Labour will deliver renewal for our area, for our region and for our country."

The Tories have held Hexham since 1924, bar the years between 1943 and 1951 when it was held by former Tory-turned Speaker of the House of Commons, Douglas Clifton Brown.

Mr Opperman won 54.5 per cent of the vote in the last general election in 2019, beating his nearest rival – Labour’s Penny Grennan – by 22.9 per cent, with a 10,549 vote majority.

Mr Opperman, who has held Hexham's seat since 2010, was contacted for comment.