South Shields is a coastal town at the mouth of the River Tyne, England, about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne. Historically in County Durham, the town has a population of 82,854, the third largest in Tyneside after Newcastle and Gateshead. It is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside which includes the towns of Jarrow and Hebburn. South Shields is represented in Parliament by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck. South Shields comprises eight wards from the Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside. The combined population of these wards (Biddick, Whiteleas, Harton, Westoe, West Park, Beacon, Horsley Hill and Simonside) was 67,956 in 2011.