AVERAGE house prices have dropped by 8.4 per cent in Bishop Auckland since the last election - the biggest drop in the country.

Online estate agents HouseSimple.com looked at average house prices in each of the 650 UK Parliamentary constituencies to see how prices have fared since 2010.

The research revealed that the County Durham constituency was one of only nine in the country, excluding Northern Ireland, where average house prices were lower than they were five years ago when the Coalition Government was formed.

Two other constituencies in the North-East have seen negative price growth since 2010 - Easington down 1.6 per cent and Sunderland Central down 0.1 per cent. All three constituencies are held by Labour.

According to the study, average house prices have grown by 12.5 per cent and 10.7 per cent across Conservative and Liberal Democrats constituencies since the last General Election, compared to 5.8 per cent growth in Labour constituencies.

While average house prices in the top 20 Tory constituencies with the biggest majorities have risen almost three times faster (17.1 per cent) compared to house prices in the top 20 Labour constituencies with the biggest majorities (5.9 per cent) , since 2010.

Although six Labour constituencies feature in the top ten worst performers in terms of house price growth in the past five years, including the three in the North-East, four Conservative constituencies also appear in the list.

The constituency with the biggest increase in house prices is Conservative-held South Cambridgeshire which has seen property prices rise by an average of 29.7 per cent in the past five years.

Almost half of London constituencies have seen price growth of more than 30 per cent since 2010, and nine constituencies have seen more than £150,000 added to the average price of a property.

Commenting on the report, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, Helen Goodman, said the study showed that the Tory recovery has not reached the whole country.

She added: "Three of the constituencies which have seen falls in house prices are in the North-East.

"The Tories took money out of our region to invest in the south. This is the inevitable result. It's why Ed Miliband promised fair funding for the North-East and why we need a Labour government."

In response, Brandon Lewis, Minister for Housing, said: "Conservatives in Government are working to build more homes and support home ownership in all parts of the country - north and south, urban and rural. We are also working to rebalance the economy from the failed Labour years, with initiatives like High Speed 2, High Speed 3 and the Northern Powerhouse. Under Labour, the housing market crashed, and the economy was far too dependent on bankers in London.”