Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)

UK constituency infobox
Name = Wakefield
Map1 = Wakefield
Type = County
Map2 = WestYorkshire
Entity = West Yorkshire
County = West Yorkshire
Year = 1832
MP = Mary Creagh
Party = Labour
EP = Yorkshire and the Humber

Wakefield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency is a very odd shape; it covers three-quarters of the West Yorkshire city of Wakefield and a number of villages to the south-west of the city. "Wakefield South" ward is not included in the seat; this is the most affluent part of the city, yet is included in the ultra-Labour seat of Hemsworth.

The city part of the seat has a very high density of council housing. Combined with a history of coal-mining, this has led the seat to be continuously Labour. However, the "Wakefield West" ward has unexpectedly returned Conservatives in the last three elections.

The rural part of the seat includes several well-known villages: Netherton - often mentioned during the 1984-5 miners' strike, as it contained two pits, one of which was threatened with accelerated closure; Denby Dale, which is famous for its pies and festivals; Emley, which has a large tower. Other settlements include Kirkburton, Woolley, Middlestown, Overton, Durkar, Crigglestone, Clayton West and Skelmanthorpe. The rural wards - "Wakefield Rural", "Denby Dale" and "Kirkburton" - are usually Tory in local elections. However, there are so many old pit sites in the area that there is a large number of ex-miners in the area who sometimes secure Labour victories. The National Coal Mining Museum for England is situated within the seat; it was formerly known as Caphouse Colliery before its 1985 closure.

Members of Parliament

* 1832 — 1837: Daniel Gaskell, Liberal
* 1837 — 1841: William Saunders Sebright Lascelles, Conservative
* 1841 — 1842: Joseph Holdsworth, Liberal (unseated on petition)
* 1842 — 1847: William Saunders Sebright Lascelles, Conservative
* 1847 — 1857: George Sandars, Conservative
* 1857 — 1859: John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth, Conservative
* 1859 — 1862: Both candidates disqualified for bribery, and borough went unrepresented until new writ issued
* 1862 — 1865: John Charles Dalrymple Hay, Conservative
* 1865 — 1868: William Henry Leatham, Liberal
* 1868 — 1874: Somerset Archibald Beaumont, Liberal
* 1874: Edward Green, Conservative (unseated on petition)
* 1874 — 1880: Thomas Kemp Sanderson, Conservative
* 1880 — 1885: Robert Bownas Mackie, Liberal
* 1885 — 1892: Edward Green, Conservative
* 1892 — 1895: Albany Hawkes Charlesworth, Conservative
* 1895 — 1902: William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam, Conservative
* 1902 — 1910: Edward Allen Brotherton, Conservative
* 1910 — 1918: Arthur Harold Marshall, Liberal
* 1918 — 1922: Edward Allen Brotherton, Conservative
* 1922 — 1923: Robert Geoffrey Ellis, Conservative
* 1923 — 1924: George Henry Sherwood, Labour
* 1924 — 1929: Robert Geoffrey Ellis, Conservative
* 1929 — 1931: George Henry Sherwood, Labour
* 1931 — 1932: George Brown Hillman, Conservative
* 1932 — 1954: Arthur Greenwood, Labour
* 1954 — 1964: Arthur Creech Jones, Labour
* 1964 — 1987: Walter Harrison, Labour
* 1987 — 2005: David Hinchliffe, Labour
* 2005 — "present": Mary Creagh, Labour

Elections

Election box begin
title=General Election 2005: WakefieldElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Mary Creagh
votes = 18,802
percentage = 43.3
change = −6.6Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Alec Shelbrooke
votes = 13,648
percentage = 31.5
change = +0.9Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = David Ridgway
votes = 7,063
percentage = 16.3
change = +3.9Election box candidate with party link
party = British National Party
candidate = Grant Rowe
votes = 1,328
percentage = 3.1
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = Derek Hardcastle
votes = 1,297
percentage = 3.0
change = +0.4Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = John Upex
votes = 467
percentage = 1.1
change = −0.5Election box candidate with party link
party = English Democrats Party
candidate = Adrian McEnhill
votes = 356
percentage = 0.8
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Party (England and Wales)
candidate = Mick Griffiths
votes = 319
percentage = 0.7
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Linda Sheridan
votes = 101
percentage = 0.2
change = −1.3Election box majority
votes = 5,154
percentage = 11.9
change = Election box turnout
votes = 43,381
percentage = 59.3
change = +4.8Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Election box begin
title=General Election 2001: WakefieldElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = David Hinchliffe
votes = 20,592
percentage = 49.9
change = -7.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Thelma Karran
votes = 12,638
percentage = 30.6
change = +2.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Dale Douglas
votes = 5,097
percentage = 12.4
change = +1.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = Sarah Greenwood
votes = 1,075
percentage = 2.6
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Janice Cannon
votes = 677
percentage = 1.6
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Abdul Aziz
votes = 634
percentage = 1.5
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Alliance (England)
candidate = Mick Griffiths
votes = 541
percentage = 1.3
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 7,954
percentage = 19.3
change = Election box turnout
votes = 41,254
percentage = 54.5
change = -14.5Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Election box begin
title=General Election 1997: WakefieldElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = David Hinchliffe
votes = 28,977
percentage = 57.4
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Jonathan Peacock
votes = 14,373
percentage = 28.5
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Douglas Dale
votes = 5,656
percentage = 11.2
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Referendum Party
candidate = Simon Shires
votes = 1,480
percentage = 2.9
change = Election box majority
votes = 14,604
percentage = 28.9
change = Election box turnout
votes = 50,486
percentage = 68.9
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

See also

* List of Parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire