Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Dewsbury
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire for the 2010 general election.
Location of West Yorkshire within England.
County	West Yorkshire
Electorate	79,634 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Dewsbury and Mirfield
Current constituency
Created	1868 (1868)
Member of Parliament	Simon Reevell (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	Yorkshire and the Humber

Dewsbury 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. It has normally elected Labour MPs since the 1940s, although it has usually been a marginal seat and was gained by the Conservatives at the 2010 election.

Boundaries

This constituency covers the towns of Dewsbury and Mirfield, and the surrounding areas.

For the 2010 General Election, Dewsbury lost the traditionally Labour-voting ward of Heckmondwike, but gained the more Conservative-inclined wards of Denby Dale and Kirkburton, which helped the Conservatives gain the seat.

Politics

The seat has a substantial Muslim population. Aside from 1983 and 2010, the seat had been won by Labour at each election since 1935, although sometimes by narrow margins. In the light of increasing concern of Muslim extremism, The Labour Party candidate Shahid Malik had enjoyed a fairly large public media profile after his victory in 2005 in various TV appearances and interviews, strongly denouncing believers and adherents of such views; however, this is also a strong area for the British National Party, who obtained their highest vote in Britain (13.1%) in the 2005 general election, much of it taken at the Labour Party's expense. They also have a substantial vote at local level where in 2006 for the first time in the UK the BNP polled more votes than any other political party. However, at the 2010 general election, the BNP's popularity in Dewsbury fell (despite a substantial nationwide rise in support for the party over the previous five years) as they gained a mere 6% of the vote.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1868	Sir John Simon	Liberal
	1888	Mark Oldroyd	Liberal
	1902	Walter Runciman	Liberal
	1918	Emil William Pickering	Coalition Conservative
	1922	Benjamin Riley	Labour
	1923	Thomas Edmund Harvey	Liberal
	1924	Benjamin Riley	Labour
	1931	Walter Russell Rea	Liberal
	1935	Benjamin Riley	Labour
	1945	Will Paling	Labour
	1959	David Ginsburg	Labour
	1981		Social Democrat
	1983	John Whitfield	Conservative
	1987	Ann Taylor	Labour
	2005	Shahid Malik	Labour
	2010	Simon Reevell	Conservative

Elections

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%	±%
General election, May 2010 Turnout: 54,008 (68.5%) +6.5		Conservative gain from Labour Majority: 1,526 (2.8%) −9.2 Swing: 7.8% from Lab to Con		Simon Reevell	Conservative	18,898	35.0	+6.0
				Shahid Malik	Labour	17,372	32.2	−9.5
				Andrew Hutchinson	Liberal Democrat	9,150	16.9	+3.3
				Khizar Iqbal	Independent	3,813	7.1	N/A
				Roger Roberts	BNP	3,265	6.0	−7.1
				Adrian Cruden	Green	849	1.6	+0.1
				Michael Felse	English Democrats	661	1.2	N/A
General election, May 2005 Electorate: 62,245 Turnout: 38,595 (62.0%) +3.2		Labour hold Majority: 3,615 (12%) −8.3 Swing: 4.2% from Lab to Con		Shahid Malik	Labour	15,807	41.0	−9.5
				Sayeeda Warsi	Conservative	11,192	29.0	−1.2
				Kingsley Hill	Liberal Democrat	5,624	14.6	+2.6
				David Exley	BNP	5,066	13.1	+8.6
				Brenda Smithson	Green	593	1.5	0.0
				Alan Girvan	Independent	313	0.8	N/A
General election, June 2001 Turnout: 36,651 (58.8%) −11.2		Labour hold Majority: 7,449 (20.3%) +1.0 Swing: 0.5% from Con to Lab		Ann Taylor	Labour	18,524	50.5	+1.1
				Robert Cole	Conservative	11,075	30.2	+0.1
				Ian Cuthbertson	Liberal Democrat	4,382	12.0	+1.7
				Russell Smith	BNP	1,632	4.5	−0.7
				Brenda Smithson	Green	560	1.5	+0.6
				David Peace	UKIP	478	1.3	N/A
General election, May 1997 Turnout: 43,975 (70.0%) −10.2		Labour hold Majority: 8,323 (19.3%) +18.2 Swing: 9.2% from Con to Lab		Ann Taylor	Labour	21,286	49.4	+5.6
				Paul McCormick	Conservative	12,963	30.1	−12.7
				Kingsley Hill	Liberal Democrat	4,422	10.3	−1.0
				Frances Taylor	BNP	2,232	5.2	+4.1
				W Goff	Referendum Party	1,019	2.4	N/A
				D Daniel	Independent Labour	770	1.8	N/A
				I McCourtie	Green	383	0.9	+0.1
General election, April 1992 Electorate: 72,839 Turnout: 58,402 (80.2%) +2.4		Labour hold Majority: 634 (1.1%) +0.3 Swing: 0.2% from Con to Lab		Ann Taylor	Labour	25,596	43.8	+1.4
				John Whitfield	Conservative	24,962	42.7	+1.1
				Robert Meadowcroft	Liberal Democrat	6,570	11.3	N/A
				Jane Birdwood	BNP	660	1.1	N/A
				Neil Denby	Green	471	0.8	N/A
				Janet Marsden	Natural Law	146	0.3	N/A
General election, June 1987 Electorate: 70,836 Turnout: 55,798 (78.8%) +7.9		Labour gain from Conservative Majority: 445 (0.8%) −4.1 Swing: 2.4% from Con to Lab		Ann Taylor	Labour	23,668	42.4	+7.1
				John Whitfield	Conservative	23,223	41.6	+2.3
				Alan Mills	Social Democrat	8,907	16.0	−9.3
General election, June 1983 Electorate: 70,623 Turnout: 51,573 (70.8%) −6.3		Conservative gain from Social Democrat Majority: 2,086 (4.0%) −4.9 Swing: 6.5% from Lab to Con		John Whitfield	Conservative	20,297	39.4	+1.6
				D Ripley	Labour	18,211	35.3	−11.4
				David Ginsburg	Social Democrat	13,065	25.3	N/A
General election, May 1979 Electorate: 63,379 Turnout: 48,857 (77.1%) +4.2		Labour hold Majority: 4,381 (9.0%) −6.4 Swing: 3.2% from Lab to Con		David Ginsburg	Labour	22,829	46.7	+1.3
				R Galley	Conservative	18,448	37.8	+7.7
				N Derbyshire	Liberal	7,580	15.5	−9.0
General election, October 1974 Electorate: 61,493 Turnout: 44,846 (72.9%) −8.4		Labour hold Majority: 6,901 (15.4%) +4.5 Swing: 2.3% from Con to Lab		David Ginsburg	Labour	20,378	45.4	+3.0
				M Wood	Conservative	13,477	30.1	−1.6
				A Allsop	Liberal	10,991	24.5	−1.4
General election, February 1974 Electorate: 61,000 Turnout: 49,859 (81.8%) +7.2		Labour hold Majority: 5,412 (10.9%) +0.8 Swing: 0.4% from Con to Lab		David Ginsburg	Labour	21,186	42.5	−6.3
				I J Humphrey	Conservative	15,774	31.6	−7.0
				A Allsop	Liberal	12,889	25.9	+13.2
General election, June 1970 Electorate: 60,544 Turnout: 45,171 (74.5%) −3.4		Labour hold Majority: 4,547 (10.1%) −14.8 Swing: 7.4% from Lab to Con		David Ginsburg	Labour	22,015	48.7	−4.8
				J M Stanfield	Conservative	17,468	38.7	+9.9
				A Allsop	Liberal	5,688	12.6	−5.1
General election, March 1966 Electorate: 55,180 Turnout: 42,981 (77.9%) −1.6		Labour hold Majority: 10,666 (24.8%) +10.7 Swing: 5.3% from Con to Lab		David Ginsburg	Labour	23,027	53.6	+5.2
				D H Haynes	Conservative	12,361	28.8	−5.4
				A Allsop	Liberal	7,593	17.7	+0.2
General election, October 1964 Electorate: 55,341 Turnout: 44,009 (79.5%) −3.2		Labour hold Majority: 6,238 (14.2%) +6.1 Swing: 3.1% from Con to Lab		David Ginsburg	Labour	21,284	48.4	+2.4
				B M Garden	Conservative	15,046	34.2	−3.7
				A Allsop	Liberal	7,679	17.5	+1.2
General election, October 1959 Electorate: 54,894 Turnout: 45,392 (82.7%) +1.9		Labour hold Majority: 3,669 (8.1%) −8.5 Swing: 4.3% from Lab to Con		David Ginsburg	Labour	20,870	46.0	−6.2
				Marcus Fox	Conservative	17,201	37.9	+2.4
				J M McLusky	Liberal	7,321	16.1	+3.8
General election, May 1955 Electorate: 55,257 Turnout: 44,671 (80.8%) −5		Labour hold Majority: 7,417 (16.6%) −0.2 Swing: 0.1% from Lab to Con		Will Paling	Labour	23,286	52.1	−1.1
				M Shaw	Conservative	15,869	35.5	−0.9
				J M McLusky	Liberal	5,516	12.4	+2.0
General election, October 1951 Electorate: 62,680 Turnout: 53,796 (85.8%) −2.1		Labour hold Majority: 9,088 (16.9%) −3.7 Swing: 1.9% from Lab to Con		Will Paling	Labour	28,650	53.3	−0.4
				J Ramsden	Conservative	19,562	36.4	+3.4
				J Snowden	Liberal	5,584	10.4	−3
General election, February 1950 Electorate: 62,259 Turnout: 54,740 (87.9%) +7.6		Labour hold Majority: 11,265 (20.6%) −5.8 Swing: 2.9% from Lab to Con		Will Paling	Labour	29,341	53.6	−2.7
				J Ramsden	Conservative	18,076	33.0	+3.1
				Granville Slack	Liberal	7,323	13.4	−0.5
General election, July 1945 Electorate: 36,217 Turnout: 29,027 (80.3%) −0.5		Labour hold Majority: 7,656 (26,4%) +8.7		Will Paling	Labour	16,330	56.3	+9.1
				E Kilner	Liberal National	8,674	29.9	N/A
				T Banks	Liberal	4,023	13.4	−9.4

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Benjamin Riley	14,066	47.21	+10.89
	National Labour	J Fennell	8,798	29.53	N/A
	Liberal	Walter Russell Rea	6,933	23.27	-40.41
Majority			5,268	17.68	-9.68
Turnout			29,797	80.81	-3.42
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1931: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Walter Russell Rea	19,463	63.68
	Labour	Benjamin Riley	11,101	36.32
Majority			8,362	27.36
Turnout			30,564	84.23
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Coalition Conservative	Emil William Pickering	7,853	42.3
	Labour	Benjamin Riley	5,596	30.1	N/A
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	5,130	27.6
Turnout
	Coalition Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election December 1910: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	7,061
	Conservative	E. O. Simpson	4,033
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election January 1910: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	7,882
	Conservative	E. O. Simpson	4,747
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

Dewsbury by-election, 1908
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	5,594
	Conservative	W. B. Boyd-Carpenter	4,078
	Labour	Ben Turner	2,446
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1906: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	6,764	54.8	+6.6
	Conservative	W. B. Boyd-Carpenter	2,954	24.0	-14.2
	Labour	Ben Turner	2,629	21.2	+7.6
Turnout			12,347	89	+1
	Liberal hold		Swing

Dewsbury by-election, 1902
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	5,660
	Conservative	J. Haley	4,512
	Social Democratic Federation	Harry Quelch	1,597
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1906: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Mark Oldroyd	6,045
	Conservative	F. St J. Morrow	3,897
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Mark Oldroyd	5,379	52.1
	Conservative	H. S. Cautley	3,875	37.5
	Ind. Labour Party	Edward Hartley	1,080	10.4	N/A
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1892: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Mark Oldroyd	5,759
	Conservative	H. S. Cautley	3,670
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

Dewsbury by-election, 1888
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Simon	6,075	60.5
	Liberal Unionist	H. O. Arnold-Forster	3,969	39.5
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

1886: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Simon	5,118	65.1
	Conservative	J. S. Colefax	2,759	34.9
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

1885: Dewsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Simon	6,124
	Conservative	Joe Foz	3,664
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire

Sources

• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.