Batley and Spen (UK Parliament constituency)

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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Coordinates: 53°43′01″N 1°38′06″W / 53.717°N 1.635°W / 53.717; -1.635

Batley and Spen
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire
Location of West Yorkshire within England
County	West Yorkshire
Population	107,899 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	80,110 (December 2019)[2]
Major settlements	Batley, Cleckheaton, Birstall, Birkenshaw
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Tracy Brabin (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Batley and Morley, Brighouse and Spenborough and Dewsbury

Batley and Spen is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2016 by Tracy Brabin, a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The area is in the rolling Pennines of West Yorkshire with considerable commerce, industry, retail and occupational trades carried out by most of its residents and a sizeable retired population, compared to city centres. A lower percentage of social housing is present than the regional average, however most of the larger settlements have some social housing.^[3] The population in the district is diverse. Cleckheaton and many of the towns in the Spen Valley have few residents from non-white heritage backgrounds, while Batley has a sizeable number of residents with South Asian backgrounds, namely Pakistani (9.2%) and Indian (Gujarati) (15.9%). Heckmondwike also has a well-established South Asian community with 16.9% residents having Pakistani heritage.^[4]

The results of the last fifty years show marginal majorities for Labour and for the Conservatives.

Boundaries

Map of present boundaries

1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East, Batley West, Birstall and Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, and Spen.

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East, Batley West, Birstall and Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, and Spen.

2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East, Batley West, Birstall and Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, and Liversedge and Gomersal.

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Batley and Morley, Brighouse and Spenborough and Dewsbury. This West Yorkshire constituency covers Batley, Birkenshaw, Birstall, Cleckheaton, East Bierley, Gomersal, Hunsworth, and Liversedge. Traditionally Batley and Heckmondwike have been inclined to vote Labour, while the other settlements have been more inclined to vote Conservative. The exception is Cleckheaton which has returned Liberal Democrat members for the local council.

The seat swung in Labour's favour in the elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005 though the Conservatives reduced the Labour majority in 2010 with a swing below the national average.

History

The seat did not exist in its present form prior to 1983. It has seen significant boundary changes since its creation – most notably those changes that took effect for the 1997 general election.

The town of Heckmondwike was part of the seat from its creation in 1983 until 1997, when it was transferred to Dewsbury. Heckmondwike was returned to Batley and Spen for the 2010 general election.

The electoral ward of Heckmondwike (which includes part of Liversedge township) was considered part of the Spen Valley (although it was never included in the former Spenborough Urban district). Heckmondwike ward was for many years a Labour stronghold, but in the 2000s elected two BNP councillors. The BNP councillors were narrowly defeated by Labour in 2007^[5] and 2008.^[6]

A by-election in 2016 occurred as a result of the murder of Jo Cox, the sitting MP. Cox died on 16 June 2016, after being shot and stabbed multiple times by a man associated with far-right organisations.^[7][8][9] The Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, UK Independence Party and the Green Party all announced they would not contest the by-election as a mark of respect.^[10]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[11]	Party
	1983	Elizabeth Peacock	Conservative
	1997	Mike Wood	Labour
	2015	Jo Cox
	2016 by-election	Tracy Brabin	Labour Co-op

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Batley and Spen^[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tracy Brabin	22,594	42.7	-12.8
	Conservative	Mark Brooks	19,069	36.0	-2.8
	Heavy Woollen District Independents	Paul Halloran	6,432	12.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	John Lawson	2,462	4.7	+2.4
	Brexit Party	Clive Minihan	1,678	3.2	N/A
	Green	Ty Akram	692	1.3	±0.0
Majority			3,525	6.7	-10.0
Turnout			52,927	66.5	-0.6
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	-5.0

General election 2017: Batley and Spen^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tracy Brabin	29,844	55.5	+12.3
	Conservative	Ann Myatt	20,883	38.8	+7.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Lawson	1,224	2.3	−2.4
	Independent	Aleks Lukic	1,076	2.0	−16.0
	Green	Alan Freeman	695	1.3	−1.1
	Independent	Mohammed Hanif	58	0.1	N/A
Majority			8,961	16.7	+4.7
Turnout			53,780	67.1	+2.7
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+2.3[a]

a. ^ Swing is calculated from the 2015 election, not the 2016 by-election which was not contested by major parties. Aleks Lukic's vote change is in comparison to the 2015 election, when he stood as a UKIP candidate.

By-election 2016: Batley and Spen^{[16][17][18][n 3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tracy Brabin	17,506	85.8	+42.6
	English Democrat	Therese Muchewicz	969	4.8	N/A
	BNP	David Furness	548	2.7	N/A
	Independent	Garry Kitchin	517	2.5	N/A
	English Independence	Corbyn Anti	241	1.2	N/A
	Liberty GB	Jack Buckby	220	1.0	N/A
	Independent	Henry Mayhew	153	0.8	N/A
	Independent	Waqas Ali Khan	118	0.6	N/A
	National Front	Richard Edmonds	87	0.4	N/A
	One Love	Ankit Love	34	0.2	N/A
Majority			16,537	81.0	+68.0
Turnout			20,393	25.8
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	N/A

General election 2015: Batley and Spen^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jo Cox	21,826	43.2	+1.7
	Conservative	Imtiaz Ameen	15,769	31.2	−1.8
	UKIP	Aleks Lukic	9,080	18.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	John Lawson	2,396	4.7	−11.1
	Green	Ian Bullock	1,232	2.4	+1.3
	TUSC	Dawn Wheelhouse	123	0.2	N/A
	Patriotic Socialist	Karl Varley	53	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,057	12.0
Turnout			50,479	64.4	-3.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

General election 2010: Batley and Spen^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Wood	21,565	41.5	−3.7
	Conservative	Janice Small	17,159	33.0	+1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Bentley	8,925	17.2	+1.8
	BNP	David Exley	3,685	7.1	+1.1
	Green	Matt Blakeley	605	1.2	−0.5
Majority			4,406	8.5
Turnout			51,939	67.7	+6.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Batley and Spen^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Wood	17,974	45.8	−4.1
	Conservative	Robert Light	12,186	31.1	−5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Bentley	5,731	14.6	+4.3
	BNP	Colin Auty	2,668	6.8	N/A
	Green	Clive Lord	649	1.7	+0.2
Majority			5,788	14.8
Turnout			39,208	62.3	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.8

General election 2001: Batley and Spen^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Wood	19,224	49.9	+0.5
	Conservative	Elizabeth Peacock	14,160	36.7	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn Pinnock	3,989	10.3	+1.5
	Green	Clive Lord	595	1.5	+0.7
	UKIP	Allen Burton	574	1.5	N/A
Majority			5,064	13.2
Turnout			38,542	60.5	−12.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.1

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Batley and Spen^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Wood	23,213	49.4	+6.3
	Conservative	Elizabeth Peacock	17,072	36.4	−9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn Pinnock	4,133	8.8	−1.7
	Referendum	Ed O.C. Wood	1,691	3.6	N/A
	BNP	Ron Smith	472	1.0	N/A
	Green	Clive Lord	384	0.8	−0.2
Majority			6,141	13.1
Turnout			46,965	73.2	−6.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.7

General election 1992: Batley and Spen^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Peacock	27,629	45.4	+2.0
	Labour	Eunice Durkin	26,221	43.1	+2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Beever	6,380	10.5	−3.8
	Green	Clive Lord	628	1.0	N/A
Majority			1,408	2.3	0.0
Turnout			60,858	79.7	+0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.0

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Batley and Spen^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Peacock	25,512	43.4	+4.1
	Labour	Kenneth Woolmer	24,150	41.1	+3.5
	SDP	Keith Burke	8,372	14.3	−7.2
	Moderate Labour	Allan Harrison	689	1.2	N/A
Majority			1,362	2.3
Turnout			58,723	79.0	+5.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.3

General election 1983: Batley and Spen^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Peacock	21,433	39.6	N/A
	Labour	Kenneth Woolmer	20,563	38.0	N/A
	SDP	Stephen Woollery	11,678	21.5	N/A
	Ecology	Clive Lord	493	0.9	N/A
Majority			870	1.6	N/A
Turnout			54,167	73.4	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. Conservatives, UKIP, Greens and Liberal Democrats declined to field a candidate out of respect for the previous holder of the post, Jo Cox, who was murdered in office

References

1. "Batley and Spen: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
2. "Constituency data: electorates – House of Commons Library". Parliament UK. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
3. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
4. "Kirklees Census 2001". Kirklees Council. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
5. "Kirklees Election Results 2007". Kirklees Council. 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
6. "Kirklees Election Results 2008". Kirklees Council. 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
7. Boyle, Danny (16 June 2016). "Labour MP Jo Cox dies after being shot and stabbed in her constituency near Leeds". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
8. Booth, Robert; Dodd, Vikram; Parveen, Nazia (16 June 2016). "Labour MP Jo Cox has died after being shot and stabbed". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
9. Cobain, Ian; Parveen, Nazia; Taylor, Matthew (23 November 2016). "The slow-burning hatred that led Thomas Mair to murder Jo Cox". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
10. Stone, Jon (17 June 2016). "Jo Cox death: Parties stand down in killed Labour MP's seat as Corbyn and Cameron call for unity". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
11. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
12. "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations" (PDF). Kirklees Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
13. "Batley & Spen parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
14. "Candidates for Batley and Spen". Democracy Club Candidates.
15. "Election battle begins in earnest". The Press.
16. Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll"
17. "Election results for Batley and Spen, 20 October 2016". 20 October 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
18. "Labour's Tracy Brabin wins Batley and Spen by-election following death of MP Jo Cox". The Independent. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
19. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
20. "Batley & Spen". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
21. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
22. "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Batley & Spen". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
23. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
28. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
29. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.