Elmet
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Elmet in West Yorkshire for the 2005 general election
Outline map
Location of West Yorkshire within England
CountyWest Yorkshire
Major settlementsGarforth, Wetherby
1983–2010
SeatsOne
Created fromBarkston Ash, Leeds East and Normanton[1]
Replaced byElmet and Rothwell

Elmet was a county constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

From 1997 the MP was Colin Burgon of Labour, who did not stand in the 2010 general election.[2]

Boundaries

The City of Leeds wards of Barwick and Kippax, Garforth and Swillington, Wetherby, and Whinmoor.

The constituency was created in 1983 to cover the far eastern wards of Leeds and neighbouring areas, notably Wetherby, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Garforth and Swillington. It also includes the Whinmoor area of east Leeds. Initially the Boundary Commission for England proposed calling the constituency Leeds East, with the existing Leeds East constituency being renamed Leeds East Central.[3] This was opposed during local enquiries where the seat was instead named for the ancient kingdom of Elmet although it covers a significantly smaller area. Wetherby and Garforth were the largest settlements in the constituency.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representations in West Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England created a new seat, Elmet and Rothwell, reducing the number of seats in the region by one.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Barkston Ash, Leeds East, and Normanton. Elmet was historically always a marginal seat due to the demographic makeup of the region, in contrast to Barkston Ash which was traditionally Tory.

After the 1983 general election the metropolitan district of the City of Leeds was represented by the constituencies of Elmet, Leeds Central, Leeds East, Leeds North East, Leeds North West, Leeds West, Morley and Leeds South and Pudsey.

Members of Parliament

Election Member [4] Party
1983 Spencer Batiste Conservative
1997 Colin Burgon Labour
2010 constituency abolished: see Elmet and Rothwell

Elections

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Elmet[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Batiste 23,909 47.3
Labour Roy Wilson 16,053 31.7
Liberal Gillian Paterson 10,589 21.0
Majority 7,856 15.6
Turnout 50,551 75.4
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1987: Elmet[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Batiste 25,658 46.9 −0.4
Labour Colin Burgon 20,302 37.1 +5.4
SDP John Macarthur 8,755 16.0 −5.0
Majority 5,356 9.8 -5.8
Turnout 54,715 79.3 +3.9
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Elmet[9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Batiste 27,677 47.5 +0.6
Labour Colin Burgon 24,416 41.9 +4.8
Liberal Democrats Ann Beck 6,144 10.5 −5.5
Majority 3,261 5.6 −4.2
Turnout 58,237 82.4 +3.1
Conservative hold Swing −2.1
General election 1997: Elmet[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Burgon 28,348 52.4 +10.5
Conservative Spencer Batiste 19,569 36.2 −11.3
Liberal Democrats Brian Jennings 4,691 8.7 −1.8
Referendum Christopher Zawadski 1,487 2.7 New
Majority 8,779 16.2 N/A
Turnout 54,185 76.8 -5.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +10.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Elmet[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Burgon 22,038 48.0 −4.4
Conservative Andrew Millard 17,867 38.9 +2.7
Liberal Democrats Madeleine Kirk 5,001 10.9 +2.2
UKIP Andrew Spence 1,031 2.2 New
Majority 4,171 9.1 -7.1
Turnout 45,937 65.6 −11.2
Labour hold Swing
General election 2005: Elmet[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Burgon 22,260 47.2 −0.8
Conservative Andrew Millard 17,732 37.6 −1.3
Liberal Democrats Madeleine Kirk 5,923 12.6 +1.7
BNP Tracy Andrews 1,231 2.6 New
Majority 4,528 9.6 +0.5
Turnout 47,146 68.8 +3.2
Labour hold Swing

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "'Elmet', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  2. ^ Marsh, David (24 April 2009). "Leeds MP Burgon is quitting - with blast at leaders". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  3. ^ Boundary Commission for England, Third Periodic Report, 1983
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)
  5. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  11. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

53°49′05″N 1°24′14″W / 53.818°N 1.404°W / 53.818; -1.404

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