Barnsley Central
UK Parliament constituency (1983–2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barnsley Central was a constituency[n 1] in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons from 1983 until 2024.[n 2] This constituency covered parts of the town of Barnsley.
| Barnsley Central | |
|---|---|
| Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
2010–2024 boundary of Barnsley Central in South Yorkshire | |
 Location of South Yorkshire within England | |
| County | South Yorkshire |
| Population | 85,714 (2011 census)[1] |
| Electorate | 64,229 (December 2019)[2] |
| Borough | Barnsley |
| Major settlements | Barnsley, Royston |
| 1983–2024 | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | |
| Replaced by |
|
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was replaced (including moderate boundary changes) by Barnsley North, first contested at the 2024 general election.[3]
Constituency profile
Barnsley Central is generally an urban seat and has a large majority of its population on middle or low incomes, with most of the large former mining town's social housing contained within it.[4] It has been held by the Labour Party since 1983 and was consistently a safe seat, like its main predecessor, until 2019, when Labour's majority was cut to 9.7%.
History
Created in 1983, Barnsley Central covers a similar area to that of the former Barnsley constituency. The seat was held by almost a year from May 2010 by Eric Illsley as an independent MP after he was suspended from the Labour Party over the expenses row and he led to its becoming vacant on 8 February 2011.[5]
On 12 January 2011, having admitted the crime of fraud over his expenses, Illsley announced the intention to stand down from Parliament, necessitating a by-election in early 2011.[6] On 8 February 2011 Ilsley resigned his seat[n 3] before he was due to be sentenced for fraudulently claiming parliamentary expenses.[7] The by-election was held on 3 March 2011 and was won by Dan Jarvis for the Labour Party. The Labour majority and share of the vote rose to give an absolute majority, on a turnout 20% lower than in the General Election; meanwhile the Conservative share of the vote fell steeply to just 8.3%, less than UKIP's 12.2% vote-share.[8] In the 2019 general election, Jarvis held onto his seat, but with a sharply reduced majority; it fell from 15,546 to 3,571. The Brexit Party came second with 11,233 votes, which was 30.4% of the vote, compared to Jarvis's 40.1%.
Boundaries
1983–1997: The Borough of Barnsley wards of Ardsley, Athersley, Central, Monk Bretton, North West, Royston, and South West.
1997–2010: The Borough of Barnsley wards of Ardsley, Athersley, Central, Cudworth, Monk Bretton, North West, Royston, and South West.
2010–2024: The Borough of Barnsley wards of Central, Darton East, Darton West, Kingstone, Monk Bretton, Old Town, Royston, and St Helens.
Barnsley Central constituency covered most of the town of Barnsley. It was bordered by the constituencies of Wakefield, Hemsworth, Barnsley East, and Penistone and Stocksbridge.
Members of Parliament
The constituency had three Members of Parliament since its creation in 1983, all of whom were from the Labour Party.
| Election | Member[9] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Roy Mason | Labour | |
| 1987 | Eric Illsley | Labour | |
| 2010 | Independent[5] | ||
| 2011 by-election | Dan Jarvis | Labour | |
| 2024 | constituency abolished | ||
Election results 1983–2024
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Roy Mason | 21,847 | 59.8 | ||
| Conservative | Howard S. Oldfield | 7,674 | 21.0 | ||
| Liberal | Geoffrey Reid | 7,011 | 19.2 | ||
| Majority | 14,173 | 38.8 | |||
| Turnout | 36,532 | 66.3 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Illsley | 26,139 | 66.8 | +7.0 | |
| Conservative | Vivien Prais | 7,088 | 18.1 | −2.9 | |
| Liberal | Susan Holland | 5,928 | 15.1 | −4.0 | |
| Majority | 19,051 | 48.7 | +9.9 | ||
| Turnout | 37,548 | 70.0 | +3.7 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Illsley | 27,048 | 69.3 | +2.5 | |
| Conservative | David N. Senior | 7,687 | 19.7 | +1.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen R. Cowton | 4,321 | 11.1 | −4.1 | |
| Majority | 19,361 | 49.6 | +0.9 | ||
| Turnout | 39,056 | 70.5 | +0.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Illsley | 28,090 | 77.0 | +6.2 | |
| Conservative | Simon Gutteridge | 3,589 | 9.8 | −8.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Darren Finlay | 3,481 | 9.5 | −1.2 | |
| Referendum | James Walsh | 1,325 | 3.6 | New | |
| Majority | 24,501 | 67.2 | +17.6 | ||
| Turnout | 36,485 | 59.7 | −10.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.5 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Illsley | 19,181 | 69.6 | −7.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alan Hartley | 4,051 | 14.7 | +5.2 | |
| Conservative | Ian McCord | 3,608 | 13.1 | +4.0 | |
| Socialist Alliance | Henry Rajch | 703 | 2.6 | New | |
| Majority | 15,130 | 54.9 | −12.7 | ||
| Turnout | 27,543 | 45.8 | −13.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −6.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Illsley | 17,478 | 61.1 | −8.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Miles Crompton | 4,746 | 16.6 | +1.9 | |
| Conservative | Peter Morel | 3,813 | 13.3 | +0.2 | |
| BNP | Geoffrey Broadley | 1,403 | 4.9 | New | |
| Independent | Donald Wood | 1,175 | 4.1 | New | |
| Majority | 12,732 | 44.5 | −10.4 | ||
| Turnout | 28,615 | 47.2 | +1.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −5.2 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Illsley | 17,487 | 47.3 | −10.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christopher Wiggin | 6,394 | 17.3 | +0.7 | |
| Conservative | Piers Tempest | 6,388 | 17.3 | +4.0 | |
| BNP | Ian Sutton | 3,307 | 8.9 | +4.4 | |
| UKIP | David Silver | 1,727 | 4.7 | New | |
| Independent | Donald Wood | 732 | 2.0 | −2.1 | |
| Independent | Tony Devoy | 610 | 1.6 | New | |
| Socialist Labour | Terrence Robinson | 356 | 1.0 | New | |
| Majority | 11,093 | 30.0 | −14.5 | ||
| Turnout | 37,001 | 56.5 | +8.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dan Jarvis | 14,724 | 60.8 | +13.5 | |
| UKIP | Jane Collins | 2,953 | 12.2 | +7.5 | |
| Conservative | James Hockney | 1,999 | 8.3 | −9.0 | |
| BNP | Enis Dalton | 1,463 | 6.0 | −2.9 | |
| Independent | Tony Devoy | 1,266 | 5.2 | +3.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Dominic Carman | 1,012 | 4.2 | −13.1 | |
| English Democrat | Kevin Riddiough | 544 | 2.2 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 198 | 0.8 | New | |
| Independent | Michael Val Davies | 60 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 11,771 | 48.6 | +18.6 | ||
| Turnout | 24,219 | 36.5 | −20.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dan Jarvis | 20,376 | 55.7 | +8.4 | |
| UKIP | Lee Hunter | 7,941 | 21.7 | +17.1 | |
| Conservative | Kay Carter | 5,485 | 15.0 | −2.3 | |
| Green | Michael Short | 938 | 2.6 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Ridgway | 770 | 2.1 | −15.2 | |
| TUSC | Dave Gibson | 573 | 1.6 | New | |
| English Democrat | Ian Sutton | 477 | 1.3 | New | |
| Majority | 12,435 | 34.0 | +4.0 | ||
| Turnout | 36,560 | 56.7 | +0.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −4.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dan Jarvis | 24,982 | 63.9 | +8.2 | |
| Conservative | Amanda Ford | 9,436 | 24.1 | +9.1 | |
| UKIP | Gavin Felton | 3,339 | 8.5 | −13.2 | |
| Green | Richard Trotman | 572 | 1.5 | −1.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Ridgway | 549 | 1.4 | −0.7 | |
| English Democrat | Stephen Morris | 211 | 0.5 | −0.8 | |
| Majority | 15,546 | 39.8 | +5.8 | ||
| Turnout | 39,089 | 60.6 | +3.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −0.48 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dan Jarvis | 14,804 | 40.1 | −23.8 | |
| Brexit Party | Victoria Felton | 11,233 | 30.4 | New | |
| Conservative | Iftikhar Ahmed | 7,892 | 21.4 | −2.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Will Sapwell | 1,176 | 3.2 | +1.8 | |
| Green | Tom Heyes | 900 | 2.4 | +0.9 | |
| Yorkshire | Ryan Williams | 710 | 1.9 | New | |
| Independent | Donald Wood | 188 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 3,571 | 9.7 | −30.1 | ||
| Turnout | 36,903 | 56.5 | −4.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −27.1 | |||
This was the highest Brexit Party vote share at the 2019 general election.[30] It was also the highest vote share for any non Labour candidate in the seat's history.
See also
Notes
- A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- 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.
- By the time-honoured tradition of accepting appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds