Calder Valley (constituency)

The Calder Valley constituency covers most of the district of Calderdale in West Yorkshire. It contains the areas south and west of the large town of Halifax. The largest settlement is the town of Brighouse with a population of around 33,000.^[5] Other settlements in the constituency include the towns of Elland, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden and the villages of Ripponden and Mytholmroyd. The Pennines run through the west of the constituency, which is thus predominantly upland. It is named after the River Calder, a tributary of the Aire that flows through the constituency. Most of the towns in the constituency have a history of textile manufacturing. Todmorden and Hebden Bridge are known for their bohemian culture and Hebden Bridge has been described as the "lesbian capital of the UK".^[6][7]

Residents of the constituency are generally older and have average levels of wealth and education when compared to national averages. White people make up 95% of the population.^[8] There is some deprivation in Todmorden and Elland whilst Ripponden is more affluent.^[9] At the local borough council, Brighouse and Elland are represented by Conservative Party councillors whilst the constituency's upland west voted for Labour Party candidates. An estimated 52% of voters in Calder Valley supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, identical to the national figure.^[8]

1983–2024: Since the constituency's creation in 1983, it comprised the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale wards of Brighouse, Calder, Elland, Greetland and Stainland, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe, Luddendenfoot, Rastrick, Ryburn, and Todmorden.

2024–present: Same as above apart from the loss of part of the Ryburn ward (polling districts MB, MC and MD) to Halifax in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.^[10]

The constituency was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Sowerby as well as parts of Brighouse and Spenborough. Historically a bellwether seat between Labour and the Conservatives, at the 2010 general election the seat became the closest three-way marginal in the north of England, with less than 1,000 votes between the Labour candidate in second place and the Liberal Democrat candidate in third, although with a significant Conservative majority. The seat's three-way marginal status did not last; the Labour vote increased significantly in both 2015 and 2017 while the Liberal Democrat vote collapsed dramatically over the same period. The seat has followed national trends, albeit with a disadvantage to the Conservatives when compared to the national swing, and is still considered a bellwether seat.

• List of parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire