Dewsbury and Batley
UK Parliament constituency (since 2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dewsbury and Batley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, represented since 2024 by Iqbal Mohamed, an Independent.[1] It was created following the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, and first contested in the 2024 general election.[2] The constituency is located in the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire.[3]
| Dewsbury and Batley | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
Boundary of Dewsbury and Batley in Yorkshire and the Humber | |
| County | West Yorkshire |
| Major settlements | |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Iqbal Mohamed (Independent) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from |
|
Constituency profile
The Dewsbury and Batley constituency is located in West Yorkshire within the borough of Kirklees. It covers the connected towns of Dewsbury and Batley as well as a rural area to the south, including the villages of Thornhill and Flockton. The area forms part of the Heavy Woollen District, a region of West Yorkshire that was traditionally reliant on the textile trade. The constituency has high levels of deprivation, with parts of both towns falling within the 10% most-deprived areas in England.[4]
House prices in the constituency are amongst the lowest in the country,[5] and residents have low levels of income, education and professional employment compared to nationwide averages.[6] The constituency has a significant Muslim community of predominantly Indian and Pakistani origin who made up 44% of the population at the 2021 census.[7] The Muslim population is concentrated in the neighbourhoods of Savile Town (where they made up 90% of residents) and Batley Carr.[8] Most of the constituency is represented by Labour Party and independent councillors at the local council, with some Conservative representation in the rural south. An estimated 55% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum compared to 52% nationwide.[6]
Boundaries
The constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East; Batley West; Dewsbury East; Dewsbury South; Dewsbury West; Kirkburton (polling districts KB04, KB07A, KB07B and KB10).[9]
It comprises the following areas of Kirklees:[10]
| Areas | Kirklees Wards | Former Constituency |
|---|---|---|
| Batley | Batley East, and Batley West | Batley and Spen |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury East, Dewsbury South, and Dewsbury West | Dewsbury |
| Flockton / Grange Moor | Kirkburton (minority) | Dewsbury (plus 30 voters from Huddersfield) |
Members of Parliament
Dewsbury and Batley & Spen prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Iqbal Mohamed | Independent | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Iqbal Mohamed | 15,641 | 41.1 | N/A | |
| Labour | Heather Iqbal | 8,707 | 22.9 |  36.2 | |
| Reform | Jonathan Thackray | 6,152 | 16.2 |  12.8 | |
| Conservative | Lalit Suryawanshi | 4,182 | 11.0 | 17.7 | |
| Green | Simon Cope | 2,048 | 5.4 | 4.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Rossington | 1,340 | 3.5 | 1.0 | |
| Majority | 6,934 | 18.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 38,070 | 53.1 | 12.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,685 | ||||
| Independent gain from Labour | |||||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Labour | 27,241 | 59.1 | |
| Conservative | 13,232 | 28.7 | |
| Others | 2.395 | 5.1 | |
| Brexit Party | 1,565 | 3.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1,156 | 2.5 | |
| Green | 512 | 1.1 | |
| Turnout | 46,101 | 65.6 | |
| Electorate | 70,226 | ||