Leeds Central and Headingley
UK Parliament constituency (since 2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leeds Central and Headingley is a constituency[n 1][n 2] of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament.[1] Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested in the 2024 general election.[2] The seat is currently represented by Alex Sobel of the Labour Party, who served as MP for Leeds North West from 2017 to 2024.
| Leeds Central and Headingley | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Interactive map of boundaries since 2024 | |
Boundary within Yorkshire and the Humber | |
| County | West Yorkshire |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Alex Sobel (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Leeds Central, Leeds North West, and Leeds West |
Constituency profile
Leeds Central and Headingley is an urban constituency in West Yorkshire. It is located in the city of Leeds and contains its central and north-western neighbourhoods, including Leeds city centre, Headingley, Little London, Burley, Hawksworth and Tinshill. Leeds is one of the United Kingdom's largest cities and grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution as a centre for textile manufacturing, especially wool. Today the city has a diverse economy and is the largest legal and financial centre in England outside of London.[3][4] This constituency has one of the largest student populations of any constituency in the United Kingdom as the site of two universities, the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, which together have almost 70,000 students.[5] The constituency has average levels of wealth; there is some deprivation in Hawksworth whilst Headingly is generally affluent and suburban in character.[6] The average house price is lower than the national average but higher than the rest of Yorkshire.[7]
In general, residents of Leeds Central and Headingley are very young and well-educated. Compared to the rest of the country, they are unlikely to be homeowners or married, and are mostly irreligious. They have average levels of income,[7] and a high proportion work in the health and education sectors and in professional or scientific occupations.[8] White people made up 71% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians were 13% of residents, including a large Chinese community, and Black people were 6%.[9] At the local city council, almost all seats in the constituency are represented by the Labour Party. Voters strongly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 67% voted to remain compared to the nationwide figure of 48%.[7]
Boundaries
The constituency is composed of the following electoral wards of the City of Leeds:
It comprises the following areas of the City of Leeds:[11]
- Headingley and Weetwood, transferred from Leeds North West
- Hyde Park, Little London and Woodhouse from Leeds Central (abolished and largely replaced by Leeds South)
- Kirkstall from Leeds West (abolished)
Members of Parliament
Leeds Central and Leeds North West prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Alex Sobel[12] | Labour Co-op | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Co-op | Alex Sobel | 15,853 | 50.2 | −13.2 | |
| Green | Chris Foren | 7,431 | 23.5 | +20.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Howley | 2,611 | 8.3 | −2.9 | |
| Reform | Reggie Wray | 2,399 | 7.6 | +3.6 | |
| Conservative | Jenny Jackson | 2,237 | 7.1 | −10.8 | |
| Workers Party | Owais Rajput | 691 | 2.2 | N/A | |
| SDP | Rob Walker | 187 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| TUSC | Louie George Fulton | 186 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,422 | 26.7 | −18.8 | ||
| Turnout | 31,595 | 44.8 | −13.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 70,554 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −16.6 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Labour | 27,696 | 63.4 | |
| Conservative | 7,817 | 17.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 4,884 | 11.2 | |
| Brexit Party | 1,757 | 4.0 | |
| Green | 1,508 | 3.5 | |
| Turnout | 43,662 | 57.9 | |
| Electorate | 75,396 | ||
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.