Barnsley Central (UK Parliament constituency)

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. 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.

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. On 8 February 2011 Ilsley resigned his seat before he was due to be sentenced for fraudulently claiming parliamentary expenses. 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.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12643639| title=Labour win Barnsley Central by-election |date=3 March 2011|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=3 March 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110304052428/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12643639| archive-date= 4 March 2011 | url-status= live}} 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 results 1983–2024

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 2010s

| access-date = 14 May 2015 | archive-date = 14 May 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150514191911/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000541 | url-status = live

This was the highest Brexit Party vote share at the 2019 general election. It was also the highest vote share for any non Labour candidate in the seat's history.

Notes

References

Sources

• Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)

References

1. "Usual Resident Population, 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. (15 June 2020). "Constituency data: electorates – House of Commons Library". Parliament UK.
3. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – Yorkshire and the Humber {{!}} Boundary Commission for England".
4. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics".
5. (19 May 2010). "Labour MP charged over expenses". BBC.
6. (12 January 2011). "MPs' expenses: Eric Illsley is to stand down as MP". BBC News.
7. (8 February 2011). "Expenses fraud Barnsley Central MP Eric Illsley resigns". [[BBC]].
8. *{{Rayment-hc. b. 1. (March 2012)
9. "Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
10. (9 June 1983). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.
11. "Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
12. (11 June 1987). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.
13. "Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
14. (9 April 1992). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.
15. "Election Data 1997". [[Electoral Calculus]].
16. (1 May 1997). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.
17. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.25 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
18. The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
19. "Election Data 2001". [[Electoral Calculus]].
20. (7 June 2001). "Vote 2001". BBC News.
21. "Election Data 2005". [[Electoral Calculus]].
22. (5 May 2005). "Vote 2005". BBC News.
23. "Election Data 2010". [[Electoral Calculus]].
24. "UK general election 2010: Results for Barnsley Central". [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom).
25. (4 March 2011). "By election result for Barnsley Central". [[BBC]].
26. "Election Data 2015". [[Electoral Calculus]].
27. "Barnsley Central Parliamentary constituency". BBC.
28. (28 January 2020). "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis". [[House of Commons Library]].