Pontefract and Castleford (UK Parliament constituency)

Pontefract and Castleford was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 2010 general election. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Pontefract and Castleford
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Pontefract and Castleford in West Yorkshire for the 2005 general election
Location of West Yorkshire within England
CountyWest Yorkshire
1974 (1974)–2010
Number of membersOne
Replaced byNormanton, Pontefract & Castleford
Created fromPontefract

Boundaries

1974–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Castleford and Pontefract, and the Urban District of Featherstone.

1983–2010: The City of Wakefield wards of Castleford Ferry Fryston, Castleford Glasshoughton, Castleford Whitwood, Knottingley, Pontefract North, and Pontefract South.

The constituency covered the West Yorkshire towns of Pontefract and Castleford. It was a very safe Labour seat, made up of former mining towns and villages. The MP from 1997 until its abolition in 2010, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is married to former fellow Labour MP, former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in West Yorkshire, the number of seats in West Yorkshire were reduced by one due to population decline by the Boundary Commission for England. A new, geographically larger, constituency called Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford was created in 2010 including the whole of this constituency.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[1]Party
Feb 1974 Joe Harper Labour
1978 by-election Sir Geoffrey Lofthouse Labour
1997 Yvette Cooper Labour
2010 Constituency abolished: see Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford

Elections

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: Pontefract and Castleford[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Yvette Cooper 20,973 63.7 −6.0
Conservative Simon Jones 5,727 17.4 −0.2
Liberal Democrats Wesley Paxton 3,942 12.0 +4.6
BNP Suzy Cass 1,835 5.6 New
Alliance for Green Socialism Bob Hague 470 1.4 New
Majority 15,246 46.3 -5.8
Turnout 32,947 53.3 +3.6
Labour hold Swing
General election 2001: Pontefract and Castleford[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Yvette Cooper 21,890 69.7 −6.0
Conservative Pamela Singleton 5,512 17.6 +4.0
Liberal Democrats Wesley Paxton 2,315 7.4 0.0
UKIP John Burdon 739 2.4 New
Socialist Labour Trevor Bolderson 605 1.9 New
Socialist Alliance John Gill 330 1.1 New
Majority 16,378 52.1 -10.0
Turnout 31,391 49.7 −16.6
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: Pontefract and Castleford[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Yvette Cooper 31,339 75.7 +5.8
Conservative Adrian Flook 5,614 13.6 −7.3
Liberal Democrats Wesley Paxton 3,042 7.4 −1.8
Referendum Richard Wood 1,401 3.4 New
Majority 25,725 62.1 -12.2
Turnout 41,396 66.3 -8.0
Labour hold Swing
General election 1992: Pontefract and Castleford[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Geoffrey Lofthouse 33,546 69.9 +3.0
Conservative AGM Rockall 10,051 20.9 -0.3
Liberal Democrats DL Ryan 4,410 9.2 −2.1
Majority 23,495 49.0 +3.3
Turnout 48,007 74.3 +0.8
Labour hold Swing +1.6

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1987: Pontefract and Castleford[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Geoffrey Lofthouse 31,656 66.9 +9.8
Conservative Julian Malins 10,051 21.2 -4.6
Alliance Michael Taylor 5,334 11.3 -5.8
Red Front Daniel McFarlane-Lees 295 0.6 New
Majority 21,626 45.7 +14.4
Turnout 47,315 73.5 +7.1
Labour hold Swing
General election 1983: Pontefract and Castleford[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Geoffrey Lofthouse 24,990 57.1
Conservative Barry Howell 11,299 25.8
Alliance D. Dale 7,452 17.1
Majority 13,691 31.3
Turnout 43,741 67.4
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s
General election 1979: Pontefract and Castleford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Geoffrey Lofthouse 30,566 68.1 -2.3
Conservative Hugo Page 10,665 23.8 +7.6
Liberal Leslie Marsh 3,616 8.0 -4.3
Majority 19,901 44.3 -9.9
Turnout 44,837 73.9 +2.8
Labour hold Swing
1978 Pontefract and Castleford by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Geoffrey Lofthouse 19,508 65.8 -4.6
Conservative Hugo Page 8,080 27.3 +11.1
Liberal Leslie Marsh 2,054 6.9 -5.4
Majority 11,428 38.5 -15.7
Turnout 29,642
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Pontefract and Castleford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Harper 30,208 70.4 -4.4
Conservative I. Bloomer 6,966 16.2 -6.9
Liberal S. Galloway 5,259 12.3 New
Workers Revolutionary T. Parsons 457 1.1 -1.1
Majority 23,242 54.2 +2.4
Turnout 42,890 71.1 -6.0
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Pontefract and Castleford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Harper 34,409 74.8
Conservative Richard Needham 10,605 23.1
Workers Revolutionary B. Lavery 991 2.2
Majority 23,804 51.8
Turnout 46,005 77.1
Labour win (new seat)

See also

Notes and references
  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)
  2. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  7. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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