Normanton (UK Parliament constituency)

Normanton was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elected one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

(MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

constituency includes the towns of Normanton

Normanton, West Yorkshire

Normanton is a town and civil parish within the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is northeast of Wakefield and southwest of Castleford, and at the time of the 2001 Census, the population was 19,949.-History:...

and Ossett

Ossett

Ossett is a market town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on junction 40 of the M1 motorway, half-way between Dewsbury, to the west, and Wakefield, to the east. In the 2001 census, it was classified as part of the West Yorkshire...

and several villages. The area has a tradition of being working-class, but it has now become almost entirely gentrified

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

as nearby Leeds has expanded as a financial centre.

The wards included are "Normanton and Sharlston" [the safest Labour ward], "Stanley and Outwood East", "Wrenthorpe and Outwood West", "Ossett" and "Horbury and South Ossett". Ossett is now actually the largest town in the area, due to its high growth in recent years. The Tory vote is very low in Normanton itself and in Ossett, but councillors have been elected for Horbury and for Wrenthorpe. Until recently the LibDems had all three councillors for the "Ossett" ward, but have never performed well in general elections, in this area. "Stanley and Outwood East" is a fairly safe Labour ward.

The constituency is nicknamed the banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

constituency on account of its unusual shape.

The village of Altofts, located just to the north of Normanton, is currently included in the constituency, despite being part of a Castleford ward. The village is planned to move into a proposed "Pontefract and Castleford" seat. (but see below)

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in West Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England had created a Normanton and Pontefract constituency. In late May 2006, the Commission published a revised recommendation changing the name of this constituency to Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford

Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (UK Parliament constituency)

Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

.

Local newspapers and the Labour Party opposed the initial change, but following a public consultation the Commission decided to create the seat conceding only a name change - from Pontefract and Castleford, to Normanton and Pontefract. This has now been extended to cover all three names. The wards of "Wrenthorpe and Outwood West" and "Stanley and Outwood East" - the most affluent part of the constituency - is set to be joined to the Conservative-leaning commuter town of Morley

Morley, West Yorkshire

Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in...

, which is in the Leeds district, in a Morley and Outwood

Morley and Outwood (UK Parliament constituency)

Morley and Outwood is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

constituency. Local groups and newspapers have protested that this represents a takeover of the Wakefield district by the Leeds district. Cynics reply that the Labour Party is worried that "Morley and Outwood" would be won the Conservatives. Ossett and Horbury are set for inclusion in the Wakefield constituency

Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)

Wakefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

Members of Parliament

The constituency elected only Labour MPs since 1905, the longest run (with Gower

Gower (UK Parliament constituency)

Gower is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system....

and Makerfield

Makerfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Makerfield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

) of any UK constituency. From 1885 to 1906, it had returned Liberal-Labour

Liberal-Labour (UK)

The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions...

MPs.

Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, represented the seat from the 2005 general election until 2010 when it was abolished.

	Member	Party
1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918Representation of the People Act 1884Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	Benjamin Pickard Benjamin Pickard Benjamin Pickard was a British coal miner, trade unionist and Lib–Lab politician.-Early life and family:...	Lib-Lab
1904 by-election Normanton by-election, 1904 The Normanton by-election, 1904 was held to elect a member to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Vacancy:The death of Benjamin Pickard the sitting Lib-Lab Member of Parliament for Normanton in 1904 meant a vacancy and a by-election in the division...	William Parrott William Parrott William Parrott was a British coalminer, trade union official and Liberal–Labour politician.-Early life:...	Lib-Lab
1905 by-election	Frederick Hall Frederick Hall (politician) Frederick Hall was a Liberal Party then Labour Party politician in England.He was elected to the House of Commons at a by-election in 1905 as a Liberal, following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament , William Parrott. In 1909 his trade union instructed him to take the Labour Party whip...	Lib-Lab then Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
1933 by-election Normanton by-election, 1933 The Normanton by-election, 1933 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Normanton on 8 May 1933. The seat had become vacant on the death of the Labour Member of Parliament Frederick Hall, who had held the seat since a previous by-election in 1905.The...	Tom Smith Tom Smith (Labour politician) Tom Smith was a Labour Party politician in England.At the 1922 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the previously Liberal-held seat of Pontefract in West Yorkshire. He was re-elected at the 1923 election, but at the 1924 general election he lost his seat by 701 votes to...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
1947 by-election Normanton by-election, 1947 The Normanton by-election, 1947 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Normanton on 11 February 1947. The seat had become vacant when the Labour Member of Parliament Tom Smith had resigned, take up the post of Labour Director of the North-Eastern...	George Sylvester George Sylvester George Oscar Sylvester was a Labour Party politician in England.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Normanton in West Yorkshire at a by-election in 1947 following the resignation of the Labour MP Tom Smith.At the 1950 general election, he was returned for the neighbouring Pontefract...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950 The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...	Thomas Brooks Thomas Brooks Thomas Judson Brooks, MBE, JP was a British coal miner and politician who became a Labour Party Member of Parliament. A spiritualist, his main achievement was to lead the successful campaign to repeal the Witchcraft Act 1735.-Working life:Brooks was born on Eastfield Farm at Thurgoland near...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
1951 United Kingdom general election, 1951 The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...	Albert Roberts Albert Roberts Albert Roberts was a British Labour politician.Roberts was educated at Whitwood Technical College and worked as a mining engineer and mines inspector for the Yorkshire Safety Board 1941-51. He was elected a councillor on Rothwell Urban District Council 1937-51, serving as chair in 1948.Roberts was...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...	Bill O'Brien	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....	Ed Balls Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls, known as Ed Balls, is a British Labour politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, currently for Morley and Outwood, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer....	Labour Co-op Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....
2010	constituency abolished : see Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (UK Parliament constituency) Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:... and Morley and Outwood Morley and Outwood (UK Parliament constituency) Morley and Outwood is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1940s

Sources

The Independent Labour Party and the Yorkshire Miners: The Barnsley By-Election of 1897: details on the Liberal-Labour movement in the area in the late 19th century

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