Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | West Yorkshire |
Electorate | 84,874 (December 2019) [1] |
Major settlements | Normanton, Castleford and Pontefract |
2010–2024 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Pontefract and Castleford, Normanton |
Replaced by | Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley |
Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford was a constituency [n 1] in West Yorkshire of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented by Yvette Cooper of the Labour Party for the whole of its creation. [n 2] Cooper served under the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown alongside her husband Ed Balls, and served as Shadow Home Secretary under the leadership of Ed Miliband. Having served as chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, she is once again the Shadow Home Secretary.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to boundary changes, including the loss of Normanton, it will be reformed as Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley , to be first contested at the 2024 general election. [2]
Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which recommended this constituency for the 2010 general election in the district of the city of Wakefield. Due to less increase in population than elsewhere the commission had to reduce constituencies in the county by one, resulting in the "merger" of Normanton and Pontefract/Castleford seats, however some wards of both went to other neighbouring seats to give the correct size electorate.
The commission had great difficulty in naming the constituency, with "Normanton and Pontefract" and "Pontefract and Castleford" both suggested. On 24 May 2006 the modified name was chosen following further public consultation. The only other three-place constituency name in England was Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner in London.
The constituency first contested at the 2010 general election has electoral wards of the City of Wakefield:
The area has the three retail towns, Pontefract being the most touristic — producing liquorice as well as Pontefract cakes — the wider economy includes self-employed trades, work in local manufacturing and jobs in creative industry, retail, public sector and corporate headquarters including in Leeds and Wakefield.
The last working deep coal mine in the United Kingdom, Kellingley Colliery, was a significant employer until it closed in December 2015. [3]
Well recovered from economic decline from the loss of most local mines, the rate of jobseeking benefits claimed is lower than the Yorkshire and Humber average (4.6%) at 4.4% however this slightly exceeds the national average and is over twice that of six constituencies in the region. [n 3] [4]
Election | Member [5] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Yvette Cooper | Labour |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvette Cooper | 18,297 | 37.9 | –21.6 | |
Conservative | Andrew Lee | 17,021 | 35.3 | +5.3 | |
Brexit Party | Deneice Florence-Jukes | 8,032 | 16.6 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | Tom Gordon | 3,147 | 6.5 | +5.1 | |
Yorkshire | Laura Walker | 1,762 | 3.7 | +0.8 | |
Majority | 1,276 | 2.6 | –26.9 | ||
Turnout | 48,419 | 57.3 | –3.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –13.4 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvette Cooper | 29,268 | 59.5 | +4.6 | |
Conservative | Andrew Lee | 14,769 | 30.0 | +9.2 | |
UKIP | Lewis Thompson | 3,030 | 6.2 | –15.1 | |
Yorkshire | Daniel Gascoigne | 1,431 | 2.9 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | Clarke Roberts | 693 | 1.4 | –1.5 | |
Majority | 14,499 | 29.5 | –4.1 | ||
Turnout | 49,191 | 60.3 | +4.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvette Cooper | 25,213 | 54.9 | +6.8 | |
UKIP | Nathan Garbutt | 9,785 | 21.3 | New | |
Conservative | Beth Prescott | 9,569 | 20.8 | –3.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Edward McMillan-Scott | 1,330 | 2.9 | –13.5 | |
Majority | 15,428 | 33.6 | +9.9 | ||
Turnout | 45,897 | 55.6 | –0.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –7.3 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvette Cooper | 22,293 | 48.1 | ||
Conservative | Nick Pickles | 11,314 | 24.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Chris Rush | 7,585 | 16.4 | ||
BNP | Graham Thewlis-Hardy | 3,846 | 8.3 | ||
Independent | Gareth Allen | 1,183 | 2.6 | ||
Majority | 10,979 | 23.7 | |||
Turnout | 46,239 | 56.2 | |||
Labour win (new seat) |
The results for the referendum were not returned by individual parliamentary constituencies (instead using a counting area within a region), but the Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford area is estimated to have voted by a 69.3% – 30.7% margin to leave the European Union. [10]
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wakefield district and had a population of 30,881 at the 2011 Census. Pontefract's motto is Post mortem patris pro filio, Latin for "After the death of the father, support the son", a reference to the town's Royalist sympathies in the English Civil War. Small villages and settlements in the immediate area include Stapleton.
Knottingley is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, increasing to 13,710 for the City of Wakefield ward at the 2011 Census. It makes up the majority of the Knottingley ward represented on Wakefield Council.
Wakefield, also known as the City of Wakefield, is a local government district with city status and a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City of Wakefield at the 2011 Census was 325,837.
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Normanton was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
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.
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Normanton and Hemsworth is a proposed constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. The constituency is scheduled to be created by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, and will first be contested at the 2024 general election.
Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley is a proposed constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it will first be contested at the 2024 general election. Yvette Cooper is the incumbent MP for all parts of this new seat.
Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire closed in December, bringing to an end centuries of deep coal mining in Britain.