Hemsworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Hemsworth was a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons since 1996 by Jon Trickett of the Labour Party.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was subjected to moderate boundary changes and reformed as Normanton and Hemsworth, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.

Constituency profile

The constituency comprises former coal mining towns and villages that also provided some of the workforce for the manufacturing bases of the town of Barnsley to the south and cities of Wakefield and Leeds to the northwest. Many constituents still commute to these today. Nearby to the east over the border in North Yorkshire is Kellingley Colliery, which closed on 18 December 2015, marking the end of deep-pit coal mining in Britain. It is one of the Labour Party's longest held seats, having elected its first Labour MP in 1918, and been in continuous existence since that date.

History

From the 1966 to February 1974 general elections (inclusive), Hemsworth was the safest seat for any party in the UK: the Labour vote had peaked in 1966 at 85.39% and consistently exceeded 80% from 1935 until October 1974 when the Liberal Party contested the seat for the first time since 1923. Successive boundary changes removed certain ex-mining communities to the new Barnsley East constituency in 1983: this and the addition of the more Conservative-inclined ward of Wakefield South in 1997 slightly reduced Labour's dominance, but Hemsworth remained a safe seat in the 2017 election. However, in 2019 the majority was cut from over 10,000 to just 1,180 as Labour's vote collapsed in Northern former mining seats, making it marginal for future elections.

Boundaries

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Cudworth and Royston, the Rural District of Hemsworth, and part of the Rural District of Barnsley.

1950–1955: The Urban Districts of Cudworth, Dearne, Hemsworth, and Royston, and the Rural District of Hemsworth.

1955–1983: The Urban Districts of Cudworth, Dearne, and Hemsworth, and the Rural District of Hemsworth.

1983–1997: The City of Wakefield wards of Crofton and Ackworth; Featherstone; Hemsworth; South Elmsall; and South Kirkby.

1997–2010: The City of Wakefield wards of Crofton and Ackworth; Featherstone; Hemsworth; South Elmsall; South Kirkby; and Wakefield South.

2010–2024: The City of Wakefield wards of Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton; Crofton, Ryhill and Walton; Featherstone; Hemsworth; South Elmsall and South Kirkby; and Wakefield South.

This constituency covered the towns of Hemsworth, Featherstone, South Kirkby & Moorthorpe and South Elmsall, plus the southern part of Wakefield (Sandal, Agbrigg, Belle Vue) and the villages of Ackworth, Crofton, Fitzwilliam, Upton, Sharlston, Streethouse, Walton and Notton in the City of Wakefield district.