Sheffield Brightside (UK Parliament constituency)

Sheffield, Brightside was a parliamentary constituency in the City of Sheffield. Created for the 1885 general election, and replaced at the 2010 general election by the new constituency of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, using the first-past-the-post voting system.

In its first fifty years, Brightside returned a variety of Liberal, Conservative and Labour MPs. However, from 1945 onwards, it became one of the Labour Party's safest seats in the United Kingdom. It was represented by David Blunkett from 1987 until its abolition; he continued to hold the successor seat until he retired in 2015, becoming the seat's longest-serving MP.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Sheffield ward of Brightside.

1918–1950: The County Borough of Sheffield wards of Brightside and Burngreave.

1950–1955: The County Borough of Sheffield wards of Brightside, Firth Park, and Tinsley.

1955–1983: The County Borough of Sheffield wards of Brightside, Firth Park, Nether Shire, and Southey Green.

1983–2010: The City of Sheffield wards of Brightside, Firth Park, Nether Shire, Owlerton, and Southey Green.

Sheffield Brightside covered the north of the city. It bordered the constituencies of Rotherham, Sheffield Central, Sheffield Heeley and Sheffield Hillsborough.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that Sheffield Brightside should gain all of Burngreave and Hillsborough wards, with Walkley moving to Sheffield Central, and that the constituency be renamed Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

History

Sheffield Brightside was created in 1885 when the former Sheffield constituency was split into five constituencies.