Huddersfield West (UK Parliament constituency)

53.646°N 1.803°W / 53.646; -1.803

Huddersfield West
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1950–1983
Seatsone
Replaced byHuddersfield and Colne Valley[1]

Huddersfield West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election.

It was a much more marginal seat than its neighbour, Huddersfield East, which was safely Labour, and was alternately held by the Liberals, Labour Party and finally the Conservatives in 1979.

Boundaries

1950–1955:The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Birkby, Crosland Moor, Lindley, Lockwood, Longwood, Marsh, Milnsbridge, and Paddock.[2]

1955–1983: The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Birkby, Crosland Moor, Lindley, Lockwood, Longwood, Marsh, Milnsbridge, Newsome, and Paddock.[3]

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1950Donald WadeLiberal
1964Ken LomasLabour
1979Geoffrey DickensConservative
1983 constituency abolished: see Huddersfield and Colne Valley

When this seat was abolished in 1983, Dickens was elected MP for the new seat of Littleborough and Saddleworth, which he held until he died in 1995. Most of the area which this seat covered is now held by Labour within the Huddersfield constituency however its western outskirts now fall under Colne Valley which is a marginal Conservative seat.

Elections

Elections in the 1950s
General election 1950: Huddersfield West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Donald Wade 24,456 58.2
Labour Harold William Bolt 17,542 41.8
Majority 6,914 16.4
Turnout 41,998 86.9
Liberal win (new seat)
General election 1951: Huddersfield West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Donald Wade 24,054 58.5 +0.3
Labour Harold William Bolt 17,066 41.5 -0.3
Majority 6,988 17.0 +0.6
Turnout 41,120 85.9 -1.0
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1955: Huddersfield West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Donald Wade 24,345 55.1 -3.4
Labour John Frederick Drabble 16,418 44.9 +3.4
Majority 7,927 10.2 -6.8
Turnout 40,763 79.3 -6.3
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1959: Huddersfield West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Donald Wade 25,273 61.8 +6.7
Labour James Marsden 15,621 38.2 -6.7
Majority 9,652 23.6 +13.4
Turnout 40,894 79.7 +0.4
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s
General election 1964: Huddersfield West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kenneth Lomas 14,808 35.8 -2.4
Liberal Donald Wade 13,528 32.7 -29.1
Conservative John Addey 13,054 31.5 New
Majority 1,280 3.1 N/A
Turnout 41,390 81.6 +1.9
Labour gain from Liberal Swing
General election 1966: Huddersfield West[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kenneth Lomas 17,990 43.9 +8.1
Conservative Marcus Fox 13,514 33.0 +1.5
Liberal Ruslyn Hargreaves 9,470 23.1 -9.6
Majority 4,476 10.9 +7.8
Turnout 40,974 82.3 +0.7
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s
General election 1970: Huddersfield West[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kenneth Lomas 16,866 41.0 -2.9
Conservative Richard Storey 16,673 40.6 +7.6
Liberal William Wallace 6,128 14.9 -8.2
National Front Ronald Scott 1,427 3.5 New
Majority 193 0.4 -10.5
Turnout 41,094 77.3 -5.0
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Huddersfield West[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kenneth Lomas 17,434 39.6 -1.4
Conservative John Stansfield 16,804 38.2 -2.4
Liberal Kathleen Hasler 9,790 22.2 +7.3
Majority 630 1.4 +1.0
Turnout 44,028 82.9 +5.6
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Huddersfield West[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kenneth Lomas 16,882 41.4 +1.8
Conservative John Stansfield 15,518 38.0 -0.2
Liberal Kathleen Hasler 7,503 18.4 -3.8
National Front D. Ford 760 1.9 New
More Prosperous Britain Harold Smith 136 0.3 New
Majority 1,364 3.4 +2.0
Turnout 40,799 76.3 -5.6
Labour hold Swing
General election 1979: Huddersfield West[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Geoffrey Dickens 18,504 44.2 +6.2
Labour Richard Faulkner 16,996 40.6 -0.8
Liberal Kathleen Hasler 6,225 14.9 -3.5
More Prosperous Britain Tom Keen 101 0.2 -0.1
Majority 1,508 3.6 N/A
Turnout 41,826 76.0 -0.3
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

References
  1. "'Huddersfield West', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. "Representation of the People Act 1948: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1948 c. 65 (sch. 1), retrieved 23 July 2023
  3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Huddersfield, Colne Valley and Penistone) Order 1955. SI 1955/179". Statutory Instruments 1955. Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1956. pp. 2138–2140.
  4. "Politics Resources". Election 1966. Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  5. "Politics Resources". Election 1970. Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  6. "Politics Resources". Election February 1974. Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  7. "Politics Resources". Election October 1974. Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  8. "Politics Resources". Election 1979. Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
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