Barnsley East (UK Parliament constituency)

Barnsley East
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Barnsley East in South Yorkshire in 2010.
Location of South Yorkshire within England.
County	South Yorkshire
Electorate	68,243 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Wombwell
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of parliament	Michael Dugher (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Barnsley East & Mexborough, Barnsley West & Penistone and Barnsley Central[2]
1983–1997
Replaced by	Barnsley East and Mexborough
Created from	Barnsley and Dearne Valley
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	Yorkshire and the Humber

Barnsley East is a constituency^{[n 1]} in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Michael Dugher of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

History

The seat was created as Barnsley East in 1983 and abolished to create Barnsley East and Mexborough in 1997. It was recreated as Barnsley East at the 2010 general election.

Eight candidates competed for the seat in the 2010 general election however the largest two opposition parties failed to gain more than 18.2% each and the winning candidate Michael Dugher managed to obtain 47% of all votes despite the presence of a candidate from the Socialist Labour Party, and although the percentage decline in the Labour vote was the largest in the country (at nearly 24%), they still won the seat safely.

Constituency profile

Both between 1983 and 1997, and at the 2010 general election, this constituency has been a safe seat for the Labour Party, as indeed was its temporary replacement, Barnsley East and Mexborough.

Boundaries

1983-1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley wards of Brierley, Cudworth, Darfield, Dearne South, Dearne Thurnscoe, Wombwell North, and Wombwell South.

2010-present: The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley wards of Cudworth, Darfield, Hoyland Milton, North East, Rockingham, Stairfoot, Wombwell, and Worsbrough.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in South Yorkshire for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England divided the existing Barnsley East and Mexborough seat to split off Barnsley East from Mexborough, to create the new Barnsley East constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1983–1997

Election		Member[3]	Party
	1983	Terry Patchett	Labour
	1996 by-election	Jeff Ennis	Labour
	1997	Constituency abolished: see Barnsley East and Mexborough and Barnsley Central

MPs since 2010

Election		Member[3]	Party
	2010	Michael Dugher	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Barnsley East[4][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Dugher	21,079	54.7	+7.7
	UKIP	Robert Swiffen	9,045	23.5	+19.0
	Conservative	Katharine Harborne	5,622	14.6	-1.9
	Liberal Democrat	Ruth Coleman-Taylor	1,217	3.2	-15.0
	Yorkshire First	Tony Devoy	647	1.7	N/A
	English Democrats	Kevin Riddiough	440	1.1	N/A
	TUSC	Ralph Dyson	364	0.9	N/A
	Vapers in Power	Billy Marsden	103	0.3	N/A
Majority			12,034	31.2	+2.3
Turnout			38,517	55.7	-0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.6

General Election 2010: Barnsley East[6][7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Dugher	18,059	47.0	−23.9
	Liberal Democrat	John Brown	6,969	18.2	+4.1
	Conservative	James Hockney	6,329	16.5	+3.8
	BNP	Colin Porter	3,301	8.6	N/A
	UKIP	Tony Watson	1,731	4.5	N/A
	Independent	Kevin Hogan	712	1.9	N/A
	Independent	Eddie Devoy	684	1.8	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Ken Capstick	601	1.6	−0.7
Majority			11,090	28.9
Turnout			38,396	56.1	+7.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−14.0

Elections in the 1990s

Following the death of Terry Patchett on 11 October 1996, a by-election was held on 12 December 1996. The replacement Labour candidate Jeff Ennis held the seat for the party despite a low voter turnout.

Barnsley East by-election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jeff Ennis	13,683	76.4	−0.8
	Liberal Democrat	David Willis	1,502	8.4	−0.2
	Conservative	Jane Ellison	1,299	7.3	−6.9
	Socialist Labour	Ken Capstick	949	5.3	N/A
	UKIP	Nikolai Tolstoy	378	2.1	N/A
	Socialist Equality	Julie Hyland	89	0.5	N/A
Majority			12,181	68.0	+5.0
Turnout				33.7	−39.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Barnsley East[8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terry Patchett	30,346	77.2	+2.7
	Conservative	John M. Procter	5,569	14.2	+0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Sylvia Anginotti	3,399	8.6	−2.9
Majority			24,777	63.0	+2.5
Turnout			39,314	72.9	+0.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Barnsley East[10][11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terry Patchett	29,948	74.5	+8.2
	Conservative	James Clappison	5,437	14.0	−1.9
	Liberal	Geoffrey John Griffiths	4,482	11.5	−7.3
Majority			23,511	60.5	+12.0
Turnout			39,867	72.6	+5.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Barnsley East[12][13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terry Patchett	23,905	66.3	N/A
	Liberal	Peter Tomlinson	6,413	17.8	N/A
	Conservative	George England	5,749	15.9	N/A
Majority			17,492	48.5	N/A
Turnout			36,067	67.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in South Yorkshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "Barnsley East' UK Parliament, 6 May 2010 -". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
4. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. "Barnsley East". BBC News. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
6. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Barnsley East". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
8. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
10. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Politics Resources". Election 1987. Politics Resources. 11 June 1987. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
12. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Politics Resources". Election 1983. Politics Resources. 9 June 1983. Retrieved 8 January 2011.

Sources

• BBC Election 2005
• BBC Vote 2001
• Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)