Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dewsbury County constituency |
|
|---|---|
  |
|
| Dewsbury shown within West Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire shown within England | |
| Created: | 1868 |
| MP: | Shahid Malik |
| Party: | Labour |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | West Yorkshire |
| EP constituency: | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Dewsbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It has normally elected Labour MPs since the 1940s, although it is currently a fairly marginal seat with the Conservatives.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
This constituency covers the town of Dewsbury.The seat has a large muslim population,and now has a muslim MP,Shahid Malik.Aside from 1983,the seat has been Labour since 1945,although sometimes by narrow margins.In the light of increasing concern of muslim extremism,Mr Malik has enjoyed a fairly large public media profile since his victory in 2005 in various TV appearances and interviews,strongly denouncing believers and adherents of such views;however,much of his vote was taken by the British National Party,who obtained one of their largest percentage shares in Britain in the last General Election,and they also have a substantial vote at local level,especially in Heckmondwike where they now have two councillors.
[edit] Members of Parliament
- 1931 — 1935: Walter Russell Rea, Liberal
- 1935 — 1945: Benjamin Riley
- 1945 — 1959: Will Paling, Labour
- 1959 — 1983: David Ginsburg, Labour then Social Democrat
- 1983 — 1987: John Whitfield, Conservative
- 1987 — 2005: Ann Taylor, Labour
- 2005 — present: Shahid Malik, Labour
[edit] Election results
| General Election 2005: Dewsbury | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Shahid Malik | 15,807 | 41.0 | −9.5 | |
| Conservative | Sayeeda Warsi | 11,192 | 29.0 | −1.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Kingsley Hill | 5,624 | 14.6 | +2.6 | |
| British National | David Exley | 5,066 | 13.1 | +8.6 | |
| Green | Brenda Smithson | 593 | 1.5 | 0.0 | |
| Independent (politician) | Alan Girvan | 313 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,615 | 12.0 | |||
| Turnout | 38,595 | 62.0 | +3.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| General Election 2001: Dewsbury | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Ann Taylor | 18,524 | 50.5 | +1.1 | |
| Conservative | Robert Cole | 11,075 | 30.2 | +0.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ian Cuthbertson | 4,382 | 12.0 | +1.7 | |
| British National | Russell Smith | 1,632 | 4.5 | -0.7 | |
| Green | Brenda Smithson | 560 | 1.5 | +0.6 | |
| UK Independence | David Peace | 478 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 7,449 | 20.3 | |||
| Turnout | 36,651 | 58.8 | -11.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
