Post by greenhert on Apr 9, 2020 22:39:54 GMT
Leeds North East was first created in 1918 and currently covers the wards of Allwoodley, Chapel Allerton, Moortown and Roundhay in the city of Leeds.
Allwoodley covers a significant portion of farmland on the edge of Leeds and parts of the civil parish of Harewood (the village being in a separate Harewood ward, of course). Chapel Allerton is the traditional home of Leeds' Afro-Caribbean community and is one of the most ethnically diverse wards in Leeds. Moortown covers a middle-class suburb of the same name and along with Allwoodley is home to Leeds' Jewish community. Roundhay is the nicest part of the constituency and contains Roundhay Park, the largest park in Britain and the second largest in Europe. Leeds North East was and overall still is, the most prosperous of the Leeds constituencies, although areas of deprivation do exist in Chapel Allerton and many of the large Victorian houses have been converted into flats. Not only does it have a significant Jewish population, it also has a considerably higher than average Sikh population as well; its Muslim and Hindu populations are also notably above the Yorkshire & Humber average.
As befitting a constituency of this nature, Leeds North East was once a safe Conservative seat, and the most Conservative constituency in the city of Leeds. From 1956 to 1987 it was represented by Sir Keith Joseph, famous for helping Margaret Thatcher launch her neoliberal blueprint. Increasing diversification and a younger population have shifted this seat firmly into the Labour column. The current Labour MP, Fabian Hamilton, captured the seat in 1997 (the previous Labour candidate, Liz Davies, was deselected for her Trotskyist views and connection to the Labour Briefing magazine) and he has held it ever since. Even though during Gordon Brown's tenure Labour only held Chapel Allerton of the four wards in Leeds North East, the Conservatives fell as many as 4,545 votes short in 2010, not helped by boundary changes that year. Mr Hamilton has re-consolidated his position in this constituency since then to the point where he now has a majority of 16,991, although this is partly due to the fact that in 2019 the Conservative candidate, then-MEP Amjad Bashir, was suspended for anti-Semitic comments he made whilst he was still a UKIP member, which set the Conservatives back further leading to a rare 0.9% swing in Labour's favour. Allwoodley is the only safe Conservative ward of the four in Leeds North East's boundaries; Chapel Allerton is safely Labour and the other two wards, Moortown and Roundhay,are firmly in Labour hands even though the Liberal Democrats had a full slate of councillors in Moortown back in 2008, with the Conservatives having acquired a full slate of councillors in Roundhay in 2008. During the period of 2010-12 both of these wards were recaptured by Labour without any problems.
Allwoodley covers a significant portion of farmland on the edge of Leeds and parts of the civil parish of Harewood (the village being in a separate Harewood ward, of course). Chapel Allerton is the traditional home of Leeds' Afro-Caribbean community and is one of the most ethnically diverse wards in Leeds. Moortown covers a middle-class suburb of the same name and along with Allwoodley is home to Leeds' Jewish community. Roundhay is the nicest part of the constituency and contains Roundhay Park, the largest park in Britain and the second largest in Europe. Leeds North East was and overall still is, the most prosperous of the Leeds constituencies, although areas of deprivation do exist in Chapel Allerton and many of the large Victorian houses have been converted into flats. Not only does it have a significant Jewish population, it also has a considerably higher than average Sikh population as well; its Muslim and Hindu populations are also notably above the Yorkshire & Humber average.
As befitting a constituency of this nature, Leeds North East was once a safe Conservative seat, and the most Conservative constituency in the city of Leeds. From 1956 to 1987 it was represented by Sir Keith Joseph, famous for helping Margaret Thatcher launch her neoliberal blueprint. Increasing diversification and a younger population have shifted this seat firmly into the Labour column. The current Labour MP, Fabian Hamilton, captured the seat in 1997 (the previous Labour candidate, Liz Davies, was deselected for her Trotskyist views and connection to the Labour Briefing magazine) and he has held it ever since. Even though during Gordon Brown's tenure Labour only held Chapel Allerton of the four wards in Leeds North East, the Conservatives fell as many as 4,545 votes short in 2010, not helped by boundary changes that year. Mr Hamilton has re-consolidated his position in this constituency since then to the point where he now has a majority of 16,991, although this is partly due to the fact that in 2019 the Conservative candidate, then-MEP Amjad Bashir, was suspended for anti-Semitic comments he made whilst he was still a UKIP member, which set the Conservatives back further leading to a rare 0.9% swing in Labour's favour. Allwoodley is the only safe Conservative ward of the four in Leeds North East's boundaries; Chapel Allerton is safely Labour and the other two wards, Moortown and Roundhay,are firmly in Labour hands even though the Liberal Democrats had a full slate of councillors in Moortown back in 2008, with the Conservatives having acquired a full slate of councillors in Roundhay in 2008. During the period of 2010-12 both of these wards were recaptured by Labour without any problems.
