Post by BossMan on May 7, 2020 18:03:47 GMT
HEMSWORTH
The Hemsworth constituency produced the biggest shock in its history at the 2019 general election when its Labour MP Jon Trickett, who has represented it since a 1996 by-election, saw his majority over the Conservative candidate Louise Calland slashed to just 1,180 votes on a swing of nearly 10 percent. Until then this sort of result would have been inconceivable. Originally created in 1918, Hemsworth was the seat which was famous for providing the Labour Party with its largest majority anywhere in Britain, often exceeding 30,000. Labour’s share of the vote was consistently over 80% in every election from 1935 until February 1974. This is where it was said that the Labour votes were weighed and not counted.
The constituency is based at the very heart of the former West Yorkshire coalfield – the mining communities of Hemsworth, South Kirkby, South Elmsall and Featherstone. Coal mining has gone, but the area remains imbued with its culture and spirit, and that kind of tradition does not die quickly. It is nearly all white, 35% of its residents lived in rented homes at the 2011 census, and the seat has a relatively high proportion of people who are unemployed and consider themselves to be in poor health.
Hemsworth’s monolithic nature was weakened somewhat by the intervention of Liberal candidates from October 1974, boundary changes in 1983 which reduced its electorate, and from 1997 the inclusion of the Wakefield South ward, an anomaly in that it nearly always votes Conservative at local elections. The inclusion of that ward in Hemsworth has been a source of frustration for Tories in the neighbouring Wakefield constituency, as until 2019 this had hindered their chances there. The ward consists of suburbanised villages which are favoured residential areas for commuters to Wakefield, such as Crigglestone and Sandal.
But the rest of the constituency’s wards are much better for Labour, aside from the occasional success of Independent candidates. Particularly monolithic is the ward of Hemsworth itself, Featherstone – perhaps best known for its relatively successful Rugby League club, and South Elmsall & South Kirby. The Conservatives did have one particularly good year in 2008 - towards the end of Labour’s last term in government - when they managed to pick up two extra (lengthily named) wards of Ackworth, North Elmsall & Upton; and Crofton, Ryhill & Walton. But that really was an exception.
So how did Labour nearly lose Hemsworth in 2019? The answers are broadly the same as in swathes of working class northern English seats. The constituency was estimated to have voted heavily (68%) in favour of leaving the European Union in 2016, and Jon Trickett probably didn’t enthuse them by speaking in favour of a second referendum while the House of Commons had the numbers to vote down any kind of Brexit the Conservative led government proposed. The leadership of Jeremy Corbyn didn’t seem to have helped either: the Labour Party of metropolitan London and Guardianistas probably seemed a world away from the gritty, traditional working class roots of Yorkshire. This seat also has a relatively low proportion of younger voters who were more associated with the Remain camp.
Could Labour actually lose this seat next time? It seems very hard to imagine. Although their vote share declined by a massive 18.5% in 2019, this was mostly to the benefit of the Brexit Party, not the Tories, whose vote share rose by less than one per cent. We will see if Labour can win back its lost support, and if Sir Keir Starmer – another London based Labour leader, albeit considered more moderate than Corbyn – can appeal to its traditional voter base here and in so many other northern English constituencies.
The Hemsworth constituency produced the biggest shock in its history at the 2019 general election when its Labour MP Jon Trickett, who has represented it since a 1996 by-election, saw his majority over the Conservative candidate Louise Calland slashed to just 1,180 votes on a swing of nearly 10 percent. Until then this sort of result would have been inconceivable. Originally created in 1918, Hemsworth was the seat which was famous for providing the Labour Party with its largest majority anywhere in Britain, often exceeding 30,000. Labour’s share of the vote was consistently over 80% in every election from 1935 until February 1974. This is where it was said that the Labour votes were weighed and not counted.
The constituency is based at the very heart of the former West Yorkshire coalfield – the mining communities of Hemsworth, South Kirkby, South Elmsall and Featherstone. Coal mining has gone, but the area remains imbued with its culture and spirit, and that kind of tradition does not die quickly. It is nearly all white, 35% of its residents lived in rented homes at the 2011 census, and the seat has a relatively high proportion of people who are unemployed and consider themselves to be in poor health.
Hemsworth’s monolithic nature was weakened somewhat by the intervention of Liberal candidates from October 1974, boundary changes in 1983 which reduced its electorate, and from 1997 the inclusion of the Wakefield South ward, an anomaly in that it nearly always votes Conservative at local elections. The inclusion of that ward in Hemsworth has been a source of frustration for Tories in the neighbouring Wakefield constituency, as until 2019 this had hindered their chances there. The ward consists of suburbanised villages which are favoured residential areas for commuters to Wakefield, such as Crigglestone and Sandal.
But the rest of the constituency’s wards are much better for Labour, aside from the occasional success of Independent candidates. Particularly monolithic is the ward of Hemsworth itself, Featherstone – perhaps best known for its relatively successful Rugby League club, and South Elmsall & South Kirby. The Conservatives did have one particularly good year in 2008 - towards the end of Labour’s last term in government - when they managed to pick up two extra (lengthily named) wards of Ackworth, North Elmsall & Upton; and Crofton, Ryhill & Walton. But that really was an exception.
So how did Labour nearly lose Hemsworth in 2019? The answers are broadly the same as in swathes of working class northern English seats. The constituency was estimated to have voted heavily (68%) in favour of leaving the European Union in 2016, and Jon Trickett probably didn’t enthuse them by speaking in favour of a second referendum while the House of Commons had the numbers to vote down any kind of Brexit the Conservative led government proposed. The leadership of Jeremy Corbyn didn’t seem to have helped either: the Labour Party of metropolitan London and Guardianistas probably seemed a world away from the gritty, traditional working class roots of Yorkshire. This seat also has a relatively low proportion of younger voters who were more associated with the Remain camp.
Could Labour actually lose this seat next time? It seems very hard to imagine. Although their vote share declined by a massive 18.5% in 2019, this was mostly to the benefit of the Brexit Party, not the Tories, whose vote share rose by less than one per cent. We will see if Labour can win back its lost support, and if Sir Keir Starmer – another London based Labour leader, albeit considered more moderate than Corbyn – can appeal to its traditional voter base here and in so many other northern English constituencies.