Post by YL on Jan 3, 2024 14:21:07 GMT
Huddersfield is a large town in the Yorkshire foothills of the Pennines, and is the largest town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. Like many West Yorkshire towns it has a strong connection with the textile industry. It is also known for its football club, who were champions of England three times in consecutive years in the 1920s. Since 1992 it has had a university, and it is also known for an impressive railway station. Given some of the places which now have city status, it might be a little surprising that it has not tried harder to obtain it, but the inclusion in Kirklees means that it lacks a council of its own to do this.
Although the constituency is called simply "Huddersfield", it does not cover the whole town, with some western parts having been in Colne Valley since 1983, including some of the most upmarket parts of the town. Before 1983 there had been for some time separate Huddersfield East and Huddersfield West constituencies, though East included some areas outside the town. It is the constituency of one of the longest serving MPs, Barry Sheerman, who was first elected as Labour MP for Huddersfield East in 1979 and has represented the single Huddersfield constituency since 1983, but he will be standing down at the coming General Election. It is essentially a safe Labour seat, and the boundary changes will make it safer. Historically Huddersfield East was also consistently Labour, while Huddersfield West was more varied: it was one of the handful of constituencies with Liberal MPs in the 1950s (helped by a local pact with the Conservatives) but went Labour in 1964 and Conservative in 1979.
It is a fairly working class constituency overall, with the proportion of its inhabitants in the more middle class occupations being on the low side. The presence of the university is reflected in a significant student population, but the high levels of professional employment often found in university areas are seen more in the parts of the town outside this constituency, with the same being true of degree level education. Owner occupation is a little below average and both social and private renting a little above. There is a significant Muslim population, though not at the levels found in Bradford or in Dewsbury & Batley, and the population is on the young side.
The constituency contains five Kirklees wards and most of a sixth. The town centre and the university area are in Newsome ward, which also extends up the Holme valley towards Holmfirth, stretching as far as Berry Brow, which has its own railway station on the line to Sheffield. At local level Newsome is a Green stronghold, though it is presumably Labour in General Elections.
To the west of Newsome is Crosland Moor & Netherton ward, which has been added to the constituency in the boundary changes, having previously been in Colne Valley. Netherton, above the Holme valley, is semi-detached from the main urban area, and Crosland Moor and Lockwood are progressively closer to the town centre. Lockwood, which also has a station on the Sheffield line, is the most Muslim part of the town, with one Output Area as high as 88% Muslim. This is quite a deprived ward, though parts of Netherton and Crosland Moor are less so, and it has been consistently Labour in local elections for some time, though it did vote for Lib Dem councillors in 2004 and for a local hospital campaign in 2006.
North-west of the town centre is Greenhead ward. This also has quite a high Muslim population, especially in the Birkby area to the north, and it has the largest concentration of educated professionals in the constituency in the Edgerton and Marsh areas which adjoin the more middle class Lindley ward to the north-west (and in Colne Valley). Further north Ashbrow ward covers areas around Deighton and Fixby and includes areas of council housing with high deprivation, but Fixby is a more middle class area further north-west. Both these wards have consistently voted Labour.
To the east of the town centre is Dalton ward, which contains some of the most deprived parts of the town, with extensive areas of council housing. The ward extends further east to include the much less deprived Kirkheaton area, which is a little detached from the main urban area and the boundary changes have split the ward by transferring Kirkheaton to the revived Spen Valley constituency. Dalton usually votes Labour, and the parts in this constituency probably more so than the ward as a whole.
Finally, the least Labour ward in the constituency (other than the Green Newsome) is Almondbury, in the south-east. This ward includes a demographically mixed area including Almondbury itself, and extends eastwards into Kirkburton parish to include the fairly middle class Lepton and Lascelles Hall areas. It also extends west to include the prominent landmark of Victoria Tower on Castle Hill. Almondbury has voted for three different parties over the years, but the Liberal Democrats are the most common winners and won it in 2022 and 2023; the Tories won in 2021, with Labour's only win a tight three-way affair in 2015. It is presumably the most Conservative part of the constituency in General Elections, but even if it does vote for them it is always likely to be outvoted by the rest of the constituency, especially under the new boundaries.
2019 notional result (Rallings & Thrasher)
Lab 25386 (51.4%)
Con 17945 (36.4%)
Lib Dem 2449 (5.0%)
Green 1884 (3.8%)
Brexit Party 1696 (3.4%)
Lab majority 7441 (15.1%)
Although the constituency is called simply "Huddersfield", it does not cover the whole town, with some western parts having been in Colne Valley since 1983, including some of the most upmarket parts of the town. Before 1983 there had been for some time separate Huddersfield East and Huddersfield West constituencies, though East included some areas outside the town. It is the constituency of one of the longest serving MPs, Barry Sheerman, who was first elected as Labour MP for Huddersfield East in 1979 and has represented the single Huddersfield constituency since 1983, but he will be standing down at the coming General Election. It is essentially a safe Labour seat, and the boundary changes will make it safer. Historically Huddersfield East was also consistently Labour, while Huddersfield West was more varied: it was one of the handful of constituencies with Liberal MPs in the 1950s (helped by a local pact with the Conservatives) but went Labour in 1964 and Conservative in 1979.
It is a fairly working class constituency overall, with the proportion of its inhabitants in the more middle class occupations being on the low side. The presence of the university is reflected in a significant student population, but the high levels of professional employment often found in university areas are seen more in the parts of the town outside this constituency, with the same being true of degree level education. Owner occupation is a little below average and both social and private renting a little above. There is a significant Muslim population, though not at the levels found in Bradford or in Dewsbury & Batley, and the population is on the young side.
The constituency contains five Kirklees wards and most of a sixth. The town centre and the university area are in Newsome ward, which also extends up the Holme valley towards Holmfirth, stretching as far as Berry Brow, which has its own railway station on the line to Sheffield. At local level Newsome is a Green stronghold, though it is presumably Labour in General Elections.
To the west of Newsome is Crosland Moor & Netherton ward, which has been added to the constituency in the boundary changes, having previously been in Colne Valley. Netherton, above the Holme valley, is semi-detached from the main urban area, and Crosland Moor and Lockwood are progressively closer to the town centre. Lockwood, which also has a station on the Sheffield line, is the most Muslim part of the town, with one Output Area as high as 88% Muslim. This is quite a deprived ward, though parts of Netherton and Crosland Moor are less so, and it has been consistently Labour in local elections for some time, though it did vote for Lib Dem councillors in 2004 and for a local hospital campaign in 2006.
North-west of the town centre is Greenhead ward. This also has quite a high Muslim population, especially in the Birkby area to the north, and it has the largest concentration of educated professionals in the constituency in the Edgerton and Marsh areas which adjoin the more middle class Lindley ward to the north-west (and in Colne Valley). Further north Ashbrow ward covers areas around Deighton and Fixby and includes areas of council housing with high deprivation, but Fixby is a more middle class area further north-west. Both these wards have consistently voted Labour.
To the east of the town centre is Dalton ward, which contains some of the most deprived parts of the town, with extensive areas of council housing. The ward extends further east to include the much less deprived Kirkheaton area, which is a little detached from the main urban area and the boundary changes have split the ward by transferring Kirkheaton to the revived Spen Valley constituency. Dalton usually votes Labour, and the parts in this constituency probably more so than the ward as a whole.
Finally, the least Labour ward in the constituency (other than the Green Newsome) is Almondbury, in the south-east. This ward includes a demographically mixed area including Almondbury itself, and extends eastwards into Kirkburton parish to include the fairly middle class Lepton and Lascelles Hall areas. It also extends west to include the prominent landmark of Victoria Tower on Castle Hill. Almondbury has voted for three different parties over the years, but the Liberal Democrats are the most common winners and won it in 2022 and 2023; the Tories won in 2021, with Labour's only win a tight three-way affair in 2015. It is presumably the most Conservative part of the constituency in General Elections, but even if it does vote for them it is always likely to be outvoted by the rest of the constituency, especially under the new boundaries.
2019 notional result (Rallings & Thrasher)
Lab 25386 (51.4%)
Con 17945 (36.4%)
Lib Dem 2449 (5.0%)
Green 1884 (3.8%)
Brexit Party 1696 (3.4%)
Lab majority 7441 (15.1%)
