Pudsey was a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

. Since 1997 campaigns in the seat have resulted in a minimum of 33.1% of votes at each election consistently for the same two parties' choice for candidate, and the next-placed party's having fluctuated between 3.1% and 20.8% of the vote — such third-placed figures achieved much higher percentages in 1992 and in previous decades. The result in 2017 was the 23rd-closest nationally (of 650 seats). The seat was abolished prior to the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

and replaced by parts of two other constituencies.

Constituency profile

From 1979 the constituency was a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Re ...

. The constituency covered suburban settlements to the upland west and north-west of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, including

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 25,393. History T ...

Farsley Farsley is a village in the City of Leeds, Leeds district, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Leeds city centre and east of Bradford near Pudsey. Before 1974, Farsley was part of the Municipal Borough of Pudsey, Borough of Pudsey. Before 193 ...

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 ...

, Yeadon and

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

with low dependency on

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

, average workers' income close to the British average and low unemployment. This was, from its 1950 recreation, a win for candidates who were members of the Conservative Party before a member of the Labour Party gained it in the New Labour landslide of 1997.

Boundaries

;Historic boundaries The

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

provided that the constituency should consist of: * the municipal borough of

save for those parts in the Leeds constituencies * the

Parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Drighlington Drighlington is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan district, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village lies 5 miles (9 km) south-west of ...

, Hunsworth, and

Tong Tong may refer to: Chinese *Tang dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese *Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities *''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...

, * so much of the Parishes of

Calverley Calverley is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, on the A657 road, about from Leeds city centre and from Bradford, and lying north of the town of Pudsey. The population of Calverley in 2011 was 4, ...

with

and

as are not included in the Municipal Borough of Bradford, * the Parishes of

Churwell Churwell is a settlement in the civil parish of Morley, West Yorkshire, Morley, in the City of Leeds, Leeds district, in West Yorkshire, England, between Leeds city centre and Morley. It is south-west of Leeds city centre and away from the Le ...

Gildersome Gildersome is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough 5 miles (7 km) south-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. Glidersome forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. Location Historic coun ...

and Rawdon in the Sessional Division of

Skyrack Skyrack was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into upper and lower divisions and centred in Headingley, Leeds. The Lower Division included the parishes of Aberford, Bardsey, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Thorner ...

. ;Post-1950 boundaries 1950–1983: The

Municipal Borough of Pudsey Pudsey was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1872 to 1974 established around the town of Pudsey, covering Farsley, Calverley, and parts of Stanningley, Swinnow and Rodley, West Yorkshire, Rodley. A local board for ...

, and the Urban Districts of Aireborough and Horsforth. 1983–2010: The City of Leeds wards of Aireborough,

, Pudsey North, and Pudsey South. The constituency boundaries remained unchanged. 2010–2024: The City of Leeds wards of Calverley and Farsley, Guiseley and Rawdon, Horsforth, and

History

;1885–1950 The Pudsey constituency was first created in 1885 by the

, and it was first used in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

that year. The seat had formerly been part of Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire constituency. On 1 June 1908 George Whiteley voluntarily resigned from Parliament resulting in a by-election in the constituency. The constituency was abolished in 1918 and replaced by the constituency of

Pudsey and Otley Pudsey and Otley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Pudsey and Otley in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past ...

until 1950. ;1950-2024 The constituency was recreated for contesting in the 1950 general election and existed until 2024. ;Nomenclature In their Third Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies (1976–1983) the Boundary Commission initially suggested renaming the constituency Leeds West, with the existing Leeds West constituency in turn being renamed Leeds West Central. This was opposed at local enquiries where the current name was retained.

Abolition

Further to the completion of the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, the seat was abolished for the

. The

and

, and

wards were combined with the

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which now houses the Leeds Industrial ...

, Bramley and

Stanningley Stanningley is a district of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Leeds city centre on the A647 road, the original main road from Leeds to Bradford. The appropriate Leeds Metropolitan Ward is Bramley, Leeds, Bra ...

wards from the also abolished constituency of

Leeds West Leeds West was a borough constituency covering the western part of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one M ...

to form

Leeds West and Pudsey Leeds West and Pudsey is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created by the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies and first contested at the 2024 general ...

. The

and Rawdon, and

wards were transferred to a reconfigured

Leeds North West Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Katie White, of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created in 1950, as Leeds North-We ...

constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election results 1950-2024

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 2010s

Official portrait of Stuart Andrew MP crop 3

The 2015 election saw a record-equal total of five candidates stand in Pudsey. The 2017 election saw the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

standing aside after talks with the Labour candidate, to seek to avert Andrew's re-election, but ultimately Andrew was narrowly reelected.

Election results 1885-1918

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Notes

References

External links

Pudsey UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Authority control Parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024 Politics of Leeds Pudsey