Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 53°43′01″N 1°21′40″W / 53.717°N 1.361°W

Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford in West Yorkshire.
Location of West Yorkshire within England.
County	West Yorkshire
Electorate	83,284 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Normanton, Castleford and Pontefract
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of parliament	Yvette Cooper (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Pontefract and Castleford, Normanton
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	Yorkshire and the Humber

Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Yvette Cooper of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

History

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which recommended this constituency for the 2010 general election in the district of the city of Wakefield. Due to less increase in population than elsewhere the Commission had to reduce constituencies in the county by one, resulting in the "merger" of Normanton and Pontefract/Castleford seats, however some wards of both went to other neighbouring seats to give the correct size electorate.

The Commission had great difficulty in naming the constituency, with "Normanton and Pontefract" and "Pontefract and Castleford" both suggested. On May 24, 2006 the modified name was chosen following further public consultation. The only other three-place constituency in England in terms of name is Ruislip, Northwood, and Pinner in Middlesex.

Boundaries

The constituency first contested at the 2010 general election has electoral wards of the City of Wakefield:

• Airedale and Ferry Fryston, Altofts and Whitwood, Castleford Central and Glasshoughton, Knottingley, Normanton, Pontefract North, and Pontefract South.

Constituency profile

The constituency retains one of the two large deep coal mines in the UK at Knottingley run by Coalfield Resources PLC (formerly UK Coal), however the area has the three retail towns, Pontefract being the most touristic — producing liquorice as well as Pontefract cakes — the wider economy includes self-employed trades, work in local manufacturing and jobs in creative industry, retail, public sector and corporate headquarters including in Leeds and Wakefield.

Well recovered from economic decline from the loss of most local mines, the rate of jobseeking benefits claimed is lower than the Yorkshire and Humber average (4.6%) at 4.4% however this slightly exceeds the national average and is over twice that of six constituencies in the region.^{[n 3][2]}

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[3]	Party
	2010	Yvette Cooper	Labour

Election results

General Election 2015: Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford^[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Yvette Cooper	25,213	54.9	+6.7
	UKIP	Nathan Garbutt	9,785	21.3	N/A
	Conservative	Beth Prescott	9,569	20.8	−3.6
	Liberal Democrat	Edward McMillan-Scott	1,330	2.9	−13.5
Majority			15,428	33.6	+9.9
Turnout			45,897	55.6	-0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.3

General Election 2010: Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Yvette Cooper	22,293	48.1	N/A
	Conservative	Nick Pickles	11,314	24.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Rush	7,585	16.4	N/A
	BNP	Graham Thewlis-Hardy	3,846	8.3	N/A
	Independent	Gareth Allen	1,183	2.6	N/A
Majority			10,979	23.7	N/A
Turnout			46,239	56.2	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. York Outer, Elmet and Rothwell, Sheffield Hallam, Harrogate and Knaresborough, Skipton and Ripon and, Thirsk and Malton

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Unemployment statistics The Guardian
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 2)
4. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. "Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
6. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.