Normanton (UK Parliament constituency)
Normanton was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Boundaries 1885–1918: 1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Altofts, Castleford, Featherstone, Methley, Normanton, and Whitwood. 1950–1983: The Urban Districts of Normanton, Rothwell, and Stanley, in the Rural District of Tadcaster the parishes of Great and Little Preston, and Swillington, and in the Rural District of Wakefield the parishes of Crofton, Sharlston, and Warmfield-cum-Heath. 1983–1997: The City of Wakefield wards of Normanton and Sharlston, Ossett, Stanley and Altofts, and Stanley and Wrenthorpe, and the City of Leeds ward of Rothwell. 1997–2010: The City of Wakefield wards of Horbury, Normanton and Sharlston, Ossett, Stanley and Altofts, and Stanley and Wrenthorpe. The West Yorkshire constituency includes the towns of Normanton and Ossett and several villages. The area has a tradition of being working-class, but it has now become almost entirely gentrified as nearby Leeds has expanded as a financial centre. Ossett is now actually the largest town in the area, due to its high growth in recent years. The constituency is nicknamed the banana constituency on account of its unusual shape. The village of Altofts, located just to the north of Normanton, was included in the constituency, despite being part of a Castleford ward, and due to move into a proposed "Pontefract and Castleford" seat. Boundary review Following their review of parliamentary representation in West Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England had created a Normanton and Pontefract constituency. In late May 2006, the Commission published a revised recommendation changing the name of this constituency to Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford. Local newspapers and the Labour Party opposed the initial change, but following a public consultation the Commission decided to create the seat conceding only a name change – from Pontefract and Castleford, to Normanton and Pontefract. This was extended to cover all three names. The wards of Wrenthorpe and Outwood West and Stanley and Outwood East – the most affluent parts of the constituency – were joined to the Conservative-leaning commuter town of Morley, which is in the Leeds district, as Morley and Outwood. Ossett and Horbury were moved to the Wakefield constituency. At the time local groups and newspapers protested that this represented a takeover of the Wakefield district by the Leeds district. An early concern of the Labour Party was that Morley and Outwood would be won by the Conservatives in 2010. Ed Balls held the seat for Labour by just 1,101 votes, and ultimately lost the seat at the 2015 general election to the Conservatives' Andrea Jenkyns. Members of Parliament The constituency elected only Labour MPs since 1905, the longest run (with Gower and Makerfield) of any UK constituency. From 1885 to 1906, it had returned Liberal-Labour MPs. Ed Balls, the former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, represented the seat from the 2005 general election until 2010 when it was abolished. Election results Elections in