Huddersfield West (UK Parliament constituency)

53.646°N 1.803°W / 53.646; -1.803

Huddersfield West
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1950–1983
Seats	one
Replaced by	Huddersfield and Colne Valley[1]

Huddersfield West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election.

It was a much more marginal seat than its neighbour, Huddersfield East, which was safely Labour, and was alternately held by the Liberals, Labour Party and finally the Conservatives in 1979.

Boundaries

1950–1955:The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Birkby, Crosland Moor, Lindley, Lockwood, Longwood, Marsh, Milnsbridge, and Paddock.^[2]

1955–1983: The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Birkby, Crosland Moor, Lindley, Lockwood, Longwood, Marsh, Milnsbridge, Newsome, and Paddock.^[3]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Donald Wade	Liberal
	1964	Ken Lomas	Labour
	1979	Geoffrey Dickens	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished: see Huddersfield and Colne Valley

When this seat was abolished in 1983, Dickens was elected MP for the new seat of Littleborough and Saddleworth, which he held until he died in 1995. Most of the area which this seat covered is now held by Labour within the Huddersfield constituency however its western outskirts now fall under Colne Valley which is a marginal Conservative seat.

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Huddersfield West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Wade	24,456	58.2
	Labour	Harold William Bolt	17,542	41.8
Majority			6,914	16.4
Turnout			41,998	86.9
	Liberal win (new seat)

General election 1951: Huddersfield West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Wade	24,054	58.5	+0.3
	Labour	Harold William Bolt	17,066	41.5	−0.3
Majority			6,988	17.0	+0.6
Turnout			41,120	85.9	−1.0
	Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1955: Huddersfield West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Wade	24,345	55.1	−3.4
	Labour	John Frederick Drabble	16,418	44.9	+3.4
Majority			7,927	10.2	−6.8
Turnout			40,763	79.3	−6.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1959: Huddersfield West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Wade	25,273	61.8	+6.7
	Labour	James Marsden	15,621	38.2	−6.7
Majority			9,652	23.6	+13.4
Turnout			40,894	79.7	+0.4
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Huddersfield West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Lomas	14,808	35.8	−2.4
	Liberal	Donald Wade	13,528	32.7	−29.1
	Conservative	John Addey	13,054	31.5	New
Majority			1,280	3.1	N/A
Turnout			41,390	81.6	+1.9
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1966: Huddersfield West^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Lomas	17,990	43.9	+8.1
	Conservative	Marcus Fox	13,514	33.0	+1.5
	Liberal	Ruslyn Hargreaves	9,470	23.1	−9.6
Majority			4,476	10.9	+7.8
Turnout			40,974	82.3	+0.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Huddersfield West^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Lomas	16,866	41.0	−2.9
	Conservative	Richard Storey	16,673	40.6	+7.6
	Liberal	William Wallace	6,128	14.9	−8.2
	National Front	Ronald Scott	1,427	3.5	New
Majority			193	0.4	−10.5
Turnout			41,094	77.3	−5.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Huddersfield West^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Lomas	17,434	39.6	−1.4
	Conservative	John Stansfield	16,804	38.2	−2.4
	Liberal	Kathleen Hasler	9,790	22.2	+7.3
Majority			630	1.4	+1.0
Turnout			44,028	82.9	+5.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Huddersfield West^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Lomas	16,882	41.4	+1.8
	Conservative	John Stansfield	15,518	38.0	−0.2
	Liberal	Kathleen Hasler	7,503	18.4	−3.8
	National Front	D. Ford	760	1.9	New
	More Prosperous Britain	Harold Smith	136	0.3	New
Majority			1,364	3.4	+2.0
Turnout			40,799	76.3	−5.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Huddersfield West^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Dickens	18,504	44.2	+6.2
	Labour	Richard Faulkner	16,996	40.6	−0.8
	Liberal	Kathleen Hasler	6,225	14.9	−3.5
	More Prosperous Britain	Tom Keen	101	0.2	−0.1
Majority			1,508	3.6	N/A
Turnout			41,826	76.0	−0.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing