Rossendale and Darwen (UK Parliament constituency)

Rossendale and Darwen is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Andy MacNae of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Rossendale and Darwen
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Rossendale and Darwen in North West England
County	Lancashire
Electorate	74,593 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Darwen, Rawtenstall and Bacup
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Andy MacNae (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Rossendale, Darwen and Heywood & Royton[2]

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Rossendale, and the Borough of Blackburn wards of Earcroft, Marsh House, North Turton, Sudell, Sunnyhurst, and Whitehall.

1997–2010: All the wards of the Borough of Rossendale except the Greenfield and Worsley wards, and the Borough of Blackburn wards of Earcroft, Marsh House, North Turton, Sudell, Sunnyhurst, and Whitehall.

2010–2024: The Borough of Rossendale wards of Cribden, Eden, Facit and Shawforth, Goodshaw, Greensclough, Hareholme, Healey and Whitworth, Helmshore, Irwell, Longholme, Stacksteads, and Whitewell, and the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen wards of Earcroft, East Rural, Fernhurst, Marsh House, North Turton with Tockholes, Sudell, Sunnyhurst, and Whitehall.

Darwen Ward Changes At the 2018 local elections the Darwen electoral wards were changed and renamed. They are now known as Darwen West, Darwen East, Darwen South and West Pennine. The parliamentary boundaries also included parts of the new Blackburn South and Lower Darwen, and Ewood wards.

2024–present: Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• The Borough of Blackburn with Darwen wards of: Blackburn South & Lower Darwen; Darwen East; Darwen South; Darwen West; West Pennine.
• The Borough of Rossendale wards of: Cribden; Eden; Facit and Shawforth; Goodshaw; Greensclough; Hareholme; Healey and Whitworth; Helmshore; Irwell; Longholme; Stacksteads; Whitewell.^[3]

Minor changes to align with the revised ward boundaries in Blackburn with Darwen.

Following a local government boundary review in Rossendale which came into effect in May 2024,^[4] the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

• The Borough of Blackburn with Darwen wards of: Blackburn South & Lower Darwen; Darwen East; Darwen South; Darwen West; West Pennine.
• The Borough of Rossendale wards or part wards of: Bacup; Britannia & Lee Mill; Goodshaw & Cribden; Greenfield & Eden (part); Hareholme & Waterfoot; Helmshore (most); Longholme; Whitewell & Stacksteads; Whitworth.^[5]

Constituency profile

The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of two local government districts with similar characteristics: a working population whose income is close to the national average but varying reliance upon social housing in relative terms to the national average.^[6] At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 3.5% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 4.2%.^[7]

The borough of Rossendale that contributes to the bulk of the population has a 21.5% of its population without a car, whereas this is 30.5% in Blackburn and outside of the seat in Burnley is 32.3%. A relatively high 24% of Rossendale's population were in 2001 without qualifications and a high 25.1% were with level 4 qualifications or above. A higher share, 28.7% of Blackburn's population lacked qualifications, however 19.8% of its population had Level 4 qualifications or above.

In terms of tenure 69.6% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across the Rossendale district; this compares to a similar 63.7% across Blackburn. Whereas in Ribble Valley to the north 76.6% of homes fall within this category, in Leeds the figure is 58.2% and in Manchester just 37.8%.^[8]

History

This constituency was created in 1983 and has alternated between the two largest parties' MPs during this time; since 1997 the constituency has been a bellwether of the national result.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[9]	Party
	1983	David Trippier	Conservative
	1992	Janet Anderson	Labour
	2010	Jake Berry	Conservative
	2024	Andy MacNae	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Rossendale and Darwen^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andy MacNae	18,247	40.9	+4.3
	Conservative	Jake Berry	12,619	28.3	−28.0
	Reform UK	Daniel Matchett	9,695	21.7	+21.3
	Green	Bob Bauld	2,325	5.2	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Rowan Fitton	1,241	2.8	−1.4
	Workers Party	Tayub Ali	491	1.1	N/A
Majority			5,628	12.6	N/A
Turnout			44,618	59.8	−7.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+16.2

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Rossendale and Darwen^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jake Berry	27,570	56.5	+5.7
	Labour	Alyson Barnes	18,048	37.0	―7.4
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Valentine	2,011	4.1	+1.0
	Green	Sarah Hall	1,193	2.4	+0.8
Majority			9,522	19.5	+13.1
Turnout			48,822	67.1	―2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.5

Election box candidate with party link

General election 2017: Rossendale and Darwen^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jake Berry	25,499	50.8	+4.2
	Labour	Alyson Barnes	22,283	44.4	+9.3
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Bonner	1,550	3.1	+1.5
	Green	John Payne	824	1.6	―0.5
Majority			3,216	6.4	―5.1
Turnout			50,156	69.2	+2.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	―2.6

General election 2015: Rossendale and Darwen^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jake Berry	22,847	46.6	+4.8
	Labour	Will Straw	17,193	35.1	+2.9
	UKIP	Clive Balchin	6,862	14.0	+10.6
	Green	Karen Pollard-Rylance	1,046	2.1	New
	Liberal Democrats	Afzal Anwar	806	1.6	―16.5
	Independent	Kevin Scranage	122	0.2	New
	TUSC	Simon Thomas	103	0.2	New
	Northern	Shaun Hargreaves	45	0.1	New
Majority			5,654	11.5	+2.0
Turnout			49,024	66.4	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

General election 2010: Rossendale and Darwen^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jake Berry	19,691	41.8	+7.1
	Labour	Janet Anderson	15,198	32.2	―10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Sheffield	8,541	18.1	+3.2
	UKIP	David Duthie	1,617	3.4	+1.8
	National Front	Kevin Bryan	1,062	2.3	New
	English Democrat	Michael Johnson	663	1.4	New
	Impact	Tony Melia	243	0.5	New
	Independent	Mike Siveri	113	0.2	New
Majority			4,493	9.5	N/A
Turnout			47,128	64.6	+3.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+8.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Rossendale and Darwen^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janet Anderson	19,073	42.9	―5.9
	Conservative	Nigel Adams	15,397	34.6	―1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Carr	6,670	15.0	+0.3
	BNP	Anthony Wentworth	1,736	3.9	New
	Green	Kenneth McIver	821	1.8	New
	UKIP	David Duthie	740	1.7	New
Majority			3,676	8.3	―4.4
Turnout			44,437	61.5	+2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	―1.9

General election 2001: Rossendale and Darwen^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janet Anderson	20,251	49.0	―4.6
	Conservative	George Lee	15,281	36.7	+4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Dunning	6,079	14.7	+4.1
Majority			4,970	12.7	―8.6
Turnout			41,358	58.7	―14.3
	Labour hold		Swing	―4.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Rossendale and Darwen^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janet Anderson	27,470	53.6	+9.7
	Conservative	Patricia Buzzard	16,521	32.3	―11.4
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Dunning	5,435	10.6	―0.7
	Referendum	Roy Newstead	1,108	2.2	New
	BNP	Andrew Wearden	674	1.3	New
Majority			10,949	21.3	+21.1
Turnout			51,208	73.0	―10.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.6

General election 1992: Rossendale and Darwen^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janet Anderson	28,028	43.9	+5.6
	Conservative	David Trippier	27,908	43.7	―2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Connor	7,226	11.3	―3.8
	Green	James Gaffney	596	0.9	New
	Natural Law	Peter Gorrod	125	0.2	New
Majority			120	0.2	N/A
Turnout			63,883	83.0	+2.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Rossendale and Darwen^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Trippier	28,056	46.6	―0.4
	Labour	Janet Anderson	23,074	38.3	+6.5
	Liberal	Peter John Hulse	9,097	15.1	―6.1
Majority			4,982	8.3	―6.9
Turnout			60,227	80.3	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	―3.5

General election 1983: Rossendale and Darwen^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Trippier	27,214	47.0
	Labour	Christopher Robinson	18,393	31.8
	Liberal	Michael Taylor	12,246	21.2
Majority			8,821	15.2
Turnout			57,853	77.8
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

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.