Leeds North East is a
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
which has been represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...
of the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...
since 1997 by
Fabian Hamilton
Fabian Uziell-Hamilton (born 12 April 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East since 1997. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament in November 2016.
Educat ...
of the
Labour Party.
Boundaries
1918–1950: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Crossgates,
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
, Seacroft, and Shadwell, and parts of the wards of North and North East.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Burmantofts, Harehills, Potternewton, and Richmond Hill.
1955–1974: The County Borough of Leeds wards of
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respect ...
, Potternewton, Roundhay, and Woodhouse.
1974–1983: The City of Leeds wards of Chapel Allerton, Harehills, Roundhay, Scott Hall, and Talbot.
1983–2010: The City of Leeds wards of Chapel Allerton,
Moortown, North, and Roundhay.
2010–present: The City of Leeds wards of
Alwoodley
Alwoodley is a civil parish and suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is north of central Leeds and is one of the most affluent areas of the city. Alwoodley lies in Leeds 17 which was reported to contain the most expensive housing ar ...
, Chapel Allerton, Moortown, and Roundhay.
;History of boundaries
A North-East division of Leeds's
parliamentary borough was recommended by the Boundary Commission in its report of 1917. The Commission recommended that the division consist of the whole of the
Crossgates,
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
,
Seacroft
Seacroft is an outer-city suburb/township consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area, around east of Leeds city centre.
It sits in th ...
, and
Shadwell
Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...
wards, together with the larger parts of two other wards which were to be divided between divisions: North-East ward save for a small part west of Accommodation Road in
Burmantofts
Burmantofts is an area of 1960s high-rise housing blocks in inner-city east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England adjacent to the city centre and St. James's Hospital. It is a racially diverse area, with sizable Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities, ...
which was placed in the South-East division and that part of North ward east of
Gledhow
Gledhow is a suburb of north east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
Etymology
The name ''Gledhow ...
Park and
Moor Allerton
Moor Allerton is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area is situated in North Leeds, near to King Lane and the Leeds Outer Ring Road.
Description
The majority of Moor Allerton is situated in the Alwoodley ward of Leeds City Counc ...
. This created a division with a population of 74,054 (according to the 1911 Census); 38,307 lived in the part of North ward, 28,349 in the part of North-East ward, and 7,398 in Roundhay, Seacroft, Shadwell and Cross Gates. Parliament enacted the new boundaries without alteration in the
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...
.
The initial report of the
Boundary Commission
A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies.
Notable boundary commissions have included:
* Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...
in 1947 recommended that the North East division consist of the
Burmantofts
Burmantofts is an area of 1960s high-rise housing blocks in inner-city east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England adjacent to the city centre and St. James's Hospital. It is a racially diverse area, with sizable Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities, ...
,
Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 (towards York). It sits in the Gipton & Ha ...
,
Potternewton
Potternewton (until recently also Potter Newton) is a suburb and parish between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council.
Potternewton is bounded by ...
and
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
wards. This meant a slightly smaller electorate (in respect of the register in force on 15 October 1946) from 78,498 to a still hefty 66,671; the main change was the removal of
Seacroft
Seacroft is an outer-city suburb/township consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area, around east of Leeds city centre.
It sits in th ...
to the South East division. The Government brought in a Representation of the People Bill based on the recommendations, but after pressure from some affected local authorities, decided give extra seats to some towns and cities where the electorate had resulted in the area narrowly missing out on an additional Member: on 18 March 1948 the Government put down amendments to the Bill which included increasing the number of seats in the County Borough of Leeds from six to seven. The Boundary Commission produced revised recommendations contained the wards of Burmantofts, Harehills and Roundhay, and having an electorate of 51,181. The Boundary Commission consulted on their proposals and received objections to the arrangements in the west of the city which led them to revise the recommendations in May 1948. The alterations had knock-on effects on the North East division, which was now recommended to comprise the North, Roundhay and Woodhouse wards for 56,283 electors.
When the Home Secretary
James Chuter Ede
James Chuter Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede of Epsom, (11 September 1882 – 11 November 1965), was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He served as Home Secretary under Prime Minister Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951, becomi ...
proposed altering the Bill in line with the altered recommendations, the sitting MP for Leeds North-East
Alice Bacon (supported by
George Porter
George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967.
Education and early life
Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...
, MP for Leeds Central) moved an amendment to alter the name of a division the Boundary Commission had called 'East Central' to 'North East', and altering the division the Boundary Commission had called 'North East' to 'North'. The Government accepted the amendment, as effected in the
Representation of the People Act 1948
The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parliamentary elections, including ...
. The Leeds North East division from then consisted of the
Burmantofts
Burmantofts is an area of 1960s high-rise housing blocks in inner-city east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England adjacent to the city centre and St. James's Hospital. It is a racially diverse area, with sizable Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities, ...
,
Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 (towards York). It sits in the Gipton & Ha ...
,
Potternewton
Potternewton (until recently also Potter Newton) is a suburb and parish between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council.
Potternewton is bounded by ...
and
Richmond Hill wards and had a 1946 electorate of 49,882. The division was considerably smaller in area after changes in 1950.
Alterations in ward boundaries in Leeds on 28 July 1950 led the Boundary Commission to make an interim report on alterations of constituency boundaries in 1951; although the definition of the constituency was the same, the ward changes had a minor impact on the divisional boundaries. In 1954 the Boundary Commission looked again at boundaries, and recommended that the North East division of Leeds consist of the wards of Allerton, Potternewton, Roundhay and Woodhouse. Three out of the four wards (Allerton, Roundhay and Woodhouse wards) came from the abolished
Leeds North, while Burmantofts and Harehills wards were removed to Leeds East, and Richmond Hill ward went to Leeds South East.
By the time of the Second Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission in the late 1960s, the wards of the County Borough of Leeds had again been altered. The commission recommended that the Borough Constituency of Leeds North East consist of the wards of
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respect ...
, Harehills, Roundhay,
Scott Hall and Talbot. The change decreased the electorate (on the October 1968 register) slightly from 53,719 to 53,461. These boundary changes took effect from the
February 1974 general election. The Third Periodical Review in 1983 initially proposed a Leeds North East County Constituency comprising 33,200 electors out of 60,120 in the existing borough together with half of the previous Leeds North West seat and
Harewood and
Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
from the Barkston Ash seat. At a public inquiry the plans were challenged and the assistant Commissioner recommended that the Leeds North East constituency remain urban and based on the previous seat, comprising Chapel Allerton, Moortown, North and Roundhay wards; this alteration was accepted by the Boundary Commission. The changes still removed 10,000 electors, mostly to Leeds East but some to Leeds Central and Elmet, and brought in 16,000 electors, mostly from Leeds North West and Barkston Ash and a small number from Leeds South East. No changes were made in the Fourth Periodical Review in 1995.
;Current boundaries
Boundary changes implemented the
Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ir ...
— their final recommendations almost matched initial proposals and so the seat comprises
Alwoodley
Alwoodley is a civil parish and suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is north of central Leeds and is one of the most affluent areas of the city. Alwoodley lies in Leeds 17 which was reported to contain the most expensive housing ar ...
,
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respect ...
,
Moortown and
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
— which took effect at the 2010 general election. By these changes, 2,100 electors out of 64,106 in the existing seat were removed to Elmet and Rothwell, while 3,875 were added from Leeds North West, 700 from Leeds Central, and 349 from Leeds East.
Constituency profile
This is a diverse constituency covering the northern half of the City of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. It was once a Conservative
stronghold
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, represented for thirty-one years by the senior Tory politician and former cabinet minister
Keith Joseph that has since 1997 seen relatively strong
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
support as many large Victorian houses have gradually been converted into flats and multiple-occupancy homes, helping them gain the seat in 1997 for the first time since the 1950s, and have held on since. A year after Hamilton increased his majority in 2001, psephologists Simon Henig and Lewis Baston wrote that it was now possible to think of Labour winning Leeds North East in a general election which it lost.
''The Guardian'' described the seat in 2010 as:
The seat stretches from the countryside around the
Eccup
Eccup is a village in the civil parish of Alwoodley and north of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is just north of Alwoodley and east of Bramhope and Golden Acre Park. Eccup is at the north-west edge of Eccup Reservoir.
Etymol ...
reservoir to the north, through affluent residential suburbs such as
Alwoodley
Alwoodley is a civil parish and suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is north of central Leeds and is one of the most affluent areas of the city. Alwoodley lies in Leeds 17 which was reported to contain the most expensive housing ar ...
,
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
, and
Moortown, with their large Jewish populations, up-and-coming neighbourhoods popular with young professionals such as
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respect ...
, down to deprived inner-city areas such as
Chapeltown, the centre of Leeds' Afro-Caribbean community.
History
At the first election in 1918, it was decided that a Conservative candidate would receive the Coalition 'coupon' in Leeds North East, as four Liberals had received coupons in other Leeds divisions and Labour was allowed an unopposed return in Leeds South-East. Major John Birchall, the Coalition Conservative candidate, was opposed by Labour Party candidate
John Bromley, leader of the Locomotive Engineman's Society. ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' described Bromley as "prone to verbal violence" and with "an unnecessary railway strike in his war service record". A third candidate, Captain W.P. Brigstock, announced himself for the
National Party, but was felt to have negligible prospects and did not stand. Birchall won comfortably, and went on to represent the seat until he retired in February 1940. His majority never fell below 4,000.
Birchall's resignation resulted in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in March 1940, Professor
J.J. Craik Henderson was nominated as a Conservative. Under the war-time electoral truce no Labour or Liberal candidate stood, but he was opposed by Sydney Allen of the
British Union of Fascists
The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...
who campaigned on an anti-war policy. Henderson won
the by-election with 97.1% of the vote. Despite the division's history, Labour went into the 1945 general election with a degree of optimism. As it turned out Professor Craik Henderson could not defend his seat, and
Alice Bacon won for Labour on a 22.6%
swing.
The constituency with new boundaries at the 1950 election was reckoned to be helpful to Alice Bacon, and therefore likely to be held by Labour. She indeed held the seat at both the 1950 and 1951 general elections.
The complex changes to Leeds' Parliamentary boundaries in 1955, which reduced the city from seven seats to six, particularly affected Leeds North East which was reckoned to be the seat which was abolished. In the event Alice Bacon was selected in Leeds South East, while that seat's sitting MP
Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...
was selected for the new Leeds East constituency. George Porter, sitting MP for Leeds Central, failed to be selected for any new seat when his constituency was abolished and retired. The new North East division was effectively based on the old North division, and that seat's sitting Conservative MP
Osbert Peake came forward as candidate. He was thought to have a slightly less safe seat in the new Leeds North East. Peake won easily, and after he received a peerage, his successor Sir
Keith Joseph held on in a
1956 by-election.
Joseph had a relatively safe seat at first but his majority fell in the elections of the 1960s. At the 1970 general election, it was noted that the seat had the highest immigrant population among the constituencies in Leeds, and had also produced the smallest swing to the Conservatives at that election. The 1979 general election saw the constituency swing to Labour, against the national trend; in 1987 it was noted that while the Conservatives had held the seat, they had done poorly in terms of votes.
In the run-up to the 1997 general election, the seat was a target for the Labour Party. The Leeds North East
Constituency Labour Party
__NOTOC__
A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency.
In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituenc ...
selected
Liz Davies
Liz Davies (born 1963) is a British barrister, author and political activist who advocates socialist feminism.Liz Davie"In praise of feminism" ''Morning Star'', 22 March 2013 She is the daughter of the Oxford academic and historian of Tudor Englan ...
, an Islington councillor on the party's left wing, but the Labour Party
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties:
* National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa
* Australian Labor Party National Executive
* Nationa ...
refused to endorse her candidacy over connections to the
Labour Briefing
''Labour Briefing'' is a monthly political magazine produced by members of the British Labour Party.
History and profile
The magazine began in 1980 as ''London Labour Briefing''. The founders were the members of the Chartist Minority Tendency, ...
magazine; her appeal to the Labour Party conference was unsuccessful. The winner of the second selection,
Fabian Hamilton
Fabian Uziell-Hamilton (born 12 April 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East since 1997. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament in November 2016.
Educat ...
, was identified as a
Blairite
In British politics, Blairism is the political ideology of Tony Blair, the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, and those that support him, known as Blairites. It entered the '' New Penguin English Dictio ...
and comfortably gained the seat when the
election was called.
["The British General Election of 1997" by David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, Macmillan, 1997, p. 193-4.] The result of the 2010 general election saw Hamilton retain the seat, with a further pro-Labour swing in 2015 and a majority of nearly 17,000 in 2017, the largest since Labour gained the seat two decades ago. Although Hamilton's share of the vote fell in 2019, the Conservative share fell further and his majority increased to over 17,000.
Prior to the 2019 General Election, the Labour Party did
MRP analysis. During that analysis, they concluded that, under the current circumstances and without any intervention, Leeds North East would change hands to the Liberal Democrats
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
1 The Conservative Party suspended Amjad Bashir on 20 November 2019. He still appeared on ballot papers under the Conservative label, as nominations had closed by the time of the suspension.
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1910s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds North East (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Parliamentary constituencies in Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918
Politics of Leeds