Leeds West is a

borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

in 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 popul ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

which is 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. T ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 suprem ...

. It elects one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) by the

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast the ...

system of election. The current MP is Rachel Reeves of the Labour Party — it has been a Labour seat (apart from the Parliament of 1983–87) since 1945. She is currently the

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Leeds wards of Armley and Wortley, Holbeck, and New Wortley, and part of Bramley ward. 1918–1950: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Armley and Wortley, and Bramley, and part of New Wortley ward. 1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Bramley, Farnley and Wortley, and Upper Armley. 1955–1974: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Armley, Bramley, Stanningley, Wellington, and Wortley. 1974–1983: The County Borough wards of Armley and Castleton, Bramley, Stanningley, and Wortley. 1980–1983: The City of Leeds wards of Armley, Bramley, and Wortley. 1983–2010: The City of Leeds wards of Armley, Bramley, Kirkstall, and Wortley. 2010–present: The City of Leeds wards of Armley, Bramley and Stanningley, Farnley and Wortley, and Kirkstall. Unusually for a Parliamentary seat, the boundaries do not correspond exactly to the wards' boundaries. The seat includes small areas of the wards for Calverley and Farsley, and Morley North, but also excludes a very small area of Farnley and Wortley, which falls under Leeds Central. The constituency covers the western part of the city of

History

The constituency was created in 1885 by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

, and was first used in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of that year.

had previously been represented by two MPs (1832–1868) and three MPs (1868–1885). From 1885 it was represented by five single-member constituencies: Leeds Central, Leeds East, Leeds North,

Leeds South Leeds South was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Leeds into two ridings ...

and Leeds West. The constituencies of Morley,

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...

and

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408. History T ...

were also created in 1885. Leeds West has the distinction of being the only constituency in the Leeds area which has existed under an unchanged name continuously since 1885.

Members of Parliament

Official portrait of Rachel Reeves crop 3

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

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

* Chapman was supported by the three local branches of

National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (NADSS) was a British veterans' organisation. The group was founded in early 1917 at a conference in Blackburn, drawing together various local groups representing working men who had ser ...

National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers The National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers (NFDDSS) was a British people, British veterans organisation. The organisation was founded in January 1917 by various London-based veterans groups opposed to the Military Se ...

and Comrades of the Great War. General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Liberal:

Edmund Harvey Edmund Harvey or Hervey (c.1601–1673) was an English soldier and member of Parliament during the English Civil War, who sat as a commissioner at the Trial of King Charles I and helped to draw up the final charge. Although present on 27 Januar ...

*Unionist:

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Gladstone is appointed

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ir ...

, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds West (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Yorkshire and the Humber Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Politics of Leeds