Wentworth and Dearne (UK Parliament constituency)

Wentworth and Dearne is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by John Healey, a member of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Wentworth and Dearne
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wentworth and Dearne in South Yorkshire
Location of South Yorkshire within England
County	South Yorkshire
Electorate	73,863 (December 2019)[1]
Major settlements	Dearne and Rawmarsh
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	John Healey (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Wentworth Barnsley East and Mexborough

History

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies recommending the creation of this constituency for the 2010 general election.

Political history

Most forerunner parts of the seat of Wentworth (which only existed in its second period from 1983 until 2010) matched its record of being a safe seat for Labour. However, since the 2019 general election the seat has become a marginal between Labour and Conservative Party. Labour's majority over the Conservatives currently stands at 2,165. Labour's vote share declined by 24.7% at the 2019 election, the second worst decline in vote share it suffered in any of the 630 constituencies that the party contested at that election (only being surpassed by the 24.9% decline in the Labour vote in Bassetlaw).[2]

Prominent frontbencher

The present member, John Healey held a continuous period of frontbench positions, withstanding during this time various rotations of the Labour frontbench – the positions were:

• May 2002 – May 2005 – Economic Secretary to the Treasury
• May 2005 – June 2007 – Financial Secretary to the Treasury
• June 2007 – June 2009 – Minister of State for Local Government
• July 2007 – June 2009 – Minister for Flood Recovery
• June 2009 – May 2010 – Minister of State for Housing
• May 2010 – October 2010 – Shadow Minister of State for Housing
• October 2010 – October 2011 – Shadow Secretary of State for Health

In September 2015 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Housing (attending Shadow Cabinet)

Boundaries

The seat comprises satellite settlements to two large Yorkshire towns, separated by green buffers, in a band north of Rotherham and southeast of Barnsley and as such has electoral wards:

• Hoober, Rawmarsh, Silverwood, Swinton, Wath and Wickersley in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
• Dearne: North and South wards in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley.[3]

Most of the constituency succeeds Wentworth however the large settlement of Dearne was instead the largest in Barnsley East and Mexborough. The name of the seat stems from the village that shares its name with the largest private house in the country and listed gardens in the seat, Wentworth Woodhouse, in a similar manner, with a widened use of an otherwise scarcely populated settlement, as Sefton.

Constituency profile

The South Yorkshire settlements grew in the seat into primarily large town size developments from the large presence of coal leading to extensive mining in this area, coupled with convenient proximity to Sheffield, the canals and rivers network, as well as to Doncaster, York, Wakefield and Leeds. As the mining industry has suffered a decline (see UK Coal which has one mine left in this county) and agriculture employs few people, niche manufacturing, general processing (such as of food and raw materials) as well as retail and distribution are critical sectors of the economy to local employment. Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 5.6% of the population, based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[4]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[5]	Party
	2010	John Healey	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Wentworth and Dearne [6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Healey	16,742	40.3	-24.7
	Conservative	Emily Barley	14,577	35.1	+3.8
	Brexit Party	Stephen Cavell	7,019	16.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Janice Middleton	1,705	4.1	+0.3
	Yorkshire Party	Lucy Brown	1,201	2.9	N/A
	SDP	David Bettney	313	0.8	N/A
Majority			2,165	5.2	-28.5
Turnout			41,557	55.8	-2.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-14.3

General election 2017: Wentworth and Dearne[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Healey	28,547	65.0	+8.1
	Conservative	Steven Jackson	13,744	31.3	+16.4
	Liberal Democrats	Janice Middleton	1,656	3.8	+1.1
Majority			14,803	33.7	+1.7
Turnout			43,947	58.7	+0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.2

General election 2015: Wentworth and Dearne[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Healey	24,571	56.9	+6.3
	UKIP	Mike Hookem	10,733	24.9	+16.7
	Conservative	Michael Naughton	6,441	14.9	-2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Edwin Simpson	1,135	2.6	-13.5
	English Democrat	Alan England	309	0.7	N/A
Majority			13,838	32.0	-1.1
Turnout			43,189	58.1	+0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.2

This seat was fought for the first time at the 2010 general election.

General election 2010: Wentworth and Dearne[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Healey*	21,316	50.6	−11.2
	Conservative	Michelle Donelan	7,396	17.6	+3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Love	6,787	16.1	−0.1
	UKIP	John Wilkinson	3,418	8.1	+4.6
	BNP	William Baldwin	3,189	7.6	+2.9
Majority			13,920	33.1	N/A
Turnout			42,106	58.0	+3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.5

* Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in South Yorkshire

Notes and references

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.

References

1. "Constituency data: electorates – House of Commons Library". Parliament UK. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
2. The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. Glasgow: Times Books. 2020. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1.
3. 2010 post-revision map Greater London and metropolitan areas of England
4. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)
6. "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations". Rotherham Council. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
7. "Wentworth & Dearne Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
8. "Wentworth & Dearne", BBC News
9. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. "Wentworth & Dearne". BBC News. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
11. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. "Election results: Wentworth & Dearne". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.