BBC Profile:
David Ginsburg held the seat for Labour from 1959-81, when he defected to the SDP. Fighting the 1983 election for the SDP, he took more than a quarter of the vote and Labour support dropped by nearly 12 points - enough to hand victory to the Conservative John Whitfield.
Ann Taylor recaptured Dewsbury for Labour in 1987 and won again in 1992 with slim majorities on both occasions. By 2005, when she stood down, the majority had grown to more than 8,000.

Her replacement, Shahid Malik, retained the seat for Labour, but the majority fell to 4,615, due largely to the BNP increasing their share of the vote.

At this election, significant boundary changes mean the constituency is extended southwards, gaining the rural wards of Kirkburton and Denby Dale from Wakefield, with the ward of Heckmondwike going to Batley and Spen. To find out what might have happened had these changes been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This is a West Yorkshire seat south of Leeds, based on the town of Dewsbury. In addition to Dewsbury itself, the constituency spreads to the south and west and also takes in the town of Mirfield and villages in the more rural Kirkburton and Denby Dale.

Once at the centre of the wool weaving industry, Dewsbury and neighbouring towns to the south and west still retain remnants of the trade, now largely confined to the high quality end of the market.

Dewsbury still has a twice-weekly market, while Mirfiel

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BBC Profile:
David Ginsburg held the seat for Labour from 1959-81, when he defected to the SDP. Fighting the 1983 election for the SDP, he took more than a quarter of the vote and Labour support dropped by nearly 12 points - enough to hand victory to the Conservative John Whitfield.
Ann Taylor recaptured Dewsbury for Labour in 1987 and won again in 1992 with slim majorities on both occasions. By 2005, when she stood down, the majority had grown to more than 8,000.

Her replacement, Shahid Malik, retained the seat for Labour, but the majority fell to 4,615, due largely to the BNP increasing their share of the vote.

At this election, significant boundary changes mean the constituency is extended southwards, gaining the rural wards of Kirkburton and Denby Dale from Wakefield, with the ward of Heckmondwike going to Batley and Spen. To find out what might have happened had these changes been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This is a West Yorkshire seat south of Leeds, based on the town of Dewsbury. In addition to Dewsbury itself, the constituency spreads to the south and west and also takes in the town of Mirfield and villages in the more rural Kirkburton and Denby Dale.

Once at the centre of the wool weaving industry, Dewsbury and neighbouring towns to the south and west still retain remnants of the trade, now largely confined to the high quality end of the market.

Dewsbury still has a twice-weekly market, while Mirfield is home to a well-known agricultural show but it is now predominantly a dormitory town.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
Lab 18,278 (40.59%)
C 14,279 (31.71%)
LD 6,187 (13.74%)
Others 5,379 (11.94%)
Green 913 (2.03%)

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