BBC Profile:
Labour has never lost Wakefield since the 1930s, but have come close on occasions. The majority of Walter Harrison, who was MP from 1964 to 1987, dropped to 360 in 1983.

In the general election of 1997 a swing of 10.6% from the Tories to Labour gave David Hinchliffe a majority of 14,604 to return to the seat he had represented since 1987. Four years later the Conservatives fought back with a swing of nearly 5%, to cut the Labour majority almost in half.

In 2005 David Hinchliffe stood down. His replacement, Mary Creagh, retained the seat for Labour with a majority of 5,154.

At the election, part-wards from the borough of Kirklees go to seats within that area so that the redrawn seat is entirely within the Wakefield City Council area. Part-wards are lost to Hemsworth and the new Morley and Outwood. The constituency gains Horbury and South Ossett from the old Normanton constituency. The new seat includes the following Wakefield City Council wards in their entirety: Horbury and South Ossett, Ossett, Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield Rural, Wakefield West. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This constituency takes in most of the city of Wakefield and a number of smaller villages out to the south west of the city in southern West Yorkshire.

The county town of the West Riding became a cathedral city when a growing West Riding population l

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BBC Profile:
Labour has never lost Wakefield since the 1930s, but have come close on occasions. The majority of Walter Harrison, who was MP from 1964 to 1987, dropped to 360 in 1983.

In the general election of 1997 a swing of 10.6% from the Tories to Labour gave David Hinchliffe a majority of 14,604 to return to the seat he had represented since 1987. Four years later the Conservatives fought back with a swing of nearly 5%, to cut the Labour majority almost in half.

In 2005 David Hinchliffe stood down. His replacement, Mary Creagh, retained the seat for Labour with a majority of 5,154.

At the election, part-wards from the borough of Kirklees go to seats within that area so that the redrawn seat is entirely within the Wakefield City Council area. Part-wards are lost to Hemsworth and the new Morley and Outwood. The constituency gains Horbury and South Ossett from the old Normanton constituency. The new seat includes the following Wakefield City Council wards in their entirety: Horbury and South Ossett, Ossett, Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield Rural, Wakefield West. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This constituency takes in most of the city of Wakefield and a number of smaller villages out to the south west of the city in southern West Yorkshire.

The county town of the West Riding became a cathedral city when a growing West Riding population led to the creation of the Diocese of Wakefield in 1888.

The southern part of the constituency was mining territory until the 1990s. The National Coalmining Museum is at Overton, now on the border with the Dewsbury constituency.

While the mines have gone, engineering still continues, but the economy is now far more diverse, with distribution and retail trades, telecommunications companies and an industrial estate. Many commute to work in Leeds and Sheffield, with new housing appearing as a result. There is some farming in the rural wards, but the biggest employers are now the local authority and the health service.

One of the largest regeneration schemes is the Wakefield Waterfront Project. The development provides new retail and industrial units alongside the Hepworth Gallery, an art gallery built to honour the designs of Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
Lab 18,497 (44.05%)
C 11,148 (26.55%)
LD 7,889 (18.79%)
Others 3,171 (7.55%)
Green 818 (1.95%)
UKIP 467 (1.11%)

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