Shipley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Anna Dixon of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

Shipley is a constituency in West Yorkshire in England, within the City of Bradford borough. It covers the towns of Shipley, Baildon, Bingley and Denholme and the villages of Menston, Burley in Wharfedale, Wilsden and Cullingworth.

This constituency covers the towns and villages to the north and north-west of the city of Bradford. Most of its residents live in the connected towns of Shipley, Baildon and Bingley which form part of Bradford's contiguous urban area. The towns have an industrial heritage, particularly in textile manufacturing, although the mills in the area have now been demolished or redeveloped. There is some deprivation in Shipley, however Baildon, Bingley and the rural villages are generally affluent with most residents living in semi-detached or larger detached houses. House prices across the constituency are generally higher than the rest of Yorkshire but lower than the UK average.

Shipley has a low proportion of young adults and a large retired population. Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is below-average. They have average levels of education and a high proportion work in the health, manufacturing and education sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is low. White people made up 89% of the population at the 2021 census.

At the local council, the main towns are represented by a mixture of Reform UK, Green Party and Conservative councillors. The rural villages primarily elected Conservatives. An estimated 52% of voters in the Shipley constituency supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the UK-wide figure of 48%.

Boundaries 1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Bradford, and the civil parishes of Clayton, Eccleshill, Idle, North Bierley, and Shipley.

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Baildon, Bingley, Guiseley, Shipley, and Yeadon, and in the Rural District of Wharfedale the civil parishes of Esholt, Hawksworth, and Menston.

1950–1983: The Urban Districts of Baildon, Bingley, and Shipley.

1983–2010: The District of Bradford wards of Baildon, Bingley, Bingley Rural, Rombalds, Shipley East, and Shipley West.

2010–present: The District of Bradford wards of Baildon, Bingley, Bingley Rural, Shipley, Wharfedale, and Windhill and Wrose.

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.

History

1885–1970 This seat was created in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Until 1923 the seat was almost exclusively represented by elected Liberals and Arthur Creech Jones was Secretary of State for the Colonies (1946–1950) during most of the Attlee Ministry.

MPs since 1970 Shipley was for a long time the seat of ex-Chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, Sir Marcus Fox. He held the seat for almost 30 years between the 1970 and 1997 general elections.

At the 1997 general election, the Labour candidate Chris Leslie gained the seat from Fox, becoming the youngest MP of that parliament. He held the seat at the 2001 election and became a junior minister. A number of traditional Labour supporters considered Leslie to be an ardent Blairite, though he was in fact equally close to Gordon Brown, one of whose staff he married, and whose campaign for election as Labour leader he helped run (after he had lost this seat).Chris Leslie: Statement in full BBC News, 29 November 2007

Leslie narrowly lost the seat in the 2005 election, when the Conservative Party candidate Philip Davies narrowly regained the seat with a majority of 422 votes, which then increased to nearly ten thousand votes at the May 2010 general election. Davies held the seat at the next three elections, but lost it to Labour's Anna Dixon at the 2024 general election.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberPartyNotes 1885 Joseph Craven 1892 William Byles 1895 James Fortescue Flannery 1906 Percy Illingworth Government Chief Whip (1912–1915), Died January 1915 1915 by-election Oswald Partington Member for High Peak (1900–Dec 1910) Constituency split, majority formed parts of Bradford North and Bradford South. Minority joined Elland, remainder merged with the majority of the abolished Otley 1918 Norman Rae Coalition Liberal Jan 1922 Nov 1923 Dec 1923 William Mackinder Died September 1930 1930 by-electionJames Lockwood Oct 1935 1935 Arthur Creech Jones Secretary of State for the Colonies (1946–1950) 1950Geoffrey Hirst Jul 1966 1970 Marcus Fox Chair of the 1922 Committee (1992–1997) 1997 Chris Leslie Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (2003–2005) 2005 Philip Davies 2024 Anna Dixon

Elections Elections in the 2020s

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

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

See also List of parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire List of parliamentary constituencies in the Yorkshire and the Humber (region)

Notes

References

Sources Political Science Resources Richard Kimber F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 - 1918 F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1974 - 1979

External links Shipley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Shipley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Shipley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK