Colne Valley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Paul Davies of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile The seat is named after the Colne, one of three rivers so-named in the UK and one of three main rivers in the seat; its three main towns sit on hillsides and moorland, and the local dwellings are mainly stone-built. Retirees make up a sizeable proportion of the area's residents, as celebrated in the long-running television comedy Last of the Summer Wine, which is centred on Holmfirth within the seat. The wider Colne and Holme Valleys still retain some agriculture, such as the Longley Farm dairy whose products are sold nationwide. The south-west of the constituency, bordering with Oldham and High Peak, Derbyshire, is within the Peak District and the area includes Marsden Moor Estate. Moving eastwards, the constituency also includes some of Huddersfield's western suburbs, such as generally affluent Lindley, and Golcar.

In between Marsden and Huddersfield, the former mill town of Slaithwaite was named the best place to live in Yorkshire by The Times in 2022. Slaithwaite and environs is a growing commuter area with regular rail connections to both Manchester and Leeds.

Political history In the three decades post-World War II, the area had the distinction of being one of the few Labour/Liberal marginals, changing hands between the parties on several occasions. Since 1983, it has been a three-way marginal seat. It was a bellwether constituency from the 1987 general election to the 2017 general election, which saw Labour's Thelma Walker narrowly gain the seat from the Conservatives while the latter remained the largest party in Parliament. The Liberal Democrats retained much of their strength in the area until the 2010 general election, but in 2017; they lost their deposit with just 4.1% of the vote. Since the 1964 general election, the only occasion when the winning candidate's majority exceeded 10% of the votes cast was in 1992, and three different parties have held the seat during this period. Since 1987 it has been won by either Conservative or Labour candidates.

Colne Valley was one of 17 seats won (held or gained) by a Labour candidate in 2017 from a total of 22 covering its county, with Thelma Walker's 2017 win being one of 30 net gains of the Labour Party. However, former MP Jason McCartney took the seat back for the Conservatives in 2019, only to lose it again to Labour's Paul Davies at the 2024 general election.

Boundaries This semi-rural constituency encompasses the Colne Valley, Holme Valley, Meltham and the outskirts of the large town of Huddersfield in the district of Kirklees, West Yorkshire. In addition to the Huddersfield suburbs of Golcar and Lindley, the constituency comprises rural countryside broken up by the towns of Holmfirth and Meltham and the villages of Marsden, Slaithwaite, Honley, Brockholes, Linthwaite, New Mill and Golcar. The seat was once held by the Independent Labour MP Victor Grayson, who later disappeared in mysterious circumstances in 1920.

The area of Saddleworth, which lies on the western side of the Pennines unlike the rest of the constituency and is not part of the Colne Valley, became part of the new metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in 1974, and from 1983 became part of a new constituency along with Littleborough.

In 1981, the Boundary Commission proposed to combine much of the seat with a large portion of the Huddersfield West seat. Originally it was proposed to use the Huddersfield West name for the new constituency, but this was opposed at a public inquiry in which it was argued that the Colne Valley name be preserved.

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Huddersfield, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Saddleworth and Upper Aggbrigg.

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Farnley Tyas, Golcar, Holme, Holmfirth, Honley, Linthwaite, Marsden, Meltham, New Mill, Saddleworth, Scammonden, Slaithwaite, South Crosland, Springhead, and Thurstonland.

1950–1955: The Urban Districts of Colne Valley, Holmfirth, Kirkburton, Meltham, and Saddleworth.

1955–1983: The Urban Districts of Colne Valley, Denby Dale, Holmfirth, Meltham, and Saddleworth.

1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Colne Valley West, Crosland Moor, Golcar, Holme Valley North, Holme Valley South, and Lindley.

2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Colne Valley, Crosland Moor and Netherton, Golcar, Holme Valley North, Holme Valley South, and Lindley.

2024–present: The Borough of Kirklees wards of Colne Valley, Golcar, Holme Valley North, Holme Valley South, Lindley. Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the Crosland Moor and Netherton ward was transferred to Huddersfield in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range.

Members of Parliament

Southern West Riding of Yorkshire prior to 1885

ElectionMemberParty 1885 Henry Beaumont Liberal 1886 Liberal Unionist 1892 Sir James Kitson Liberal 1907 by-election Victor Grayson Colne Valley Labour 1910 Charles Leach Liberal 1916 by-election Frederick Mallalieu 1916 Coalition Liberal Jan 1922 National Liberal Feb 1922Liberal 1922Philip Snowden Labour 1931 National Labour 1931 Lance Mallalieu Liberal 1935 Ernest Marklew Labour 1939 by-election Glenvil Hall 1963 by-election Patrick Duffy 1966 Richard Wainwright Liberal 1970 David Clark Labour 1974 Richard Wainwright Liberal 1987 Graham Riddick Conservative 1997 Kali Mountford Labour 2010 Jason McCartney Conservative 2017 Thelma Walker Labour 2019 Jason McCartney Conservative 2024 Paul Davies Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s 2019 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 26,517 51.2 Labour 18,756 36.2 Liberal Democrats 3,630 7.0 Brexit Party 1,089 2.1 Green 893 1.7 Others 880 1.7Turnout51,76572.4Electorate71,518

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

There had been significant boundary changes for this election, mainly due to the 1974 changes to local government, where the Saddleworth area was moved out of Yorkshire into the Oldham borough of Greater Manchester and became part of the Littleborough and Saddleworth constituency. To compensate, some of the western outskirts of Huddersfield were added to Colne Valley from the abolished Huddersfield West constituency. Therefore, although Wainwright was the incumbent MP for Colne Valley, it was estimated that had the seat been fought on the new boundaries in 1979, the Labour Party would have won it with a majority of 2,239.

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

Election results 1885–1918 Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

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: Charles Leach Unionist: Archibald Boyd-Carpenter Labour:

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

Notes

References

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