# Batley and Spen (UK Parliament constituency)
**Batley and Spen** was a borough constituency in the [Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/yorkshire) and The Humber region of England, represented in the House of Commons from its 2010 boundary set until its abolition in 2024[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections). It was held by the Labour Party at every general election from 1997 onwards, having previously been represented by the Conservative Elizabeth Peacock from 9 June 1983 to 1 May 1997, and its final Member of Parliament was Kim Leadbeater, who sat from 1 July 2021 until the seat ceased to exist on 31 May 2024 following the 2023 boundary review[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history) • [10](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/163/overview). Its territory was divided between the new constituencies of Spen Valley and Dewsbury and Batley[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type and region | Borough constituency in Yorkshire and The Humber, part of the 2010 boundary set; existed 13 April 2010 to 31 May 2024[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) |
| Members of Parliament | Mike Wood (Lab, 2010–15), Jo Cox (Lab, 2015–16), Tracy Brabin (Lab Co-op, 2016–21), Kim Leadbeater (Lab, 2021–24)[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/overview) |
| Closest general elections | Labour majority of 3,525 (6.7%) in 2019; 4,406 in 2010; 6,057 in 2015[4](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/1330) • [2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history) |
| 2016 by-election | Labour hold, Tracy Brabin 17,506 votes (85.8%), majority 16,537, turnout 25.6%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) |
| 2021 by-election | Labour hold, Kim Leadbeater 13,296 votes (35.3%), majority 323 (0.9%), turnout 47.5%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) |
| Electorate | Roughly 76,700 to 80,200 across the seat's contests[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history) |
| Abolition | 77.8% of area split to Spen Valley, forming 64.9% of that seat's population, and 22.2% to Dewsbury and Batley, forming 35.1% of its population; effective 31 May 2024[5](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/overlaps) |
## History and boundaries
The official parliamentary record dates the constituency area to 13 April 2010, when it was established as part of the 2010 boundary set[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections). The History of Parliament trust's constituency record instead gives 1983 as the year of formation, within post-1974 [West Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-yorkshire), and 2024 as the year of disbandment[6](https://membersafter1832.historyofparliamentonline.org/constituencies/38). These two references disagree on the formation date, and the discrepancy is unresolved; the 1983 date may reflect an earlier incarnation of the seat.
UK Parliamentary constituency boundaries changed across England following the 2023 review[3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/overview), and Batley and Spen was abolished. Its territory was split between two successor seats, both effective 31 May 2024: Spen Valley and Dewsbury and Batley[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections). The overlap data quantify the split: 77.8% of the old constituency's geographic area went to Spen Valley, forming 68.2% of that seat's residential properties and 64.9% of its population, while 22.2% of the area went to Dewsbury and Batley, forming 31.8% of that seat's residential properties and 35.1% of its population[5](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/overlaps). Conversely, 69.0% of Spen Valley's area came from Batley and Spen, and 22.5% of Dewsbury and Batley's area did so[5](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/overlaps).
The psephological mapping site ElectionMaps, using House of Commons Library comparison figures dated 13 July 2023, records Spen Valley as the closest successor, comprising 74.6% former Batley and Spen, 21.4% former Dewsbury and 4.0% former [Huddersfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/huddersfield), made up of 5 whole wards and 1 partial ward on 2023 ward boundaries[7](https://www.electionmaps.co.uk/boundary-changes/constituency/E14000548/batley-and-spen). The old constituency's geographic code was E14000548; Spen Valley's is E14001506[5](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/overlaps) • [7](https://www.electionmaps.co.uk/boundary-changes/constituency/E14000548/batley-and-spen).
## Members of Parliament
Four MPs served the seat, mostly Labour, although Elizabeth Peacock represented it as a Conservative from 1983 to 1997[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [11](https://members.parliament.uk/member/1197/career):
- **Mike Wood** won the 6 May 2010 general election with 21,565 votes (42.2%) and a majority of 4,406, and served until 2015[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections).
- **Jo Cox** won the 7 May 2015 general election with 21,826 votes (43.2%) and a majority of 6,057. The History of Parliament records that she was selected from an all-women shortlist and exited on 16 June 2016 by death[6](https://membersafter1832.historyofparliamentonline.org/constituencies/38).
- **Tracy Brabin**, Labour and [Co-operative Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/co-operative-party), won the resulting by-election in October 2016 and retained the seat in 2017 and 2019[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/overview).
- **Kim Leadbeater** won the July 2021 by-election and held the seat until its abolition[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history).
## General elections, 2010 to 2019
Labour held the seat at every general election, though by varying margins[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history).
| Election | Winning candidate | Votes (share) | Majority | Electorate | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 May 2010 | Mike Wood (Lab) | 21,565 (42.2%) | 4,406 | 76,738 | 66.6%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history) |
| 7 May 2015 | Jo Cox (Lab) | 21,826 (43.2%) | 6,057 | 78,373 | 64.4%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) |
| 8 June 2017 | Tracy Brabin (Lab Co-op) | 29,844 (55.5%) | 8,961 | 80,161 | 67.1%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) |
| 12 Dec 2019 | Tracy Brabin (Lab Co-op) | 22,594 (42.7%) | 3,525 | 79,558 | 66.5%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [4](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/1330) |
The 2019 general election was the seat's closest general-election contest in the period: Brabin's vote share fell 12.8 points to 42.7%, and the Conservative Mark Brooks took 19,069 votes (36.0%)[4](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/1330). Paul Halloran of the Heavy Woollen District Independents, a local independent movement, took 6,432 votes (12.2%), and the Brexit Party's Clive Minihan 1,678 (3.2%)[4](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/1330). The 2017 contest, by contrast, produced the seat's highest general-election turnout, 67.1%, and Labour's largest majority of the period, 8,961[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history).
## The by-elections of 2016 and 2021
**October 2016.** The by-election of 20 October 2016 followed [Jo Cox](https://www.edgepedia.org/jo-cox)'s death that June[6](https://membersafter1832.historyofparliamentonline.org/constituencies/38). [Tracy Brabin](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracy-brabin) won with 17,506 votes, 85.8% of those cast, and a majority of 16,537, on a turnout of only 25.6% of the 79,781 electorate[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history).
**July 2021.** The second by-election, on 1 July 2021, was triggered when the sitting MP resigned to take up a position outside Parliament; it was one of four by-elections in the 2019–24 Parliament held for that reason[8](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2024-general-election-by-elections-in-the-last-parliament/). Kim Leadbeater won with 13,296 votes (35.3%), ahead of the Conservative Ryan Stephenson on 12,973 (34.4%) and [George Galloway](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-galloway) of the Workers Party on 8,264 (21.9%); thirteen other candidates shared 3,162 votes (8.4%), making 16 candidates in all. The majority was 323, or 0.9% of votes cast, with turnout of 47.5%[9](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9225/) • [1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections).
The two contests differed sharply. Labour's vote share fell from 42.7% at the 2019 general election to 35.3% in 2021, one of three by-elections in that Parliament in which the winning party's share was below its 2019 level[8](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2024-general-election-by-elections-in-the-last-parliament/). In 2016 the winner took 85.8% on a quarter turnout; in 2021 the winner took 35.3% on nearly half turnout, and a third-party candidate, Galloway, took more than a fifth of the vote[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [9](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9225/). Labour held Batley and Spen, one of five seats it held among the thirteen by-elections it won in that Parliament[8](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2024-general-election-by-elections-in-the-last-parliament/).
## By the numbers: marginality and turnout
The seat's record spans wide ranges. Majorities ran from 323 at the 2021 by-election, a 0.9-point margin, to 16,537 at the 2016 by-election[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history). Turnout ran from 25.6% in 2016 to 67.1% in 2017[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history). Electorates stayed between 76,738 (2010) and 80,161 (2017)[2](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history).
The pattern is that general elections produced consistent but moderate Labour margins, between 3,525 and 8,961, while the by-elections produced extremes shaped by their circumstances: a 2016 contest with a very large majority and very low turnout, and a crowded, closely fought one in 2021 in which the winning share fell and George Galloway of the Workers Party took 21.9%[1](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections) • [9](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9225/). The 12.2% taken by the Heavy Woollen District Independents in 2019 shows that locally rooted non-major-party candidacies drew substantial support in general elections too[4](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/1330).
## What changed in 2024
The constituency ceased to exist following the boundary change in 2024[3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/overview), and new boundaries came into use at the general election of 4 July 2024, with Spen Valley as the closest successor[7](https://www.electionmaps.co.uk/boundary-changes/constituency/E14000548/batley-and-spen). Kim Leadbeater was among the Labour by-election winners of the 2019–24 Parliament who won a seat again at the 2024 general election[8](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2024-general-election-by-elections-in-the-last-parliament/).
## References
1. [Elections in Batley and Spen (13 April 2010 – 30 May 2024), official election results record](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/elections)
2. [Batley and Spen – Election history, UK Parliament](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/election-history)
3. [MPs representing Batley and Spen, UK Parliament](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3309/overview)
4. [Batley and Spen general election – December 2019, official results](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/elections/1330)
5. [Batley and Spen (13 April 2010 – 30 May 2024) – overlaps, official boundary overlap record](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/constituency-areas/30/overlaps)
6. [Members after 1832 – Batley and Spen, History of Parliament](https://membersafter1832.historyofparliamentonline.org/constituencies/38)
7. [Batley and Spen: Old and New Constituency Boundaries, ElectionMaps](https://www.electionmaps.co.uk/boundary-changes/constituency/E14000548/batley-and-spen)
8. [2024 general election: By-elections in the last Parliament, House of Commons Library](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2024-general-election-by-elections-in-the-last-parliament/)
9. [By-elections in the 2019 Parliament, House of Commons Library](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9225/)
10. [members.parliament.uk](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/163/overview)
11. [members.parliament.uk](https://members.parliament.uk/member/1197/career)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Constituencies and electoral divisions › UK and Irish constituencies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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