The Thoresby Society

The Leeds South constituency was established in 1885 and abolished in 1983. Hunslet and Beeston were mentioned in Domesday Book and were ancient medieval townships whilst Holbeck traces its history back to the twelfth century. Coal mining, wool textiles and later in the nineteenth century engineering were the dominant industries. Predominantly a working-class area of sprawling back-to-backs much of the heart of the community was destroyed as the houses were demolished to make way for the M1, and M621 motorways. Large council estates were developed at Belle Isle and Middleton. In 1978 they were designated Urban Priority Areas with the associated problems of social deprivation and crime. From the 1960s a large Asian population settled in the Beeston district.

 

 

BOUNDARIES

1885–1918: East Hunslet Ward, South Ward, and West Hunslet Ward,, and part of Bramley Ward.

1918–1950: Holbeck and West Hunslet Ward,, and part of New Wortley Ward.

1950–1955: Beeston Ward,, Holbeck South Ward,, Hunslet Carr and Middleton Ward, and West Hunslet Ward.

1955–1974: Beeston Ward,, Holbeck Ward,, Hunslet Carr Ward, and Middleton Ward.

1974–1983: Beeston Ward, East Hunslet Ward, Holbeck Ward, Middleton Ward, and West Hunslet Ward.

2024 - : Leeds Wards: Beeston & Holbeck, Burmantofts & Richmond Hill, Hunslet & Riverside, Middleton Park, Temple Newsam (polling districts TEE, TEF, TEG, THE, TEJ, TEK, TEL)

 

TURNOUT

For elections after 1929 when universal suffrage had been granted

	Electorate	Total votes cast	Turnout
1929	45,303	34,360	76.2%
1931	45,548	35,328	77.56%
1935	44,886	33,072	73.68%
1945	38,616	29,329	75.95%
1950	57,625	48,756	84.61%
1951	57,436	47,205	82.19%
1955	54,424	39,650	72.85%
1959	52,822	41,738	79.02%
1963	49,313	29,850	60.5%	by-election
1964	49,151	35,590	72.00%
1966	49,474	33,698	68.11%
1970	49,520	32,657	65.95%
1974	52,307	38,680	73.95%	February
1974	52,700	33,604	63.76%	October
1979	50,119	34,430	68.70%
2024	75,953	31,678	41.17%

 

HIGHEST NUMBER OF VOTES RECORDED BY A WINNING CANDIDATE
1951 H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 30,712

LOWEST NUMBER OF VOTES RECORDED BY A WINNING CANDIDATE
1892 September J. L. Walton (Gladstonian Liberal) 4,414

HIGHEST MAJORITY RECORDED BY A WINNING CANDIDATE
1950 H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 15,409

LOWEST MAJORITY RECORDED BY A WINNING CANDIDATE
1895 J. L. Walton (Liberal) 161

 

RESULTS

1885 - 25th November

South
Sir L. Playfair (Liberal) 5,208
S. C. Macaskie (Conservative) 2,869

1886 - 2nd July

South
Sir L. Playfair (Gladstonian Liberal) 4,665
T. H. Bracken (Conservative) 2,924

 

1892 - 7th July

South
Sir L. Playfair (Gladstonian Liberal) 4,829 *
R. J. Neville (Conservative) 3,294
[ * Raised to the peerage August 1892. ]

 

1892 - 22th September - by-election

South
J. L. Walton ( Gladstonian Liberal) 4,414
R. J. Neville (Conservative) 3,466

 

1895 - 17th July

South
J. L. Walton (Liberal) 4,608
R. J. Neville (Conservative) 4,447
J. Shaw (Independent Labour) 622

 

1900 - 4th October

South
J. L. Walton (Liberal) 4,952
R. J. Neville (Conservative) 4,718

 

1906 - 15th January

South
Sir J. L. Walton (Liberal) 6,200 *
A. Fox (Labour) 4,030
Sir H. Fairfax-Lucy (Conservative) 2,126
[ * Died 1908]

 

1908 - 13 February by-election

South
W. Middlebrook (Liberal) 5,274
R. J. N. Neville (Conservative) 4,915
A. Fox (Labour) 2,451

1910 - 17th January

South
W. Middlebrook (Liberal) 8,969
W. Nicholson (Conservative) 4,366

 

1910 - 5th December

South
W. Middlebrook (Liberal) 6,064
W. Nicholson (Conservative) 3,804
J. Badlay (Labour) 2,706

 

 

Representation of the People Act 1918 – All men over21 and women over 30 enfranchised Redistribution of the Seats Act 1918

1918 - 14th December

South
Sir W. Middlebrook (Liberal) 10,609
F. Fountain (Labour) 5,510
J. Brook (Discharged Soldiers & Sailors) 1,377

 

1922 - 15th November

South
H. C. Charleton (Labour) 13,210
Sir W. Middlebrook (Liberal) 11,380

1923 - 6th December

South
H. C. Charleton (Labour) 11,705
R. J. Neville (Conservative) 7,679
C. G. Gibson (Liberal) 7,083

1924 - 29th October

South
H. C. Charleton (Labour) 12,857
G. Ford (Conservative) 11,004
F. Geary (Liberal) 3,800

 

Representation of the People Act 1928 – All women over 21 enfranchised

1929 - 30th May

South
H. C. Charleton (Labour) 18,043
G. Ford (Conservative) 9,433
E. Kilburn Scott (Liberal) 6,884

1931 - 27th October

South
B. N. H. Whiteside (Conservative) 14,881 *
H. C. Charleton (Labour) 14,156
F. Boult (Liberal) 6,291


[ * National Government candidates. ]

1935 - 14th November

South
H. C. Charleton (Labour) 15,223
B. N. H. Whiteside (Conservative) 14,207 *
A.E. Townend (Social Credit Party of Great Britain) 3,642 **
[ ** Usually referred to in the press as Independent. ]

[ * National Government candidates]

1940 [No general election from 1939–1945. Coalition in power during the war.]

1945 - 5th July (main polling day), plus 12th, 19th July. Main result declared 26th July

South
H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 17,899
A. E. Ramsden (Conservative) 7,497
W. Barford (Liberal) 3,933

 

Representation of the People Act 1948 – Abolished plural voting and university seats

 

Boundary Reorganisation

 

1950 - 23th February

South
H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 29,795
B. H. Wood (Conservative) 14,436
E. Meeks (Liberal) 4,525

 

1951 - 25th October

South
H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 30,712
W. D. Brown (Conservative) 16,493

 

Boundary Commission 1955

1955 - 26th May

South
H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 25,833
W. D. Brown (Conservative) 13,817

 

1959 - 8th October

South
H. T. N. Gaitskell (Labour) 24,442 **
J. F. W. Addey (Conservative) 12,956
J. B. Meeks (Liberal) 4,340
[ * * Died 1963. ]

 

1963 20 June - by-election

South
M. Rees (Labour) 18,785
J. Udal (Conservative) 5,996
B. Walsh (Liberal) 4,399
B. Ramelson (Communist) 670

 

1964 - 15th October

South
M. Rees (Labour) 22,339
P. A. Woodward (Conservative) 12,123
B. Ramelson (Communist) 928

1966 - 31st March

South
M. Rees (Labour) 23,171
P. A. Woodward (Conservative) 9,813
B. Ramelson (Communist) 714

 

Representation of the People Act 1969 – Franchise extended to those over 18 years of age

1970 - 18th June

South
M. Rees (Labour) 19,536
G. K. Macpherson (Conservative) 9,311
S. Cooksey (Liberal) 3,810

 

1974 - 28th February

South
M. Rees (Labour) 21,365
D. Pedder (Liberal) 9,505
P. D. Harmer (Conservative) 7,810

1974 - 10th October

South
M. Rees (Labour) 21,653
T. Stow (Conservative) 6,388
J. Adams (Liberal) 5,563

 

1979 - 3rd May

South
M. Rees (Labour) 22,388
R. Ratcliffe (Conservative) 8,058
F. Hurst (Liberal) 3,568
B. Spink (National Front) 416

 

 

2024 - 4th July

South
Hilary James Benn (Labour) 17,117
Ed Carlisle (Green) 5,838
Karen Cooksley (Conservative) 4,172
Daniel Paul Whetstone (Social Democrat) 1,874
George Sykes (Liberal Democrat) 1,340
Muhammed Azeem (Workers Party) 719
Janet Bickerdike (Christian Peoples Alliance) 341
Niko Omilana (Independent) 277