Leicester West (UK Parliament constituency)

Leicester West
Leicester West
Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundaries since 2024
	Boundary of Leicester West in the East Midlands
County	Leicestershire
Electorate	72,848 (2023)
Current constituency
Created	1974
Member of Parliament	Liz Kendall (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Leicester North West and Leicester South West
1918–1950
Seats	One
Created from	Leicester
Replaced by	Leicester North West and Leicester South West

Leicester West is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Leicestershire that existed from 1918 to 1950, and recreated in 1974. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Liz Kendall of the Labour Party since 2010.^{[n 2]} Kendall currently serves as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under the government of Keir Starmer. Since its creation in 1918, the seat has sided with parties from the left wing of politics.

Boundaries

Historic

1918–1950: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Abbey, Newton, St Margaret's, Westcotes, and Wyggeston.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Abbey, Newton, North Braunstone, St Margaret's, and Westcotes.

1983–2010: The City of Leicester wards of Abbey, Beaumont Leys, Mowmacre, New Parks, North Braunstone, Rowley Fields, St Augustine's, Westcotes, and Western Park.

2010–2024: The City of Leicester wards of Abbey, Beaumont Leys, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields, Fosse, New Parks, Westcotes, and Western Park.

Current

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the size of the constituency was increased with the transfer of Aylestone ward from Leicester South.^[2]

Constituency profile

Leicester West is the whitest of the three Leicester constituencies, and the one with the highest proportion of social housing. Some areas of the seat, such as Braunstone and Beaumont Leys, are made up of large local authority estates, and around 30% of the housing is council- or housing association-owned, the second-highest in the Midlands. The centre of the seat, the Westcotes area, is more inner-city in character and is popular with young professionals and students.^[3]

This used to be the safest Labour seat in Leicester; at the 1983 general election it was the only one to remain in Labour hands. However, the high South Asian populations in Leicester South and Leicester East have tended to push them away from the Conservative Party; conversely, while Leicester West is still a safe Labour seat and has been represented by that party since the Second World War, it has become the most marginal of the three Leicester seats.^[3] While it did, like the other two Leicester constituencies, see a significant swing to Labour in 2017, Liz Kendall's majority was not a record high for the constituency, unlike with the results in Leicester East and Leicester South.

As of 2009, in the depths of the late-2000s recession, the constituency had the fourth-highest level of unemployment in Britain, with 13.8% of residents registered unemployed. Most of the unemployment is concentrated in areas such as Braunstone, which is traditionally one of the most deprived parts of the city.^[4]

History

In 1950, the seat was replaced by the constituencies of Leicester North West and Leicester South West, until 1974. In that period, Leicester North West was represented by Barnett Janner until 1970, and then by his son Greville Janner.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

Leicester prior to 1918

	Member^[5]	Party
1918	Joseph Frederick Green	Coalition National Democratic
1922	Alfred Hill	Labour
1923	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	Labour
1931	Ernest Pickering	Liberal
1935	Harold Nicolson	National Labour
1945	Barnett Janner	Labour
1950	constituency abolished

MPs since 1974

Leicester North West and Leicester South West prior to 1974

	Member	Party
Feb 1974	Greville Janner	Labour
1997	Patricia Hewitt	Labour
2010	Liz Kendall	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Leicester West^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liz Kendall	15,798	44.6	−4.7
	Conservative	Max Chauhan	7,021	19.8	−16.8
	Reform UK	Ian Hayes	5,666	16.0	+11.5
	Green	Aasiya Bora	4.089	11.6	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Benjamin Feist	2,179	6.2	−0.5
	One Leicester	Rahoul Naik	327	0.9	+0.9
	TUSC	Steve Score	317	0.9	+0.9
Majority			8,777	24.8	+12.7
Turnout			35,397	48.0	−5.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Leicester West^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liz Kendall	17,291	49.7	–11.1
	Conservative	Amanda Wright	13,079	37.6	+6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Bradwell	1,808	5.2	+3.1
	Brexit Party	Jack Collier	1,620	4.7	New
	Green	Ani Goddard	977	2.8	+1.2
Majority			4,212	12.1	–17.3
Turnout			34,775	53.6	–4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	–8.7

General election 2017: Leicester West^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liz Kendall	22,823	60.8	+14.3
	Conservative	Jack Hickey	11,763	31.4	+5.8
	UKIP	Stuart Young	1,406	3.7	–13.5
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Bradwell	792	2.1	–2.3
	Green	Mel Gould	607	1.6	–3.8
	Independent	David Bowley	121	0.3	New
Majority			11,060	29.4	+8.5
Turnout			37,512	57.9	+3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.3

General election 2015: Leicester West^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liz Kendall	16,051	46.5	+8.1
	Conservative	Paul Bessant	8,848	25.6	–1.6
	UKIP	Stuart Young	5,950	17.2	+14.7
	Green	Peter Hague	1,878	5.4	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Bradwell	1,507	4.4	–18.2
	TUSC	Heather Rawling	288	0.8	+0.4
Majority			7,203	20.9	+9.7
Turnout			34,522	54.6	–0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.8

General election 2010: Leicester West^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liz Kendall	13,745	38.4	–12.4
	Conservative	Celia Harvey	9,728	27.2	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Coley	8,107	22.6	+4.4
	BNP	Gary Reynolds	2,158	6.0	New
	UKIP	Stephen Ingall	883	2.5	New
	Green	Geoff Forse	639	1.8	–3.0
	Independent	Steven Huggins	181	0.5	New
	TUSC	Steve Score^[12]	157	0.4	New
	Pirate	Shaun Dyer	113	0.3	New
	Independent	David Bowley	108	0.3	New
Majority			4,017	11.2	–16.1
Turnout			35,819	55.2	+2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	–7.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Leicester West^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patricia Hewitt	17,184	51.7	–2.5
	Conservative	Sarah Richardson	8,114	24.4	–0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Zuffar Haq	5,803	17.5	+2.2
	Green	Geoff Forse	1,571	4.7	+1.5
	Socialist Alternative	Steve Score	552	1.7	New
Majority			9,070	27.3	–1.7
Turnout			33,224	53.3	+2.4
	Labour hold		Swing	–0.8

General election 2001: Leicester West^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patricia Hewitt	18,014	54.2	–1.0
	Conservative	Christopher Shaw	8,375	25.2	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Vincent	5,085	15.3	+1.1
	Green	Matthew Gough	1,074	3.2	+1.8
	Socialist Labour	Sean Kirkpatrick	350	1.1	0.0
	Socialist Alliance	Stephen Score	321	1.0	New
Majority			9,639	29.0	-2.5
Turnout			33,219	50.9	–12.2
	Labour hold		Swing	–1.2

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Leicester West^[9]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patricia Hewitt	22,580	55.2	+8.4
	Conservative	Richard Thomas	9,716	23.7	–14.8
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Jones	5,795	14.2	+0.9
	Referendum	William Shooter	970	2.4	New
	Green	Geoff Forse	586	1.4	+0.3
	Socialist Labour	David Roberts	452	1.1	New
	Socialist Alternative	Josephine Nicholls	327	0.8	New
	BNP	Adrian Belshaw	302	0.7	New
	National Democrats	Clive Potter	186	0.5	New
Majority			12,864	31.5	+23.2
Turnout			40,914	63.1	–10.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.6

General election 1992: Leicester West^[16]^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Greville Janner	22,574	46.8	+2.3
	Conservative	John Guthrie	18,596	38.5	–3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey F. Walker	6,402	13.3	–0.2
	Green	Claire D. Wintram	517	1.1	New
	Natural Law	Jenny M. Rosta	171	0.4	New
Majority			3,978	8.3	+5.9
Turnout			48,260	73.7	+0.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Leicester West^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Greville Janner	22,156	44.5	–0.3
	Conservative	James Cooper	20,955	42.1	+1.0
	SDP	William Edgar	6,708	13.5	+0.8
Majority			1,201	2.4	–1.3
Turnout			49,819	73.5	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	–1.3

General election 1983: Leicester West^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Greville Janner	20,837	44.8	–8.8
	Conservative	Robert Meacham	19,125	41.1	+5.7
	SDP	Sumal Fernando	5,935	12.8	New
	BNP	Ray Hill	469	1.0	New
	Workers Revolutionary	B.J. Prangle	176	0.4	New
Majority			1,712	3.7	–14.5
Turnout			46,542	68.8	–3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	–7.3

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Leicester West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Greville Janner	26,032	53.60	+0.69
	Conservative	Alastair Ross Goobey	17,194	35.40	+5.01
	Liberal	A. Lycett	4,032	8.30	–3.31
	National Front	P. Ash	1,308	2.69	–0.75
Majority			8,838	18.20
Turnout			48,566	72.26
	Labour hold		Swing	–4.32

General election October 1974: Leicester West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Greville Janner	23,406	52.91
	Conservative	A. Simpson	13,446	30.39
	Liberal	J. Windram	5,135	11.61	New
	National Front	W. Newcombe	2,253	5.09
Majority			9,960	22.52
Turnout			44,240	68.43
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Leicester West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Greville Janner	27,195	56.28
	Conservative	A. Simpson	18,543	38.38
	National Front	W. Newcombe	2,579	5.34
Majority			8,652	17.90
Turnout			48,317	75.45
	Labour win (new seat)

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Leicester West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Barnett Janner	20,563	53.34
	National Labour	Harold Nicolson	13,348	34.63
	Liberal	Joseph Arnold Kirby	4,639	12.03
Majority			7,215	18.71	N/A
Turnout			38,550	76.80
	Labour gain from National Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Leicester West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Labour	Harold Nicolson	15,821	43.73	*New*
	Labour	John Morgan	15,734	43.49
	Liberal	Horace Crawfurd	4,621	12.77
Majority			87	0.24	N/A
Turnout			35,636	66.83
	National Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1931: Leicester West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Pickering	26,826	67.49
	Labour	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	12,923	32.51
Majority			13,903	34.98	N/A
Turnout			39,749	74.64
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Leicester West ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	22,635	55.3	+4.1
	Unionist	Paul Emrys-Evans	10,691	26.1	New
	Liberal	Charles William Hartshorn	7,617	18.6	−30.2
Majority			11,944	29.2	+26.8
Turnout			40,943	78.3	+2.2
Registered electors			52,318
	Labour hold		Swing	+17.2

General election 1924: Leicester West ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	16,047	51.2	+6.6
	Liberal	Maurice Alfred Gerothwohl	15,310	48.8	+18.6
Majority			737	2.4	−12.0
Turnout			31,357	76.1	+0.1
Registered electors			41,207
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.0

General election 1923: Leicester West ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	13,634	44.6	−0.4
	Liberal	Winston Churchill	9,236	30.2	+3.6
	Unionist	Alfred Instone	7,696	25.2	New
Majority			4,398	14.4	−2.2
Turnout			30,566	76.0	+3.5
Registered electors			40,244
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.0

General election 1922: Leicester West ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alfred Hill	12,929	45.0	+21.4
	National Democratic	Joseph Frederick Green	8,137	28.4	−48.0
	Liberal	Ernest Spero	7,631	26.6	New
Majority			4,792	16.6	N/A
Turnout			28,697	72.5	+6.3
Registered electors			39,604
	Labour gain from National Democratic		Swing	+34.7

Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Leicester West ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
C	National Democratic	Joseph Frederick Green	20,570	76.4
	Labour	Ramsay MacDonald	6,347	23.6
Majority			14,223	52.8
Turnout			26,917	66.2
Registered electors			40,634
	National Democratic win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Notes

References

52°39′N 1°10′W / 52.65°N 1.16°W / 52.65; -1.16

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