# Elmet (UK Parliament constituency)

Elmet was a county constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
From 1997 the MP was Colin Burgon of Labour, who did not stand in the 2010 general election.

## Boundaries

The City of Leeds wards of Barwick and Kippax, Garforth and Swillington, Wetherby, and Whinmoor.
The constituency was created in 1983 to cover the far eastern wards of Leeds and neighbouring areas, notably Wetherby, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Garforth and Swillington. It also includes the Whinmoor area of east Leeds. Initially the Boundary Commission for England proposed calling the constituency Leeds East, with the existing Leeds East constituency being renamed Leeds East Central. This was opposed during local enquiries where the seat was instead named for the ancient kingdom of Elmet although it covers a significantly smaller area. Wetherby and Garforth were the largest settlements in the constituency.

### Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representations in West Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England created a new seat, Elmet and Rothwell, reducing the number of seats in the region by one.

## History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Barkston Ash, Leeds East, and Normanton. Elmet was historically always a marginal seat due to the demographic makeup of the region, in contrast to Barkston Ash which was traditionally Tory.
After the 1983 general election the metropolitan district of the City of Leeds was represented by the constituencies of Elmet, Leeds Central, Leeds East, Leeds North East, Leeds North West, Leeds West, Morley and Leeds South and Pudsey.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | Spencer Batiste | Conservative |
| 1997 | Colin Burgon | Labour |
| 2010 | constituency abolished: see Elmet and Rothwell | constituency abolished: see Elmet and Rothwell |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Elmet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Spencer Batiste | 23,909 | 47.3 | |
| | Labour | Roy Wilson | 16,053 | 31.7 | |
| | Liberal | Gillian Paterson | 10,589 | 21.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,856 | 15.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,551 | 75.4 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1987: Elmet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Spencer Batiste | 25,658 | 46.9 | −0.4 |
| | Labour | Colin Burgon | 20,302 | 37.1 | +5.4 |
| | SDP | John Macarthur | 8,755 | 16.0 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,356 | 9.8 | −5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,715 | 79.3 | +3.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Elmet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Spencer Batiste | 27,677 | 47.5 | +0.6 |
| | Labour | Colin Burgon | 24,416 | 41.9 | +4.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ann Beck | 6,144 | 10.5 | −5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,261 | 5.6 | −4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,237 | 82.4 | +3.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.1 | |
General election 1997: Elmet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Burgon | 28,348 | 52.4 | +10.5 |
| | Conservative | Spencer Batiste | 19,569 | 36.2 | −11.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Brian Jennings | 4,691 | 8.7 | −1.8 |
| | Referendum | Christopher Zawadski | 1,487 | 2.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,779 | 16.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,185 | 76.8 | −5.6 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.9 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Elmet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Burgon | 22,038 | 48.0 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Millard | 17,867 | 38.9 | +2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Madeleine Kirk | 5,001 | 10.9 | +2.2 |
| | UKIP | Andrew Spence | 1,031 | 2.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,171 | 9.1 | −7.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,937 | 65.6 | −11.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 2005: Elmet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Burgon | 22,260 | 47.2 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Millard | 17,732 | 37.6 | −1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Madeleine Kirk | 5,923 | 12.6 | +1.7 |
| | BNP | Tracy Andrews | 1,231 | 2.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,528 | 9.6 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,146 | 68.8 | +3.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |