# Pontefract and Castleford (UK Parliament constituency)

53°42′29″N 1°18′58″W﻿ / ﻿53.708°N 1.316°W﻿ / 53.708; -1.316
Pontefract and Castleford was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 2010 general election. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

## Boundaries

1974–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Castleford and Pontefract, and the Urban District of Featherstone.
1983–2010: The City of Wakefield wards of Castleford Ferry Fryston, Castleford Glasshoughton, Castleford Whitwood, Knottingley, Pontefract North, and Pontefract South.
The constituency covered the West Yorkshire towns of Pontefract and Castleford. It was a very safe Labour seat, made up of former mining towns and villages. The MP from 1997 until its abolition in 2010, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is married to former fellow Labour MP, former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls.

### Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in West Yorkshire, the number of seats in West Yorkshire were reduced by one due to population decline by the Boundary Commission for England. A new, geographically larger, constituency called Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford was created in 2010 including the whole of this constituency.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| Feb 1974 | Joe Harper | Labour |
| 1978 by-election | Sir Geoffrey Lofthouse | Labour |
| 1997 | Yvette Cooper | Labour |
| 2010 | Constituency abolished: see Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford | Constituency abolished: see Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Yvette Cooper | 20,973 | 63.7 | −6.0 |
| | Conservative | Simon Jones | 5,727 | 17.4 | −0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wesley Paxton | 3,942 | 12.0 | +4.6 |
| | BNP | Suzy Cass | 1,835 | 5.6 | New |
| | Alliance for Green Socialism | Bob Hague | 470 | 1.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,246 | 46.3 | −5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,947 | 53.3 | +3.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 2001: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Yvette Cooper | 21,890 | 69.7 | −6.0 |
| | Conservative | Pamela Singleton | 5,512 | 17.6 | +4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wesley Paxton | 2,315 | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| | UKIP | John Burdon | 739 | 2.4 | New |
| | Socialist Labour | Trevor Bolderson | 605 | 1.9 | New |
| | Socialist Alliance | John Gill | 330 | 1.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,378 | 52.1 | −10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,391 | 49.7 | −16.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Yvette Cooper | 31,339 | 75.7 | +5.8 |
| | Conservative | Adrian Flook | 5,614 | 13.6 | −7.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wesley Paxton | 3,042 | 7.4 | −1.8 |
| | Referendum | Richard Wood | 1,401 | 3.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25,725 | 62.1 | +13.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,396 | 66.3 | −8.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1992: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Lofthouse | 33,546 | 69.9 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative | Anthony George Mortimer Rockall | 10,051 | 20.9 | −0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Lawrence Ryan | 4,410 | 9.2 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,495 | 49.0 | +3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,007 | 74.3 | +0.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.6 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Lofthouse | 31,656 | 66.9 | +9.8 |
| | Conservative | Julian Malins | 10,051 | 21.2 | −4.6 |
| | Alliance | Michael Taylor | 5,334 | 11.3 | −5.8 |
| | Red Front | Daniel McFarlane-Lees | 295 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,626 | 45.7 | +14.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,315 | 73.5 | +7.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1983: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Lofthouse | 24,990 | 57.1 |
| | Conservative | Barry Howell | 11,299 | 25.8 |
| | Alliance | Douglas Dale | 7,452 | 17.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,691 | 31.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,741 | 67.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Lofthouse | 30,566 | 68.1 | −2.3 |
| | Conservative | Hugo Page | 10,665 | 23.8 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal | Leslie Marsh | 3,616 | 8.0 | −4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,901 | 44.3 | −9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,837 | 73.9 | +2.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
1978 Pontefract and Castleford by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Lofthouse | 19,508 | 65.8 | −4.6 |
| | Conservative | Hugo Page | 8,080 | 27.3 | +11.1 |
| | Liberal | Leslie Marsh | 2,054 | 6.9 | −5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,428 | 38.5 | −15.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,642 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −7.9 | |
General election October 1974: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Harper | 30,208 | 70.4 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | I. Bloomer | 6,966 | 16.2 | −6.9 |
| | Liberal | S. Galloway | 5,259 | 12.3 | New |
| | Workers Revolutionary | T. Parsons | 457 | 1.1 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,242 | 54.2 | +2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,890 | 71.1 | −6.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Pontefract and Castleford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Harper | 34,409 | 74.8 | |
| | Conservative | Richard Needham | 10,605 | 23.1 | |
| | Workers Revolutionary | B. Lavery | 991 | 2.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,804 | 51.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,005 | 77.1 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |