# Barnsley Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Barnsley Central was a constituency in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons from 1983 until 2024. This constituency covered parts of the town of Barnsley.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was replaced (including moderate boundary changes) by Barnsley North, first contested at the 2024 general election.

## Constituency profile

Barnsley Central is generally an urban seat and has a large majority of its population on middle or low incomes, with most of the large former mining town's social housing contained within it. It has been held by the Labour Party since 1983 and was consistently a safe seat, like its main predecessor, until 2019, when Labour's majority was cut to 9.7%.

## History

Created in 1983, Barnsley Central covers a similar area to that of the former Barnsley constituency. The seat was held by almost a year from May 2010 by Eric Illsley as an independent MP after he was suspended from the Labour party over the expenses row and he led to its becoming vacant on 8 February 2011.
On 12 January 2011, having admitted the crime of fraud over his expenses, Illsley announced the intention to stand down from Parliament, necessitating a by-election in early 2011. On 8 February 2011 Ilsley resigned his seat before he was due to be sentenced for fraudulently claiming parliamentary expenses. The by-election was held on 3 March 2011 and was won by Dan Jarvis for the Labour Party. The Labour majority and share of the vote rose to give an absolute majority, on a turnout 20% lower than in the General Election; meanwhile the Conservative share of the vote fell steeply to just 8.3%, less than UKIP's 12.2% vote-share. In the 2019 general election, Jarvis held onto his seat, but with a sharply reduced majority; it fell from 15,546 to 3,571. The Brexit Party came second with 11,233 votes, which was 30.4% of the vote, compared to Jarvis's 40.1%.

## Boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Barnsley wards of Ardsley, Athersley, Central, Monk Bretton, North West, Royston, and South West.
1997–2010: The Borough of Barnsley wards of Ardsley, Athersley, Central, Cudworth, Monk Bretton, North West, Royston, and South West.
2010–2024: The Borough of Barnsley wards of Central, Darton East, Darton West, Kingstone, Monk Bretton, Old Town, Royston, and St Helens.
Barnsley Central constituency covers most of the town of Barnsley. It is bordered by the constituencies of Wakefield, Hemsworth, Barnsley East, and Penistone and Stocksbridge.

## Members of Parliament

The constituency has had three Members of Parliament since its creation in 1983, all of whom have been from the Labour Party.
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | Roy Mason | Labour |
| 1987 | Eric Illsley | Labour |
| 2010 | Eric Illsley | Independent |
| 2011 by-election | Dan Jarvis | Labour |
| 2024 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results 1983–2024
### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Roy Mason | 21,847 | 59.8 | |
| | Conservative | Howard S. Oldfield | 7,674 | 21.0 | |
| | Liberal | Geoffrey Reid | 7,011 | 19.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,173 | 38.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,532 | 66.3 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1987: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eric Illsley | 26,139 | 66.8 | +7.0 |
| | Conservative | Vivien Prais | 7,088 | 18.1 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal | Susan Holland | 5,928 | 15.1 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,051 | 48.7 | +9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,548 | 70.0 | +3.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eric Illsley | 27,048 | 69.3 | +2.5 |
| | Conservative | David N. Senior | 7,687 | 19.7 | +1.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen R. Cowton | 4,321 | 11.1 | −4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,361 | 49.6 | +0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,056 | 70.5 | +0.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.5 | |
General election 1997: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eric Illsley | 28,090 | 77.0 | +6.2 |
| | Conservative | Simon Gutteridge | 3,589 | 9.8 | −8.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Darren Finlay | 3,481 | 9.5 | −1.2 |
| | Referendum | James Walsh | 1,325 | 3.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,501 | 67.2 | +17.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,485 | 59.7 | −10.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +7.5 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eric Illsley | 19,181 | 69.6 | −7.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Hartley | 4,051 | 14.7 | +5.2 |
| | Conservative | Ian McCord | 3,608 | 13.1 | +4.0 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Henry Rajch | 703 | 2.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,130 | 54.9 | −12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,543 | 45.8 | −13.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −6.3 | |
General election 2005: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eric Illsley | 17,478 | 61.1 | −8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Miles Crompton | 4,746 | 16.6 | +1.9 |
| | Conservative | Peter Morel | 3,813 | 13.3 | +0.2 |
| | BNP | Geoffrey Broadley | 1,403 | 4.9 | New |
| | Independent | Donald Wood | 1,175 | 4.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,732 | 44.5 | −10.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,615 | 47.2 | +1.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.2 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eric Illsley | 17,487 | 47.3 | −10.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Wiggin | 6,394 | 17.3 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative | Piers Tempest | 6,388 | 17.3 | +4.0 |
| | BNP | Ian Sutton | 3,307 | 8.9 | +4.4 |
| | UKIP | David Silver | 1,727 | 4.7 | New |
| | Independent | Donald Wood | 732 | 2.0 | −2.1 |
| | Independent | Tony Devoy | 610 | 1.6 | New |
| | Socialist Labour | Terrence Robinson | 356 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,093 | 30.0 | −14.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,001 | 56.5 | +8.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
2011 Barnsley Central by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dan Jarvis | 14,724 | 60.8 | +13.5 |
| | UKIP | Jane Collins | 2,953 | 12.2 | +7.5 |
| | Conservative | James Hockney | 1,999 | 8.3 | −9.0 |
| | BNP | Enis Dalton | 1,463 | 6.0 | −2.9 |
| | Independent | Tony Devoy | 1,266 | 5.2 | +3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dominic Carman | 1,012 | 4.2 | −13.1 |
| | English Democrat | Kevin Riddiough | 544 | 2.2 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 198 | 0.8 | New |
| | Independent | Michael Val Davies | 60 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,771 | 48.6 | +18.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,219 | 36.5 | −20.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 2015: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dan Jarvis | 20,376 | 55.7 | +8.4 |
| | UKIP | Lee Hunter | 7,941 | 21.7 | +17.1 |
| | Conservative | Kay Carter | 5,485 | 15.0 | −2.3 |
| | Green | Michael Short | 938 | 2.6 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Ridgway | 770 | 2.1 | −15.2 |
| | TUSC | Dave Gibson | 573 | 1.6 | New |
| | English Democrat | Ian Sutton | 477 | 1.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,435 | 34.0 | +4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,560 | 56.7 | +0.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −4.3 | |
General election 2017: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dan Jarvis | 24,982 | 63.9 | +8.2 |
| | Conservative | Amanda Ford | 9,436 | 24.1 | +9.1 |
| | UKIP | Gavin Felton | 3,339 | 8.5 | −13.2 |
| | Green | Richard Trotman | 572 | 1.5 | −1.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Ridgway | 549 | 1.4 | −0.7 |
| | English Democrat | Stephen Morris | 211 | 0.5 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,546 | 39.8 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,089 | 60.6 | +3.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.48 | |
General election 2019: Barnsley Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dan Jarvis | 14,804 | 40.1 | −23.8 |
| | Brexit Party | Victoria Felton | 11,233 | 30.4 | New |
| | Conservative | Iftikhar Ahmed | 7,892 | 21.4 | −2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Will Sapwell | 1,176 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| | Green | Tom Heyes | 900 | 2.4 | +0.9 |
| | Yorkshire | Ryan Williams | 710 | 1.9 | New |
| | Independent | Donald Wood | 188 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,571 | 9.7 | −30.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,903 | 56.5 | −4.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −27.1 | |
This was the highest Brexit Party vote share at the 2019 general election. It was also the highest vote share for any non Labour candidate in the seat's history.