# Dearne Valley (UK Parliament constituency)

Dearne Valley was a Parliamentary constituency in South Yorkshire. The constituency was created in 1950 and abolished in 1983. Consisting of small towns and villages based around the Yorkshire coalfields, it was one of the Labour Party's safest seats with large majorities in its history between 20-30,000 votes over other parties.

## Boundaries

The Urban Districts of Conisbrough, Darfield, Mexborough, Swinton, Wath upon Dearne, and Wombwell.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | Wilfred Paling | Labour |
| 1959 | Edwin Wainwright | Labour |
| 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 31,783 | 68.8 | −5.3 |
| | Conservative | J. R. Pattman | 9,048 | 19.6 | +6.1 |
| | Liberal | P. Hargreaves | 5,352 | 11.6 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,735 | 49.2 | −11.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,183 | 72.0 | +1.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 33,315 | 74.1 | +5.3 |
| | Conservative | Peter Wood | 6,046 | 13.5 | −0.3 |
| | Liberal | P. Hargreaves | 5,588 | 12.4 | −3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27,269 | 60.6 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,949 | 71.0 | −9.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 34,727 | 68.8 | −6.3 |
| | Liberal | P. Hargreaves | 7,873 | 15.6 | +5.8 |
| | Conservative | Peter Wood | 6,950 | 13.8 | −1.3 |
| | Independent | A. E. Wilson | 906 | 1.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 26,854 | 53.2 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,456 | 80.5 | +8.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1970: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 33,966 | 75.1 | −6.5 |
| | Conservative | Arthur B. Cowl | 6,848 | 15.1 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal | Peter Hargreaves | 4,426 | 9.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27,118 | 60.0 | −8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,240 | 71.8 | −4.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 36,735 | 81.6 | +0.9 |
| | Conservative | John W. Roberts | 6,121 | 13.6 | −5.6 |
| | Independent | Peter Hargreaves | 2,170 | 4.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30,614 | 68.0 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,026 | 76.7 | −2.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1964: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 38,101 | 80.7 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative | Bernard Bligh | 9,069 | 19.2 | −3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 29,032 | 61.5 | +6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,170 | 79.1 | −5.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwin Wainwright | 39,088 | 77.7 | −0.2 |
| | Conservative | David S. W. Blacker | 11,205 | 22.3 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27,883 | 55.4 | −0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,293 | 84.6 | +4.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Wilfred Paling | 36,718 | 77.9 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative | Rowland Winn | 10,402 | 22.1 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 26,316 | 55.8 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,120 | 80.6 | −5.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Wilfred Paling | 39,782 | 79.6 | 0.0 |
| | Conservative | Jack Sizer | 10,197 | 20.4 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 29,585 | 59.2 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,979 | 85.9 | −2.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1950: Dearne Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Wilfred Paling | 40,420 | 79.6 |
| | National Liberal | Aymée Lavender Gandar Dower | 10,365 | 20.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30,055 | 59.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,785 | 88.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |