# Brighouse and Spenborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Brighouse and Spenborough was a parliamentary constituency in the West Riding of Yorkshire, comprising the two municipal boroughs of Brighouse and Spenborough and neighbouring areas. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

## Boundaries

1950–1955: The Borough of Brighouse, and the Urban Districts of Queensberry and Shelf, and Spenborough.
1955–1983: The Borough of Brighouse, the Urban District of Heckmondwike, and the Urban District of Spenborough (a borough from 29 July 1955).

## History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election. The boundaries were redrawn for the 1955 general election: Queensbury and Shelf Urban District was transferred to Bradford South while Heckmondwike Urban District was added to this seat from the pre-1955 Dewsbury. These boundaries were used until the constituency's abolition for the 1983 general election.
In 1983 parliamentary seats were reorganised to reflect the changes in local government introduced in 1974. The area had become part of the Metropolitan County of West Yorkshire and was divided between two new constituencies: Batley and Spen (including Heckmondwike and Spenborough) and Calder Valley (including Brighouse). This seat's last MP, the Conservative Gary Waller, moved to the redrawn Keighley constituency, which he held until 1997.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| | 1950 | Frederick Cobb | Labour | Previously MP for Elland from 1945. Died March 1950 |
| | 1950 by-election | John Edwards | Labour | Died November 1959 |
| | 1960 by-election | Michael Shaw | National Liberal |
| | 1964 | Colin Jackson | Labour |
| | 1970 | Wilfred Proudfoot | Conservative |
| | Feb 1974 | Colin Jackson | Labour |
| | 1979 | Gary Waller | Conservative | |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished: see Batley and Spen & Calder Valley | constituency abolished: see Batley and Spen & Calder Valley |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frederick Cobb | 25,588 | 52.17 | |
| | National Liberal | William Woolley | 23,456 | 47.83 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,132 | 4.34 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,044 | 88.04 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
1950 Brighouse and Spenborough by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Edwards | 24,004 | 50.5 | −1.71 |
| | National Liberal | William Woolley | 23,567 | 49.5 | +1.71 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 437 | 0.91 | −3.43 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,571 | 85.4 | −2.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −1.71 | |
General election 1951: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Edwards | 26,105 | 52.28 | +0.11 |
| | National Liberal | William Woolley | 23,828 | 47.72 | −0.11 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,277 | 4.56 | +0.21 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,933 | 88.69 | +0.65 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.11 | |
General election 1955: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Edwards | 23,674 | 51.78 | −0.50 |
| | National Liberal | Frederick William Howard Cook | 22,048 | 48.22 | +0.50 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,626 | 3.56 | −1.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,722 | 83.72 | −4.97 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.50 | |
General election 1959: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Edwards | 23,290 | 50.05 | −1.73 |
| | National Liberal | Michael Shaw | 23,243 | 49.95 | +1.73 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 47 | 0.10 | −3.46 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,533 | 85.50 | +1.78 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.73 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1960 Brighouse and Spenborough by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Michael Shaw | 22,472 | 50.8 | +0.9 |
| | Labour | Colin Jackson | 21,806 | 49.2 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 666 | 1.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,278 | | |
| | National Liberal gain from Labour | National Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | +0.8 | |
General election 1964: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Jackson | 20,734 | 44.16 | −7.62 |
| | National Liberal | Michael Shaw | 19,812 | 42.19 | −6.03 |
| | Liberal | James Pickles | 6,411 | 13.65 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 922 | 1.97 | +3.47 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,957 | 85.28 | −0.22 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.8 | |
General election 1966: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Jackson | 25,740 | 54.82 | +10.66 |
| | Conservative | Cyril Donald Chapman | 21,216 | 45.18 | +2.99 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,524 | 9.64 | +7.68 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,956 | 83.96 | −1.32 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.80 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Wilf Proudfoot | 22,953 | 46.3 | +1.1 |
| | Labour | Colin Jackson | 22,894 | 46.1 | −8.7 |
| | Liberal | George Henry Manley | 3,781 | 7.62 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 59 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,628 | 80.54 | −3.42 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +4.86 | |
General election February 1974: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Jackson | 22,107 | 41.04 | −5.09 |
| | Conservative | Wilf Proudfoot | 20,561 | 38.17 | −8.08 |
| | Liberal | Patrick G Robertshaw | 11,029 | 20.47 | +12.85 |
| | Ind. Democratic Alliance | Shirley Milner | 169 | 0.31 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,546 | 2.87 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,866 | 85.31 | +4.77 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -1.99 | |
General election October 1974: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Jackson | 21,964 | 43.91 | +2.87 |
| | Conservative | Wilf Proudfoot | 19,787 | 39.56 | +1.39 |
| | Liberal | John Smithson | 8,265 | 16.52 | −3.95 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,177 | 4.35 | +1.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,976 | 78.59 | −6.72 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.74 | |
General election 1979: Brighouse and Spenborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gary Waller | 23,448 | 44.71 | +5.15 |
| | Labour | Michael McGowan | 21,714 | 41.41 | −2.50 |
| | Liberal | R Thomas | 7,278 | 13.88 | −2.70 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,734 | 3.30 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,440 | 80.17 | +1.58 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +3.83 | |