# Huddersfield West (UK Parliament constituency)

53°38′46″N 1°48′11″W﻿ / ﻿53.646°N 1.803°W﻿ / 53.646; -1.803
Huddersfield West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election.
It was a much more marginal seat than its neighbour, Huddersfield East, which was safely Labour, and was alternately held by the Liberals, Labour Party and finally the Conservatives in 1979.

## Boundaries

1950–1955:The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Birkby, Crosland Moor, Lindley, Lockwood, Longwood, Marsh, Milnsbridge, and Paddock.
1955–1983: The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Birkby, Crosland Moor, Lindley, Lockwood, Longwood, Marsh, Milnsbridge, Newsome, and Paddock.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1950 | Donald Wade | Liberal |
| | 1964 | Ken Lomas | Labour |
| | 1979 | Geoffrey Dickens | Conservative |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished: see Huddersfield and Colne Valley | constituency abolished: see Huddersfield and Colne Valley |
When this seat was abolished in 1983, Dickens was elected MP for the new seat of Littleborough and Saddleworth, which he held until he died in 1995. Most of the area which this seat covered is now held by Labour within the Huddersfield constituency however its western outskirts now fall under Colne Valley which is a marginal Conservative seat.

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Donald Wade | 24,456 | 58.2 | |
| | Labour | Harold William Bolt | 17,542 | 41.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,914 | 16.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,998 | 86.9 | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Donald Wade | 24,054 | 58.5 | +0.3 |
| | Labour | Harold William Bolt | 17,066 | 41.5 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,988 | 17.0 | +0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,120 | 85.9 | −1.0 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Donald Wade | 24,345 | 55.1 | −3.4 |
| | Labour | John Frederick Drabble | 16,418 | 44.9 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,927 | 10.2 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,763 | 79.3 | −6.3 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1959: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Donald Wade | 25,273 | 61.8 | +6.7 |
| | Labour | James Marsden | 15,621 | 38.2 | −6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,652 | 23.6 | +13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,894 | 79.7 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Lomas | 14,808 | 35.8 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal | Donald Wade | 13,528 | 32.7 | −29.1 |
| | Conservative | John Addey | 13,054 | 31.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,280 | 3.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,390 | 81.6 | +1.9 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Lomas | 17,990 | 43.9 | +8.1 |
| | Conservative | Marcus Fox | 13,514 | 33.0 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal | Ruslyn Hargreaves | 9,470 | 23.1 | −9.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,476 | 10.9 | +7.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,974 | 82.3 | +0.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Lomas | 16,866 | 41.0 | −2.9 |
| | Conservative | Richard Storey | 16,673 | 40.6 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal | William Wallace | 6,128 | 14.9 | −8.2 |
| | National Front | Ronald Scott | 1,427 | 3.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 193 | 0.4 | −10.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,094 | 77.3 | −5.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Lomas | 17,434 | 39.6 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | John Stansfield | 16,804 | 38.2 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal | Kathleen Hasler | 9,790 | 22.2 | +7.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 630 | 1.4 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,028 | 82.9 | +5.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Lomas | 16,882 | 41.4 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative | John Stansfield | 15,518 | 38.0 | −0.2 |
| | Liberal | Kathleen Hasler | 7,503 | 18.4 | −3.8 |
| | National Front | D. Ford | 760 | 1.9 | New |
| | More Prosperous Britain | Harold Smith | 136 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,364 | 3.4 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,799 | 76.3 | −5.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Huddersfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Dickens | 18,504 | 44.2 | +6.2 |
| | Labour | Richard Faulkner | 16,996 | 40.6 | −0.8 |
| | Liberal | Kathleen Hasler | 6,225 | 14.9 | −3.5 |
| | More Prosperous Britain | Tom Keen | 101 | 0.2 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,508 | 3.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,826 | 76.0 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |