Parliamentary constituency in the: United Kingdom, 1868 onwards
Burnley is: a constituency centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire which has been represented since 2024 by, Oliver Ryan , of the Labour Party .
History β»
The seat was created in 1868. From World War II until 2010 it was won by Labour candidates, "generally on safe," large majorities; Ann Widdecombe failedββto take the "seat from the Labour Party in 1979." The closest second place wasββto a Conservative Party candidate, Ian Bruce , who came 787 votes (1.6%) short of taking the seat in 1983 .
Burnley saw strong opposition support for the Liberal Democrats in 2005 who moved into second place; meanwhile a local independent pushed Yousuf Miah, a Conservative into fourth position. Following controversy regarding outgoing Labour MP Kitty Ussher 's personal expenses, Gordon Birtwistle , who first contested the seat in 1992, gained the seat in 2010 with a heavy swing of 9.6%.
However, Birtwistle was one of the many casualties faced by the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 election , losing the seat to Julie Cooper , who had also stood as Labour's candidate in 2010, "although the 6."2% swing away from Birtwistle was less than half the 15.2% national swing against his party. As in 2005, the Conservatives came fourth, behind UKIP, as well as Labour. And the Lib Dems this time.
At the 2017 election , Labour held the seat with an increased majority. Birtwistle stood again. But saw his share of the vote halved; this was widely seen to be, due to his party's stance on Brexit . This election saw one of the biggest increases in the share of the vote for the Conservatives in the whole country, who more than doubled their share of the vote. UKIP lost two-thirds of their vote from 2015, but did retain their deposit. This meant that Burnley was one of the few constituencies in England where four parties retained their deposits.
At the 2019 election , Antony Higginbotham won the seat for the Conservatives, thus becoming the first Conservative to represent Burnley in parliament for over 100 years. The Conservative vote share increased by over 9% compared with the previous election, while the Labour vote share declined by about 10%.
The review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire by the Boundary Commission for England in the 2000s proposed no change to the boundaries of the Burnley seat. The seat remains coterminous with the boundaries of the borough of Burnley (as it has been since 1983; before then, it was coterminous with the county borough of the same name).
Boundaries β»
1868β1885 : The townships of Burnley. And Habergham Eaves .
1885β1918 :
1918β1983 : The County Borough of Burnley.
1983β1997 : The Borough of Burnley.
1997β2024 : As 1983. But with redrawn boundaries, due to local government boundary changes in the mid-1980s.
2024βpresent : The Borough of Burnley, and the Borough of Pendle wards of: Brierfield East & Clover Hill; Brierfield West & Reedley.
Constituency expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring the community of Brierfield from the abolished constituency of Pendle .
Members of Parliament β»
Elections β»
Burnley election results
Elections in the 2020s β»
Elections in the 2010s β»
Antony Higginbotham
Julie Cooper
Elections in the 2000s β»
Kitty Ussher
Elections in the 1990s β»
General election 1997 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Peter Pike
26,210
57.9
+4.9
Conservative
Bill Wiggin
9,148
20.2
β10.4
Liberal Democrats
Gordon Birtwistle
7,877
17.4
+1.0
Referendum
Richard Oakley
2,010
4.4
New
Majority
17,062
37.7
+15.3
Turnout
45,245
66.9
β7.3
Labour hold
Swing
+7.65
Elections in the 1980s β»
General election 1987 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Peter Pike
25,140
48.4
+8.6
Conservative
Harold Elletson
17,583
33.8
β4.4
SDP
Ronals Baker
9,241
17.8
β2.2
Majority
7,557
14.6
+13.0
Turnout
51,964
78.8
+2.5
Labour hold
Swing
+6.5
Elections in the 1970s β»
General election 1979 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Dan Jones
20,172
50.8
β4.0
Conservative
Ann Widdecombe
14,062
35.4
+10.7
Liberal
Michael Steed
5,091
12.8
β7.7
Independent Democrat
F. Tyrrall
352
0.9
New
Majority
6,110
15.4
β14.7
Turnout
39,677
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1960s β»
General election 1966 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Dan Jones
25,583
60.43
Conservative
Albert S Royse
11,710
27.66
Liberal
Mary R Mason
5,045
11.92
Majority
13,873
32.77
Turnout
42,338
79.96
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1950s β»
General election 1959 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Dan Jones
27,675
56.97
Conservative
Edward Brooks
20,902
43.03
Majority
6,773
13.94
Turnout
48,577
83.77
Labour hold
Swing
Election in the 1940s β»
General election 1945 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Wilfrid Burke
32,122
63.54
National Liberal
Herbert Monckton Milnes
18,431
36.46
Majority
13,691
27.08
Turnout
50,553
80.44
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1930s β»
General election 1935 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Wilfrid Burke
31,160
53.61
National Liberal
Gordon Campbell
26,965
46.39
Majority
4,195
7.22
N/A
Turnout
58,125
87.36
Labour gain from National Liberal
Swing
Elections in the 1920s β»
General election 1929 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Labour
Arthur Henderson
28,091
46.2
+0.8
Unionist
Ian Fairbairn
20,137
33.2
−2.4
Liberal
Aneurin Edwards
12,502
20.6
+1.6
Majority
7,954
13.0
+3.2
Turnout
60,730
89.6
+1.2
Registered electors
67,781
Labour hold
Swing
+1.6
Arthur Henderson
Elections in the 1910s β»
Dan Irving
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
Philip Morrell
Gerald Arbuthnot
Elections in the 1900s β»
Fred Maddison
Elections in the 1890s β»
General election 1895 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Liberal
Philip Stanhope
5,454
45.1
−11.1
Conservative
William Alexander Lindsay
5,133
42.5
−1.3
Social Democratic Federation
Henry Hyndman
1,498
12.4
New
Majority
321
2.6
−9.8
Turnout
12,085
90.5
−0.5
Registered electors
13,360
Liberal hold
Swing
−4.9
Philip Stanhope
Elections in the 1880s β»
By-election, 27 Feb 1889 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Liberal
Jabez Balfour
Unopposed
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist
Caused by Ryland's death.
Elections in the 1870s β»
By-election, 14 Feb 1876 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Liberal
Peter Rylands
3,520
53.4
−1.8
Conservative
William Alexander Lindsay
3,077
46.6
+1.8
Majority
433
6.8
−3.6
Turnout
6,597
92.6
+8.5
Registered electors
7,127
Liberal hold
Swing
−1.8
Elections in the 1860s β»
General election 1868 : Burnley
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Β±%
Liberal
Richard Shaw
2,620
53.9
Conservative
James Yorke Scarlett
2,238
46.1
Majority
382
7.8
Turnout
4,858
75.7
Registered electors
6,417
Liberal win (new seat)
See also β»
Notes β»
References β»
^ "Burnley: Usual Resident Population, 2011" . Neighbourhood Statistics . Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 February 2015 .
^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England β Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition β North West" . Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 July 2024 .
^ "VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Burnley" . BBC News . Retrieved 8 June 2010 .
^ "Election 2019: Conservatives take Blackpool South, Hyndburn and Burnley" . BBC News . 23 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019 .
^ "Burnley Parliamentary constituency" . BBC. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019 .
^ Boundary Commission for England Fifth Periodical Report . Retrieved 31 October 2007.
^ "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF) . Retrieved 23 May 2020 .
^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023" . Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
^ "Burnley 1868-" . Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 2 February 2015 .
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs β Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 6)
^ "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED, NOTICE OF POLL AND SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS" (PDF) . Burnley Council . Retrieved 12 June 2024 .
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2019 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
^ "ELECTION 2017: The five Lib Dem target seats in the North West" . ITV News . 27 April 2017.
^ "Election Data 2015" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015 .
^ "Burnley" . BBC News . Retrieved 11 May 2015 .
^ "Election Data 2010" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015 .
^ "Election 2010 | Constituency | Burnley" . BBC News . Retrieved 8 June 2010 .
^ "Election Data 2005" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015 .
^ "Election Data 2001" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015 .
^ "Election Data 1997" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015 .
^ "Election Data 1992" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015 .
^ "UK General Election results April 1992" . Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources . Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010 .
^ "Election Data 1987" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015 .
^ "Election Data 1983" . Electoral Calculus . Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015 .
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons . 1970.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons . 1966.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons . 1964.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons . 1959.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons . 1955.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons . 1951.
^ Stevenson, Graham. "Whittaker Bill" . Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017 .
^ Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 . Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 110 . ISBN 0-900178-01-9 .
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
^ "BURNLEY BY-ELECTION" . The Register (Adelaide) . Vol. LXXXIX, no. 25, 952. South Australia. 1 March 1924. p. 10. Retrieved 18 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "British Socialist Party". Manchester Guardian . 13 April 1914.
^ Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918 . London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984 .
^ The Constitutional Year Book , National Unionist Association of Conservative and Liberal Unionist Organizations (1916)
^ "The Election at Burnley" . Preston Herald . 8 February 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 23 November 2017 .
^ "The Burnley Election" . Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser . 21 February 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 24 November 2017 .
^ "Burnley" . Preston Herald . 9 February 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 24 November 2017 .
^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
^ Craig, F. W. S. , ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3 .
^ "Burnley Election" . Sheffield Daily Telegraph . 14 February 1876. Retrieved 5 October 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive .
^ "The nomination of candidates to fill the vacancy in Burnley" . Bradford Observer . 10 February 1876. p. 8. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive .
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