Don Valley (UK Parliament constituency)

For the Canadian Parliament constituency of the same name, see Don Valley (Canadian electoral district).

Don Valley was a constituency^{[n 1]} in South Yorkshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2019 until its abolition by Nick Fletcher of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]}

Don Valley
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
2010–2024 boundary of Don Valley in South Yorkshire
Location of South Yorkshire within England
County	South Yorkshire
Electorate	74,456 (December 2019)[1]
1918–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Doncaster
Replaced by	Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme Rawmarsh and Conisbrough (part) Doncaster Central (minor part)

Further to the completion of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was subject to boundary changes which included gain of the Isle of Axholme in the Borough of North Lincolnshire and the loss of Conisbrough to the new constituency of Rawmarsh and Conisbrough. As a consequence, it was renamed Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, and was first contested at the 2024 general election.^[2]

Constituency profile

Created in 1918, Don Valley is a former coal mining area which elected only Labour MPs from 1922 to 2019. The seat recorded a strong Brexit vote (69%) in the 2016 referendum.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1918—1950: The Urban Districts of Mexborough and Tickhill, and the Rural Districts of Doncaster and Thorne.

1950—1983: The Urban Districts of Adwick-le-Street, Bentley with Arksey, and Tickhill, and the Rural District of Doncaster.

1983—1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster wards of Conisbrough, Edlington and Warmsworth, Mexborough, Richmond, Rossington, South East, and Southern Parks.

1997—2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster wards of Conisbrough, Edlington and Warmsworth, Hatfield, Rossington, South East, and Southern Parks.

2010—2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster wards of Conisbrough and Denaby, Edlington and Warmsworth, Finningley, Hatfield, Rossington, Thorne, and Torne Valley.

The current constituency consists of the southern Borough of Doncaster, from Hatfield and the Humberhead Peatlands Nature Reserve in the north and northeast, through Branton, Auckley, and Rossington, to the Torne Valley electoral ward which consists of Wadworth, Tickhill, Braithwell, and in the west Conisbrough.

In boundary changes which took effect at the 2010 election, Sprotbrough was moved to Doncaster North, while in the east the town of Thorne was moved from Doncaster North into Don Valley.

Members of Parliament

Doncaster prior to 1918

Election		Member[3]	Party
	1918	James Walton	Coalition National Democratic
	1922	Thomas Williams	Labour
	1959	Richard Kelley	Labour
	1979	Michael Welsh	Labour
	1983	Martin Redmond	Labour
	1997	Caroline Flint	Labour
	2019	Nick Fletcher	Conservative
	2024	Constituency abolished

Election results 1918–2024

Don Valley general election results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	National Democratic	James Walton	6,095	46.2
	Liberal	Hastings Lees-Smith	3,868	29.3
	Labour	Edward Hough	3,226	24.5
Majority			2,227	16.9
Turnout			13,189	45.9
Registered electors			28,724
	National Democratic win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	9,903	47.0	22.5
	National Democratic	James Walton	5,797	27.6	18.6
	Liberal	John Henry Freeborough	5,332	25.4	3.9
Majority			4,106	19.4	N/A
Turnout			21,032	65.4	19.5
Registered electors			32,175
	Labour gain from National Democratic		Swing	20.6

General election 1923: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	12,898	60.4	13.4
	Unionist	John Wells Reynolds	8,451	39.6	New
Majority			4,447	20.8	1.4
Turnout			21,349	62.2	3.2
Registered electors			34,339
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1924: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	14,598	53.9	6.5
	Unionist	John Wells Reynolds	12,463	46.1	6.5
Majority			2,135	7.8	13.0
Turnout			27,421	72.8	10.6
Registered electors			37,184
	Labour hold		Swing	6.5

General election 1929: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	31,466	73.3	19.4
	Unionist	Walter Liddall	11,467	26.7	19.4
Majority			19,999	46.6	38.8
Turnout			42,933	69.7	3.1
Registered electors			61,604
	Labour hold		Swing	19.4

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	27,599	58.6	14.7
	Conservative	Samuel Hardwick	19,506	41.4	14.7
Majority			8,093	17.2	29.4
Turnout			47,105	71.2	1.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1935: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	33,220	68.9	10.3
	Conservative	John Arbuthnot	14,961	31.1	10.3
Majority			18,259	37.8	20.6
Turnout			48,181	70.0	1.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	40,153	71.7	2.8
	Conservative	J. J. A. N. Ross	15,832	28.3	2.8
Majority			24,321	43.4	5.6
Turnout			55,985	73.2	3.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	39,789	74.0	2.3
	Conservative	Douglas Graham	12,982	24.1	4.2
	Communist	Samuel Taylor	1,007	1.9	New
Majority			26,807	49.9	6.5
Turnout			53,778	87.7	14.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	39,687	74.1	0.1
	Conservative	David S B Hopkins	13,862	25.9	1.8
Majority			25,825	48.2	1.7
Turnout			53,549	85.9	1.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Williams	38,433	73.7	0.4
	Conservative	Jack Victor Thornton	13,701	26.3	0.4
Majority			24,732	47.4	0.8
Turnout			52,134	81.2	4.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Kelley	40,935	70.9	2.8
	Conservative	Geoffrey Dodsworth	16,787	29.1	2.8
Majority			24,148	41.8	5.6
Turnout			57,722	83.8	2.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Kelley	42,452	71.9	1.0
	Conservative	David Philip Jeffcock	16,593	28.1	1.0
Majority			25,859	43.8	2.0
Turnout			59,045	80.8	3.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1966: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Kelley	43,973	74.9	3.0
	Conservative	Richard Storey	14,738	25.1	3.0
Majority			29,235	49.8	6.0
Turnout			58,711	78.3	2.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Kelley	42,496	69.5	5.4
	Conservative	Timothy Walter G Jackson	18,673	30.5	5.4
Majority			23,823	39.0	10.8
Turnout			61,169	73.1	5.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Kelley	48,737	70.1	0.6
	Conservative	P. J. Le Bosquet	20,792	29.9	0.6
Majority			27,945	40.2	1.2
Turnout			69,529	79.1	6.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Kelley	41,187	63.3	6.8
	Conservative	Peter J. Le Bosquet	13,767	21.1	8.8
	Liberal	E. Simpson	10,161	15.6	New
Majority			27,420	42.2	2.0
Turnout			65,115	73.6	5.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Don Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Welsh	39,603	55.6	7.7
	Conservative	Roger Freeman	22,243	31.2	10.1
	Liberal	E. Simpson	8,238	11.6	4.0
	Workers Party	I. Connelly	720	1.0	New
	Workers Revolutionary	T. McCabe	398	0.6	New
Majority			17,360	24.4	17.8
Turnout			71,202	74.7	1.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Don Valley^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Redmond	23,036	45.1	10.5
	Conservative	Brenda Utting	16,570	32.4	1.2
	Liberal	Donald Lange	11,482	22.5	10.9
Majority			6,466	12.7	11.7
Turnout			51,088	69.9	4.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1987: Don Valley^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Redmond	29,200	53.1	8.0
	Conservative	Charles Gallagher	17,733	32.3	0.1
	Liberal	Wilfrid Whitaker	8,027	11.9	10.6
Majority			11,467	20.8	8.1
Turnout			54,960	73.8	3.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Don Valley^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Redmond	32,008	55.0	1.9
	Conservative	Nicholas Paget-Brown	18,474	31.7	0.6
	Liberal Democrats	M Jevons	6,920	11.9	0.0
	Green	TS Platt	803	1.4	New
Majority			13,534	23.3	2.5
Turnout			58,205	76.3	2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

General election 1997: Don Valley^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Flint	25,376	58.3	3.3
	Conservative	Clare H. Gledhill	10,717	24.6	7.1
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Johnston	4,238	9.7	2.2
	Referendum	Paul R. Davis	1,379	3.2	New
	Socialist Labour	Nigel Ball	1,024	2.4	New
	Green	Stephen Platt	493	1.1	0.3
	ProLife Alliance	Claire D. Johnson	330	0.8	New
Majority			14,659	33.7	10.4
Turnout			43,557	66.4	9.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Don Valley^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Flint	20,009	54.6	3.7
	Conservative	James Browne	10,489	28.6	4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Smith	4,089	11.2	1.5
	Independent	Terry Wilde	800	2.2	New
	UKIP	David Cooper	777	2.1	New
	Socialist Labour	Nigel Ball	466	1.3	1.1
Majority			9,520	26.0	7.7
Turnout			36,630	54.8	11.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 2005: Don Valley^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Flint	19,418	52.7	1.9
	Conservative	Adam Duguid	10,820	29.4	0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Stewart Arnold	6,626	18.0	6.8
Majority			8,598	23.3	2.7
Turnout			36,864	55.1	0.7
	Labour hold		Swing	1.3

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Don Valley^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Flint	16,472	37.9	18.6
	Conservative	Matt Stephens	12,877	29.7	2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Edwin Simpson	7,422	17.1	0.6
	BNP	Erwin Toseland	2,112	4.9	New
	UKIP	William Shaw	1,904	4.4	New
	English Democrat	Bernie Aston	1,756	4.0	New
	Independent	Martin Williams	887	2.0	New
Majority			3,595	8.2	15.1
Turnout			43,430	59.3	4.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 2015: Don Valley^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Flint	19,621	46.2	8.3
	Conservative	Carl Jackson	10,736	25.3	4.4
	UKIP	Guy Aston	9,963	23.5	19.1
	Liberal Democrats	Rene Paterson	1,487	3.5	13.6
	TUSC	Steve Williams	437	1.0	New
	English Democrat	Louise Dutton	242	0.6	3.4
Majority			8,885	20.9	12.7
Turnout			42,486	59.6	0.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 2017: Don Valley^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caroline Flint	24,351	53.0	6.8
	Conservative	Aaron Bell	19,182	41.7	16.4
	Yorkshire	Stevie Manion	1,599	3.5	New
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Smith	856	1.9	1.6
Majority			5,169	11.3	9.6
Turnout			45,988	62.2	2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	4.8

General election 2019: Don Valley^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Fletcher	19,609	43.2	1.5
	Labour	Caroline Flint	15,979	35.2	17.8
	Brexit Party	Paul Whitehurst	6,247	13.7	New
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Alcock	1,907	4.2	2.3
	Green	Kate Needham	872	1.9	New
	Yorkshire	Chris Holmes	823	1.8	1.7
Majority			3,630	8.0	N/A
Turnout			45,437	60.3	1.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	8.1

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in South Yorkshire

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.