Keighley and Ilkley (UK Parliament constituency)

Keighley and Ilkley /ˈkiːθli/ ^ⓘ is a constituency in West Yorkshire^{[n 1]} created in 1885 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament^{[n 2]} since 2019 by Robbie Moore of the Conservative Party.

Keighley and Ilkley
County constituency for the House of Commons
Interative map of boundaries since 1983
Boundary within Yorkshire and the Humber
County	West Yorkshire
Electorate	73,384 (December 2019)[1]
Major settlements	Keighley, Ilkley, Haworth
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Robbie Moore (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Northern West Riding of Yorkshire

Although the constituency had contained the town of Ilkley since 1983, it was formally known as Keighley until the 2024 general election. Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, there were no changes to the constituency boundaries, but the Boundary Commission for England recommended that it be renamed Keighley and Ilkley.^[2][3]

History

Since 1959, the seat has been a bellwether (its winner affiliated to the winning party nationally), with three exceptions: in 1979 and 2017, the seat leant to the left, bucking the national result, while in 2024, the seat was held by the Conservatives despite a landslide victory for the Labour party nationally.

Keighley is one of 9 seats won (held or gained) by a Conservative candidate in 2019 from a total of 22 covering its county. Moore's 2019 win was one of 47 net gains by the Conservative Party.

The seat has been considered – relative to others – a marginal seat, as well as a swing seat, since 2005, as its winner's majority has not exceeded 6.2% of the vote since the 10.5% majority won in 2005, and the seat has changed hands three times since that year.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The parishes in the Wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewecross of Cowling, Glusburn, Keighley, Steeton with Eastburn, and Sutton, and the parishes of Haworth, Thornton, and Wilsden.

1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Keighley, the Urban Districts of Denholme, Haworth, Oakworth, Oxenhope, and Silsden, and the Rural District of Keighley.

1950–1983: The Municipal Borough of Keighley, the Urban Districts of Denholme and Silsden, and in the Rural District of Skipton the parishes of Steeton with Eastburn, and Sutton.

1983–2010: The City of Bradford wards of Craven, Ilkley, Keighley North, Keighley South, Keighley West, and Worth Valley.

2010–present: The City of Bradford wards of Craven, Ilkley, Keighley Central, Keighley East, Keighley West, and Worth Valley.

Unlike many constituencies, the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries of the newly named constituency unchanged for the 2024 general election;^[4] indeed its boundaries have remained unchanged since the 1983 redistribution.

Constituency profile

This constituency covers the town and outskirts of Keighley in West Yorkshire. It comprises the mostly Labour voting area of Keighley itself, the Conservative voting spa town of Ilkley, and the rural areas of Craven and Worth Valley which are also mostly Conservative voting. The seat has a large minority with Asian heritage, especially from Pakistan and Bangladesh.^[5] The seat is also a semi-reliable bellwether of the national result; it has voted for the party to form the government in every election since the Second World War except the 1951, 1955, 1979 and 2017 elections, in which it elected Labour MPs despite the Conservatives forming the government, and in the 2024 election when it elected a Conservative MP despite Labour forming the government.

Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as being part of the “Centrists” demographic, those who generally have average opinions on the economy, nationalism and social issues. Other metrics include support for Brexit, which was 53% back in 2016, and deprivation, in terms of employment, income and education, which is 51%, according to the site. For general statistics, the average age is 51.4, at least 78% of the local population owns a car, whilst 72% own a home, and the gross household income is £40,635.^[6]

Members of Parliament

Since the 1950s, Keighley has been a marginal seat between Labour and the Conservatives. The MP from 1997 was Labour's Ann Cryer, widow of Bob Cryer who was MP for the same seat from 1974 to 1983 (and then for Bradford South, 1987–1994). She retired at the 2010 general election.

John Brigg

Election		Member[7]	Party
	1885	Sir Isaac Holden	Liberal
	1895	John Brigg	Liberal
	1911	Stanley Buckmaster	Liberal
	1915	Swire Smith	Liberal
	1918	William Somervell	Liberal
	1918	Robert Clough	Unionist
	1922	Hastings Lees-Smith	Labour
	1923	Robert Pilkington	Liberal
	1924	Hastings Lees-Smith	Labour
	1931	George Harvie-Watt	Conservative
	1935	Hastings Lees-Smith	Labour
	1942	Ivor Bulmer-Thomas	Labour
	1948		Conservative
	1950	Charles Hobson	Labour
	1959	Marcus Worsley	Conservative
	1964	John Binns	Labour
	1970	Joan Hall	Conservative
	1974	Bob Cryer	Labour
	1983	Gary Waller	Conservative
	1997	Ann Cryer	Labour
	2010	Kris Hopkins	Conservative
	2017	John Grogan	Labour
	2019	Robbie Moore	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Keighley and Ilkley^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robbie Moore	18,589	40.3	−7.9
	Labour	John Grogan	16,964	36.7	−7.2
	Reform UK	Andrew Mark Judson	4,782	10.4	+8.8
	Green	John Wood	2,447	5.3	N/A
	Independent	Vaz Shabir	2,036	4.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Adams	970	2.1	−2.8
	Yorkshire	Dominic James Atlas	389	0.8	−0.4
Majority			1,625	3.6	−0.6
Turnout			46,177	62.1	−10.0
Registered electors			74,367
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.3

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Keighley^[10][11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robbie Moore	25,298	48.1	+2.0
	Labour	John Grogan	23,080	43.9	―2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Franks	2,573	4.9	+2.5
	Brexit Party	Waqas Ali Khan	850	1.6	N/A
	Yorkshire	Mark Barton	667	1.3	N/A
	SDP	Matthew Rose	132	0.3	N/A
Majority			2,218	4.2	N/A
Turnout			52,600	72.3	―0.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+2.3

General election 2017: Keighley^[13][14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Grogan	24,056	46.5	+8.4
	Conservative	Kris Hopkins	23,817	46.1	+1.8
	UKIP	Paul Latham	1,291	2.5	―9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Matt Walker	1,226	2.4	―0.3
	Green	Ros Brown	790	1.5	―1.9
	Independent	David Crabtree	534	1.0	N/A
Majority			239	0.4	N/A
Turnout			51,714	72.4	+1.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.3

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Keighley

General election 2015: Keighley^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kris Hopkins	21,766	44.3	+2.4
	Labour	John Grogan	18,713	38.1	+2.3
	UKIP	Paul Latham	5,662	11.5	+8.4
	Green	Ros Brown	1,661	3.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Gareth Epps	1,321	2.7	―12.1
Majority			3,053	6.2	+0.1
Turnout			49,123	71.3	―1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.0

General election 2010: Keighley^[18][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kris Hopkins	20,003	41.9	+7.6
	Labour	Jane Thomas	17,063	35.8	―8.9
	Liberal Democrats	Nader Fekri	7,059	14.8	+3.0
	BNP	Andrew Brons	1,962	4.1	―5.1
	UKIP	Paul Latham	1,470	3.1	N/A
	National Front	Steven Smith	135	0.3	N/A
Majority			2,940	6.1	N/A
Turnout			47,962	72.4	+4.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+8.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Keighley^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ann Cryer	20,720	44.7	―3.5
	Conservative	Karl Poulsen	15,868	34.3	―4.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nader Fekri	5,484	11.8	+0.9
	BNP	Nick Griffin	4,240	9.2	N/A
Majority			4,852	10.4	+1.2
Turnout			46,312	67.9	+4.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.6

General election 2001: Keighley^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ann Cryer	20,888	48.2	―2.4
	Conservative	Simon Cooke	16,883	39.0	+2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Doyle	4,722	10.9	+1.1
	UKIP	Michael Cassidy	840	1.9	N/A
Majority			4,005	9.2	―4.7
Turnout			43,333	63.4	―13.2
	Labour hold		Swing	―2.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Keighley^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ann Cryer	26,039	50.6	+9.8
	Conservative	Gary Waller	18,907	36.7	―10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Doyle	5,064	9.8	―0.8
	Referendum	Colin Carpenter	1,470	2.9	N/A
Majority			7,132	13.9	N/A
Turnout			50,010	76.6	―6.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.2

General election 1992: Keighley^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gary Waller	25,983	47.4	+1.6
	Labour	Tommy B. Flanagan	22,387	40.8	+5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Ian N. Simpson	5,793	10.6	―8.6
	Green	Mike Crowson	642	1.2	N/A
Majority			3,596	6.6	―4.2
Turnout			54,805	82.6	+3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	―2.1

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Keighley^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gary Waller	23,903	45.8	+3.2
	Labour	Alan Rye	18,297	35.0	―2.0
	Liberal	John Wells	10,041	19.2	―0.6
Majority			5,606	10.8	+5.2
Turnout			52,243	79.4	+0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Keighley^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gary Waller	21,370	42.6
	Labour	Bob Cryer	18,596	37.0
	Liberal	John Wells	9,951	19.8
	Ecology	Michael Penney	302	0.6
Majority			2,774	5.6	N/A
Turnout			50,216	78.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Cryer	19,698	44.95	0.63
	Conservative	G. Dawson	19,620	44.77	6.37
	Liberal	Margaretta Holmstedt	4,062	9.27	4.33
	National Front	R. L. Fairey	234	0.53	1.47
	Ecology	J. Wade	208	0.47	N/A
Majority			78	0.18	7.00
Turnout			43,819	80.51	2.47
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Cryer	19,569	45.58
	Conservative	Cyril Taylor	16,488	38.40
	Liberal	Margaretta Holmstedt	5,839	13.60
	National Front	G. Wright	859	2.00	N/A
	More Prosperous Britain	C. W. Deakin	179	0.42	N/A
Majority			3,081	7.18
Turnout			42,935	82.98
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Cryer	18,595	41.81
	Conservative	Joan Hall	17,717	39.83
	Liberal	Wilfred Whittaker	7,820	17.58	N/A
	Social Democrat	John Binns	348	0.78	N/A
Majority			878	1.98	N/A
Turnout			44,480	86.79
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1970: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Hall	20,957	50.75
	Labour	John Binns	20,341	49.25
Majority			616	1.50	N/A
Turnout			41,298	80.66
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Binns	22,039	55.01
	Conservative	John George Bellak	18,027	44.99
Majority			4,012	10.02
Turnout			40,066	83.46
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Binns	17,816	42.97
	Conservative	Marcus Worsley	15,115	36.46
	Liberal	William E. Jones	8,529	20.57	N/A
Majority			2,701	6.51	N/A
Turnout			30,874	61.32
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Worsley	20,626	50.21
	Labour	Charles Hobson	20,456	49.79
Majority			170	0.42	N/A
Turnout			41,082	85.62
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1955: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Hobson	19,414	46.52
	Conservative	Marcus Worsley	16,011	38.36
	Liberal	Ashley Mitchell	6,310	15.12	N/A
Majority			3,403	8.16
Turnout			41,735	83.89
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Hobson	23,743	52.72
	Conservative	Kenneth Hargreaves	21,295	47.28
Majority			2,448	5.44
Turnout			45,038	87.51
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Hobson	21,833	48.47
	Conservative	Kenneth Hargreaves	16,252	36.08
	Liberal	John G. Walker	6,962	15.45
Majority			5,581	12.39
Turnout			45,097	88.13
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

1945 general election: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivor Thomas	22,222	52.7	+2.2
	Conservative	Henry Dalrymple-White	10,865	25.7	−23.8
	Liberal	Norman Robson	9,116	21.6	N/A
Majority			11,357	27.0	+26.0
Turnout			42,203	82.3	+3.4
	Labour hold		Swing

1942 Keighley by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivor Thomas	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1939–40:

Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected:

• Labour; Hastings Lees-Smith
• Conservative; Gay Burdett^[27]

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hastings Lees-Smith	20,124	50.5	+18.6
	Conservative	George Harvie-Watt	19,756	49.5	+3.3
Majority			368	1.0	N/A
Turnout			39,880	78.9	−5.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1931: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Harvie-Watt	19,079	46.2	+19.8
	Labour	Hastings Lees-Smith	13,192	31.9	−12.8
	Liberal	William John Crossland Briggs	9,044	21.9	−7.0
Majority			5,887	14.3	N/A
Turnout			41,315	83.9	−1.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hastings Lees-Smith	18,412	44.7	−0.3
	Liberal	David Rhodes	11,905	28.9	+2.3
	Unionist	Arthur Smith	10,858	26.4	−2.0
Majority			6,507	15.8	−0.8
Turnout			41,175	84.9	+2.1
Registered electors			48,518
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.3

General election 1924: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hastings Lees-Smith	14,105	45.0	−4.1
	Unionist	T. P. Perks	8,922	28.4	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Artemus Jones	8,339	26.6	−24.3
Majority			5,183	16.6	N/A
Turnout			31,366	82.8	+5.4
Registered electors			37,887
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.1

Robert Pilkington

General election 1923: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Pilkington	14,609	50.9	+20.2
	Labour	Hastings Lees-Smith	14,083	49.1	+2.8
Majority			526	1.8	N/A
Turnout			28,692	77.4	−4.2
Registered electors			37,060
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	+8.7

General election 1922: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hastings Lees-Smith	13,978	46.3	+18.6
	Liberal	William Anderton Brigg	9,262	30.7	−3.0
	Unionist	Charles Henry Foulds	6,955	23.0	−15.6
Majority			4,716	15.6	N/A
Turnout			30,195	81.6	+16.2
Registered electors			37,005
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+10.8

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Keighley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Robert Clough	8,820	38.6	N/A
	Liberal	William Somervell	7,709	33.7	N/A
	Labour	William Bland	6,324	27.7	N/A
Majority			1,111	4.9	N/A
Turnout			22,853	65.4	N/A
Registered electors			34,934
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

• Results compared to December 1910 election

Somervell

1918 Keighley by-election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Somervell	4,873	67.5	N/A
	Ind. Labour Party	William Bland	2,349	32.5	N/A
Majority			2,524	35.0	N/A
Turnout			7,222	50.2	N/A
Registered electors			14,400
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

1915 Keighley by-election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Swire Smith	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Stanley Buckmaster

1913 Keighley by-election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Stanley Buckmaster	4,730	38.7	N/A
	Unionist	Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles	3,852	31.5	N/A
	Labour	William Bland	3,646	29.8	N/A
Majority			878	7.2	N/A
Turnout			12,228	86.5	N/A
Registered electors			14,142
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

1911 Keighley by-election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Stanley Buckmaster	4,667	39.0	N/A
	Conservative	William Mitchell Acworth	3,842	32.1	N/A
	Labour	William Crawford Anderson	3,452	28.9	N/A
Majority			825	6.9	N/A
Turnout			11,961	87.3	N/A
Registered electors			13,702
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election December 1910: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Brigg	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election January 1910: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Brigg	7,768	65.3	+19.6
	Conservative	William Mitchell Acworth	4,132	34.7	+7.0
Majority			3,636	30.6	+12.6
Turnout			11,900	89.0	+0.2
Registered electors			13,373
	Liberal hold		Swing	+6.3

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Brigg	5,322	45.7	−7.4
	Liberal Unionist	William Mitchell Acworth	3,229	27.7	−19.2
	Independent Labour	W. T. Newlove	3,102	26.6	N/A
Majority			2,093	18.0	+11.8
Turnout			11,653	88.8	+6.8
Registered electors			13,125
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.9

General election 1900: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Brigg	5,432	53.1	−1.4
	Conservative	W. Bairstow	4,792	46.9	+1.4
Majority			640	6.2	−2.8
Turnout			10,224	82.0	+4.9
Registered electors			12,470
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Brigg	5,036	54.5	N/A
	Conservative	Walter Bairstow[29]	4,196	45.5	N/A
Majority			840	9.0	N/A
Turnout			9,232	77.1	N/A
Registered electors			11,977
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1892: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Isaac Holden	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Isaac Holden	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1885: Keighley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Isaac Holden	5,644	66.7
	Conservative	William Henry Carter Dunhill[30]	2,818	33.3
Majority			2,826	33.4
Turnout			8,462	84.0
Registered electors			10,072
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in West Yorkshire
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the Yorkshire and the Humber (region)

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.