Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)

Pudsey
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Pudsey in West Yorkshire.
Location of West Yorkshire within England.
County	West Yorkshire
Electorate	70,533 (May 2015)
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of parliament	Stuart Andrew (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Pudsey and Otley
1885–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Pudsey and Otley
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	Yorkshire and the Humber

Pudsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Stuart Andrew, a Conservative.

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the constituency should consist of:

1950-1983: The Municipal Borough of Pudsey, and the Urban Districts of Aireborough and Horsforth.

1983-2010: The City of Leeds wards of Aireborough, Horsforth, Pudsey North, and Pudsey South.

2010-present: The City of Leeds wards of Calverley and Farsley, Guiseley and Rawdon, Horsforth, and Pudsey.

The Pudsey constituency was first created in 1885 by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and was first used in the general election that year. The seat had formerly been part of Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire constituency. On 1 June 1908 George Whiteley voluntarily resigned from Parliament resulting in a by-election in the constituency.

The constituency was abolished in 1918 and replaced by the constituency of Pudsey and Otley until 1950.

The constituency was recreated for contesting in the 1950 general election and has existed ever since.

In their Third Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies (1976–1983) the Boundary Commission initially suggested renaming the constituency Leeds West, with the existing Leeds West constituency in turn being renamed Leeds West Central. This was opposed at local enquiries where the current name was retained.