Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley.
Labour Party MP Yvette Cooper holds the seat on 47.5% of the vote.
2 Jun 2026
Yvette Cooper is one of the most prominent MPs in the current parliament -- she serves as Foreign Secretary, a role that has generated significant recent news coverage on both sides. She drew praise for publicly rebuking Donald Trump's threat to "wipe out Iranian civilisation" and for distancing the UK from US health aid cuts, declaring Britain "strongly disagrees" with Washington's approach. But she has also faced sharp criticism: one commentary accused her of misrepresenting the status of the Strait of Hormuz to prioritise shipping access over accountability for alleged Israeli violence, and her defence of a 40% foreign aid cut -- framed as necessary to fund increased defence spending -- has attracted criticism for the humanitarian consequences in sub-Saharan Africa. On the domestic side, she was credited with delivering Martyn's Law, the venue security legislation championed by the family of Manchester Arena bombing victim Martyn Hett.
Her voting participation rate of 30% -- well below the Commons average -- reflects the demands of a senior Cabinet role rather than disengagement; Foreign Secretaries routinely miss many divisions. When she does vote, she follows Labour's line without exception, backing the government on English devolution ping-pong and Crime and Policing Bill amendments in April. Her stance profile shows stronger-than-average Labour alignment on welfare reform and public services funding, and weaker alignment on welfare expansion and civil liberties.
Cooper has represented her West Yorkshire seat since 1997 and holds no select committee roles, consistent with Cabinet convention. Her 1,253 parliamentary contributions span crime, defence and immigration -- themes that map directly onto her ministerial brief. The mixed news sentiment (average score 0.09 across 92 articles) reflects a minister navigating genuinely difficult trade-offs between stated values and policy constraints. Voting data covers 153 recorded divisions.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airedale Ferry Fryston | Jackie Ferguson | 1,135 | Wakefield Lab | May 2024 |
| Altofts Whitwood | Josie Pritchard | 1,684 | Wakefield Lab | May 2024 |
| Castleford Central Glasshoughton | Richard Anthony Forster | 1,713 | Wakefield Lab | May 2024 |
| Knottingley | Adele Hayes | 1,363 | Wakefield Lab | May 2024 |
| Pontefract North | Helen Kirsty Antcliff | 1,717 | Wakefield Lab | May 2024 |
| Pontefract South | Julie Craig | 1,925 | Wakefield Lab | May 2024 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Castleford (44,293), with Pontefract (32,973) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 100,301.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Castleford | 44,293 | large town |
| Pontefract | 32,973 | large town |
| Knottingley | 8,410 | town |
| Normanton (Wakefield) | 5,927 | town |
| Holmfield | 4,430 | village |
| Rural & dispersed | 2,707 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 57.2% | 57.1% | 0% |
| Owner-occupied | 62.7% | 63.1% | -1% |
| Private rented | 14.0% | 20.0% | -30% |
| Social rented | 23.2% | 16.8% | +38% |
Ethnicity.
Source · Census 2021
Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band
Income tax contribution.
| Total income tax | £192m |
| Taxpayers | 54,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £2,420 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £3,520 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by Wakefield. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.
Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.
Headline rate.
By category.
Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop
2024 — full result.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yvette CooperWON | Lab | 17,089 | 47.5 |
| John Thomas | Ref | 10,459 | 29.1 |
| Laura Weldon | Con | 5,406 | 15.0 |
| Olli Watkins | Grn | 1,651 | 4.6 |
| Jamie Needle | LD | 1,213 | 3.4 |
| Trevor Lake | Ind | 139 | 0.4 |
Turnout 35,957
Prior contests.
Created on the 2023 boundary review. 2024 General Election was the first contest on these boundaries.
Sources, methods & last update
2023 boundary review
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
±8% confidence
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo