comprises the former UD area plus Sharlston. Featherstone is currently a Labour stronghold. It is part of the Hemsworth constituency, and is represented by Labour MP Jon Trickett in the House of Commons and by three Labour Councillors on Wakefield Council: Richard "Dick" Taylor, Graham Isherwood and Maureen Tennant-King. Featherstone Town Council is also controlled by Labour, Cllr Steve Vickers is the Town Mayor for 2016/17 Fighting decline Starting in the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, the area went into an era of sharp decline in the residents' quality of life. Historians and social scientists have put forward many factors. The gradual loss of the coal industry coupled with poor housing and education. This has begun to improve in recent years with new housing developments, better schools and plans to breathe life back into the local business community via various climate friendly projects. Transport Featherstone has a railway station on the Pontefract Line. There are also bus services operated by Arriva Yorkshire and Ross Travel. The M62 lies close by. Education The town has two secondary schools, the Featherstone Academy and St Wilfrid's Catholic High School. Primary and infant schools include St Thomas' Junior, Girnhill Infants', Purston Infants', North Featherstone Junior and Infants' and All Saints Junior and Infants'. Religion Featherstone has a number of churches: St Thomas's Church (Anglican) – built from traditional Yorkshire sandstone, St Thomas's Church and the adjacent vicarage were built in the 1870s. Due to a lack of funding the church has no bell tower, and instead the bell hangs outside on the church's south wall. The original vicarage is now a private residence. All Saints' Church (Anglican), the Methodist church, and the South Featherstone Gospel Hall are also still active churches. A former Methodist chapel on Wakefield Road has since been turned into an antiques salesroom and the North Featherstone Gospel Hall has been converted into a private dwelling. St Gerard Majella's Roman Catholic Church was closed in the summer of 2008. Sport Featherstone Rovers The town's sport scene is dominated by its local rugby league club, Featherstone Rovers, who have won the Challenge Cup on three occasions, most recently on 7 May 1983, and won the League Championship in 1976–77. Originally made up of local miners, the club was formed in the Railway Hotel in 1902, then re-formed in 1906. They are currently in the Championship, after being promoted in 2007, beating Oldham in