Batley and Spen is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The current MP is Kim Leadbeater, a Labour politician, elected in a 2021 by-election by a 323-vote margin. The seat has returned Labour MPs since 1997. Constituency profile The area is in the rolling Pennines of West Yorkshire with considerable commerce, industry, retail and occupational trades. A lower percentage of social housing is present than the regional average, however most of the larger settlements have some social housing. The population in the district is ethnically diverse. Many of the towns in the Spen Valley have few residents from non-white heritage backgrounds (Birstall, Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, Liversedge and Gomersal, generally more suburban and Conservative areas, with the exception of Cleckheaton, which has Liberal Democrat councillors). However, the constituency's largest town, Batley, has a sizeable number of residents with South Asian backgrounds, namely Pakistani (9.2%) and Indian (mostly Gujarati) (15.9%). Heckmondwike also has a well-established South Asian community with 16.9% residents having Pakistani heritage. The results of the last fifty years show marginal majorities for Labour and for the Conservatives, and is considered to be part of the "red wall". In the 2016 EU referendum, Batley and Spen voted 60% in favour of Brexit. Boundaries 1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East, Batley West, Birstall and Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, and Spen. 1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East, Batley West, Birstall and Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, and Spen. 2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees wards of Batley East, Batley West, Birstall and Birkenshaw, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, and Liversedge and Gomersal. The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Batley and Morley, Brighouse and Spenborough and Dewsbury. This West Yorkshire constituency covers Batley, Birkenshaw, Birstall, Cleckheaton, East Bierley, Gomersal, Hunsworth, and Liversedge. History The constituency did not exist in its present form before 1983 and has seen significant boundary changes since its creation – most notably those that took effect for the 1997 general election. Heckmondwike was part of the seat from its creation in 1983 until 1997, when it was transferred to Dewsbury. Heckmondwike was returned to Batley and Spen for the 2010 general election. The seat swung in Labour's favour in the elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005 though the Conservatives reduced the Labour majority in 2010 with a swing below the national average. The electoral ward of Heckmondwike (which