Leicester West (UK Parliament constituency)

Leicester West is a constituency in Leicestershire that existed from 1918 to 1950, and recreated in 1974. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Liz Kendall of the Labour Party since 2010. Kendall currently serves as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under the government of Keir Starmer. Since its creation in 1918, the seat has sided with parties from the left wing of politics.

Historic
1918–1950: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Abbey, Newton, St Margaret's, Westcotes, and Wyggeston.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Leicester wards of Abbey, Newton, North Braunstone, St Margaret's, and Westcotes.

1983–2010: The City of Leicester wards of Abbey, Beaumont Leys, Mowmacre, New Parks, North Braunstone, Rowley Fields, St Augustine's, Westcotes, and Western Park.

2010–2024: The City of Leicester wards of Abbey, Beaumont Leys, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields, Fosse, New Parks, Westcotes, and Western Park.

Current
Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the size of the constituency was increased with the transfer of Aylestone ward from Leicester South.

Constituency profile
Leicester West is the whitest of the three Leicester constituencies, and the one with the highest proportion of social housing. Some areas of the seat, such as Braunstone and Beaumont Leys, are made up of large local authority estates, and around 30% of the housing is council- or housing association-owned, the second-highest in the Midlands. The centre of the seat, the Westcotes area, is more inner-city in character and is popular with young professionals and students.

This used to be the safest Labour seat in Leicester; at the 1983 general election it was the only one to remain in Labour hands. However, the high South Asian populations in Leicester South and Leicester East have tended to push them away from the Conservative Party; conversely, while Leicester West is still a safe Labour seat and has been represented by that party since the Second World War, it has become the most marginal of the three Leicester seats. While it did, like the other two Leicester constituencies, see a significant swing to Labour in 2017, Liz Kendall's majority was not a record high for the constituency, unlike with the results in Leicester East and Leicester South.

As of 2009, in the depths of the late-2000s recession, the constituency had the fourth-highest level of unemployment in Britain, with 13.8% of residents registered unemployed. Most of the unemployment is concentrated in areas such as Braunstone, which is traditionally one of the most deprived parts of the city.

History
In 1950, the seat was replaced by the constituencies of Leicester North West and Leicester South West, until 1974. In that period, Leicester North West was represented by Barnett Janner until 1970, and then by his son Greville Janner.

MPs 1918–1950
Leicester prior to 1918

MPs since 1974
Leicester North West and Leicester South West prior to 1974

Elections in the 1920s
