Welcome to Barnsley: Bid to merge Hemsworth MP's seat with nearby South Yorkshire

The town, which is represented by Labour’s Jon Trickett, would become part of a new Barnsley East and Hemsworth seat which would span parts of West and South Yorkshire.

Under proposals by the Boundary Commission, 
Pontefract and Castleford, which are in the constituency of Labour MP Yvette Cooper, would also be split into separate seats.

A new Pontefract constituency would be created to include South Elmsall and South Kirkby.

The changes are being proposed under government plans to cut the number of MPs in the House of Commons from 650 to 600. A consultation will be held before new boundaries are finalised before the 2020 general election.

Pontefract and Castleford would be split into separate constituencies under proposals by the Boundary Commission. ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads Jon Trickett MP. Labour’s Yvette Cooper currently holds the Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford seat. Under the plans, Pontefract would become a constituency in its own right and include the village of Whitley, near Selby in North Yorkshire, along with South Kirkby and South Elmsall. Normanton and Castleford would be in a separate constituency with Outwood near Wakefield and Byram and Brotherton. Hemsworth, the seat currently held by Labour’s Jon Trickett, would become part of a new Barnsley East and Hemsworth constituency. It would also include Crofton, Walton and Ryhill. Elsewhere, Morley would join a new Morley and Batley constituency and Batley and Spen would be split into two constituencies. The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) released the initial proposals on Tuesday. It said in a statement: “Following a decision by Parliament to reduce the number of constituencies in the UK to 600 from 650, and to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency is more equal, the BCE has been asked to make independent recommendations about where the boundaries of English constituencies should be. “The BCE must report to Parliament in 2018 and, if agreed by Parliament, the new constituencies will be in use at the next scheduled General Election in 2020.”