Burnley (UK Parliament constituency)

Burnley
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Burnley in Lancashire.
Location of Lancashire within England.
County	Lancashire
Population	87,059 (2011 census)
Electorate	67,003 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Burnley
Current constituency
Created	1868
Member of parliament	Julie Cooper (Labour Party)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	North West England

Coordinates: 53°47′13″N 2°14′42″W / 53.787°N 2.245°W / 53.787; -2.245

Burnley is a constituency centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire, which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Julie Cooper of the Labour Party.

The seat was created in 1868. From World War II until 2010 it was won by Labour candidates, generally on safe, large majorities; even Ann Widdecombe could not snatch the seat from the former leading cotton town's close affinity with Labour Party values as they stood in 1979. The closest second place was to a Conservative Party candidate, Ian Bruce, who came 787 votes (1.6%) short of taking the seat in 1983.

Burnley saw strong opposition support for the Liberal Democrats in 2005 who moved into second place, meanwhile a local independent pushed Yousuf Miah, a Conservative into fourth position. Following controversy regarding outgoing Labour MP Kitty Ussher's personal expenses, Gordon Birtwistle, who first contended the seat in 1992, gained the seat in 2010 with a heavy swing of 9.6%.