Leeds East is a constituency in
West Yorkshire. It covers the eastern neighbourhoods of the city of
Leeds (including
Harehills,
Gipton,
Seacroft,
Whinmoor,
Cross Gates and
Colton), the outlying town of
Garforth and village of
Swillington. Leeds is one of the United Kingdom's largest cities and grew rapidly during the
Industrial Revolution as a centre for
textile manufacturing, especially
wool. Today the city has a diverse economy and is the largest legal and financial centre in
England outside of
London. Garforth and Swillington have a history of
coal mining. Most of the Leeds neighbourhoods have high levels of deprivation and fall within the top 10% most-deprived areas in
England; Seacroft is one of the largest
council estates in the country. In comparison, Colton and Garforth are affluent and
suburban. House prices across the constituency are similar to the rest of
Yorkshire and lower than the national average. In general, residents of Leeds East have low levels of education, income and homeownership.
White people made up 74% of the population at the
2021 census.
Asians, predominantly
Pakistanis, were the largest ethnic minority group at 14% and
Black people were 7%. The non-White population were concentrated in Harehills and Gipton where they made up more than half the population. Most of the constituency is represented by the
Labour Party at
the local city council with
independent councillors elected in Garforth and Swillington. An estimated 60% of voters in Leeds East supported leaving the
European Union in the
2016 referendum compared to the nationwide figure of 52%. ==History==