It reinforces the classic image of the West Riding of Yorkshire, small towns with a history of textile manufacturing, streets of traditional terraced housing filled by a mostly working-class population.

The seat consists of the town of Batley, whose eastern ward is home for a large Asian minority (approximately one third of the town’s overall population) and whose western half is home to extensive council housing.

Smaller, semi-rural communities such as Birstall and Birkenshaw, Gomersal, Oakenshaw and Cleckheaton all fall into the borough of Spenborough, named after the river Spen. This element of the constituency is almost all-white, strongly owner-occupied and possesses strong conservative cultural values.