In 1997, Barnsley-born former miner and NUM officer Mick Clapham retained the seat he first took in 1992 with a majority of 17,267.
Although finishing third here at the last General Election, the Liberal Democrats made the greatest strides, possibly as a result of an overspill from the neighbouring Sheffield Hallam seat, where the Lib Dems recorded their highest swing anywhere in the country.
This seat was created in 1983 when just over half of the former Penistone constituency was moved into the Sheffield Hillsborough seat.
The constituency stretches down from the slope of the Pennines eastwards towards the western outskirts of the town.
This is the most rural of the three Barnsley seats, with agriculture important in the uplands around Penistone, particularly with the huge decline of mining in this part of the world.
The two mines at Dodworth and Hoyland have closed, and heavy engineering - the other main industry in the past - is also in marked decline.
There has been some investment here, encouraged by the council and also by the proximity of the M1 motorway. Tourism in the Penistone area is another industry of growing importance to the seat.