The 1999 by-election in Leeds Central, following the death of Derek Fatchett, was typical of by-elections in recent years. A low turnout of just 19.6% saw Labour's Hillary Benn continue the party's stranglehold on one of its safest seats, albeit with a vastly reduced majority of 2,293 compared to Mr Fatchett’s 1997 total of 20,689.
As with many large northern UK cities such as Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool, Leeds has suffered from depopulation, and lost 10% of its inner city population between 1981 and 1991. This factor prompted the 1995 Boundary Review that brought the ward of Hunslet into the fold from the former Leeds South and Morley seat. This reorganisation only served to strengthen Labour's grip on this seat in 1997, as Hunslet is one of the most working-class and traditionally one of the most strongly Labour wards in the whole city. Leeds Central takes in the commercial area of the former woollen metropolis, the university buildings and part of the city's relatively small black and Asian communities.
Despite the famous Leeds back-to-back terrace housing giving way to more modern developments, levels of council house occupancy and unemployment are still the highest here in the whole city, with most of those who do work being in unskilled or partly-skilled occupations.