Elmet was formed as an entirely new constituency in 1983. The constituency takes its name from the capital of the last Celtic kingdom in England, the town of Barwick-in-Elmet, which is within the constituency.
Elmet has been a marginal seat since its creation, as it covers a large and diverse area from Leeds to the countryside, comprised of small towns and rural villages that hold a broad base of industries and a large commuter population.
About 60% of workers residing in the seat are non-manual, and 72% of homes are owner-occupied - factors that once guaranteed Tory support, but not anymore. The Conservativesí one remaining stronghold in Elmet is also its largest centre of population, the famous racing town of Wetherby, ten miles north east of Leeds.
Wetherby has always stuck with the Tories, even through disastrous local elections for the party such as 1995, but the constituency's other five wards, Barwick and Kippax, Garforth, Swillington and Whinmoor, all strongly or marginal Labour wards, threw their collective weight behind Labour's Colin Burgon in May 1997, who went on to win comfortably at his third attempt, with a majority of well over 9,000 at his third attempt.