This South Yorkshire constituency has been held by Labour since it was created in 1918. Rother Valley is made up largely of former pit villages and former mining towns of Maltby and Dinnington. Its economy was dependent on coal and steel until the industries’ decline in the 1980s. Maltby Colliery closed in 2013, with the loss of 540 jobs. There has been much regeneration. The Rother Valley Country Park and Dinnington Business Park were built on old colliery sites. Manufacturing, particularly food and engineering, is important here, as are the service industries.

This seat has among highest number of family households in England and Wales, according to the 2011 Census. Home ownership is higher than average. The rate of people claiming out-of-work benefits is slightly above average.

Kevin Barron retained the seat for Labour in 2010 with a majority of 5,866 over the Conservatives. The BNP and UKIP both polled enough votes to retain their deposits.