Manchester Withington (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester Withington is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jeff Smith of Labour.[n 2] Of the 30 seats with the highest percentage of winning majority in 2017, the seat ranks 25th with a 55.7% margin, and is the only one of the twenty nine of these seats won by the Labour Party in which the second-placed candidate was a Liberal Democrat, rather than Conservative.[2]
Manchester, Withington | |
---|---|
Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundary of Manchester, Withington in Greater Manchester | |
![]() Location of Greater Manchester within England | |
County | Greater Manchester |
Electorate | 73,656 (December 2010)[1] |
Major settlements | Burnage, East Didsbury, Ladybarn |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1918 |
Member of Parliament | Jeff Smith (Labour Party) |
Number of members | One |
Created from | Manchester South and Stretford |
History
Over the past 35 years Manchester Withington has elected all three major parties. Mostly Conservative before 1987 (with three years of Liberal Party representation near its 1918 inception), it even resisted being gained by Labour in its massive landslide victories in 1945 and 1966. However, in 1987 the seat turned red for the first time and remained so until 2005 when it was gained by Liberal Democrat John Leech. Leech took the seat with an 18% swing – the largest of the 2005 General Election. He held it against future Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell in 2010. Amidst a UK-wide collapse in support for the Lib Dems, the seat swung back to Labour in 2015 and since 2017 has now become one of the safest Labour seats in the country, with an almost 30,000 majority for Jeff Smith. Demographically contrasting with neighbouring inner-city seats with similarly high Labour majorities, it is the most affluent of all the Manchester seats, as it includes high-income, highly educated areas such as Didsbury and Chorlton.
Historic boundaries
![](../I/m/ManchesterWithington1974Constituency.svg.png)
1918–1950
Manchester Withington consisted of the County Borough of Manchester wards of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Didsbury, and Withington.
1950–1955
Manchester Withington consisted of the County Borough of Manchester wards of Rusholme and Withington.
1955–1974
Manchester Withington consisted of the County Borough of Manchester wards of Barlow Moor, Burnage, Levenshulme, Old Moat, and Withington.
1974–1983
Manchester Withington consisted of the County Borough of Manchester wards of Barlow Moor, Burnage, Didsbury, Old Moat, and Withington.
1983–2010
Manchester Withington consisted of the City of Manchester wards of Barlow Moor, Burnage, Chorlton, Didsbury, Old Moat, and Withington.
Boundaries
![](../I/m/Manchester_Withington_(UK_Parliament_constituency)_2018.png)
From 2010 to the present day Manchester Withington consists of the City of Manchester wards of:
Members of Parliament
Jeff Smith is the current Labour MP for the constituency. He was elected at the 2015 general election, defeating the Liberal Democrat incumbent John Leech who had held the seat since 2005. Both of the major parties' losing candidates in the 2010 election became MPs elsewhere at the next election, Lucy Powell of Labour in Manchester Central in a 2012 by-election and Conservative Chris Green in Bolton West in 2015.
Election | Member[3] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1918 | Alfred Deakin Carter | Unionist | |
1922 | Thomas Watts | Unionist | |
1923 | Ernest Simon | Liberal | |
1924 | Sir Thomas Watts | Unionist | |
1929 | Ernest Simon | Liberal | |
1931 | Edward Fleming | Conservative | |
1950 | Frederick Cundiff | Conservative | |
1951 | Sir Robert Cary | Conservative | |
Feb 1974 | Fred Silvester | Conservative | |
1987 | Keith Bradley | Labour | |
2005 | John Leech | Liberal Democrats | |
2015 | Jeff Smith | Labour |
Constituency profile
This constituency contains the medium-to-high income average areas of Chorlton and Didsbury, as well as mixed[4] Old Moat and Withington neighbourhoods.[5] Manchester Withington is a seat south of Manchester's city centre with a sizeable student population and particularly high in young professionals and graduates.[4]
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jeff Smith | 35,902 | 67.8 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | John Leech | 7,997 | 15.1 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Shengke Zhi | 5,820 | 11.0 | ![]() | |
Green | Lucy Bannister | 1,968 | 3.7 | ![]() | |
Brexit Party | Stephen Ward | 1,308 | 2.5 | ![]() | |
Majority | 27,905 | 52.7 | ![]() | ||
Turnout | 53,176 | 69.5 | ![]() | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jeff Smith | 38,424 | 71.7 | +18.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Leech | 8,549 | 15.9 | -8.0 | |
Conservative | Sarah Heald | 5,530 | 10.3 | +0.6 | |
Green | Laura Bannister | 865 | 1.6 | -6.5 | |
Women's Equality | Sally Carr | 234 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 29,875 | 55.8 | +26.0 | ||
Turnout | 53,602 | 71.9 | +4.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +13.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jeff Smith | 26,843 | 53.7 | +13.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Leech | 11,970 | 24.0 | −20.7 | |
Conservative | Robert Manning | 4,872 | 9.8 | −1.4 | |
Green | Lucy Bannister | 4,048 | 8.1 | +6.3 | |
UKIP | Mark Davies | 2,172 | 4.3 | +2.8 | |
Independent | Marcus Farmer | 61 | 0.1 | 0.0 | |
Majority | 14,873 | 29.8 | |||
Turnout | 49,966 | 67.5 | +5.5 | ||
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +17.0 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | John Leech | 20,110 | 44.6 | ![]() | |
Labour | Lucy Powell | 18,260 | 40.5 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Chris Green | 5,005 | 11.1 | ![]() | |
Green | Brian A. Candeland | 798 | 1.8 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Robert Gutfreund-Walmsley | 698 | 1.5 | ![]() | |
Independent | Yasmin Zalzala | 147 | 0.3 | ![]() | |
Independent | Marcus Farmer | 57 | 0.1 | New | |
Majority | 1,850 | 4.1 | |||
Turnout | 45,075 | 62.2 | ![]() | ||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ![]() |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | John Leech | 15,872 | 42.4 | +20.4 | |
Labour | Keith Bradley | 15,205 | 40.6 | −14.3 | |
Conservative | Karen Bradley | 3,919 | 10.5 | −4.8 | |
Green | Brian A. Candeland | 1,595 | 4.3 | −0.1 | |
UKIP | Robert Gutfreund-Walmsley | 424 | 1.1 | N/A | |
Independent | Ivan Benett | 243 | 0.6 | N/A | |
Independent | Yasmin Zalzala | 152 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Their Party | Richard Reed | 47 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 667 | 1.8 | |||
Turnout | 37,459 | 55.3 | +3.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | +17.3 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Keith Bradley | 19,239 | 54.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Yasmin Zalzala | 7,715 | 22.0 | ||
Conservative | Julian Samways | 5,349 | 15.3 | ||
Green | Michelle Valentine | 1,539 | 4.4 | N/A | |
Socialist Alliance | John Clegg | 1,208 | 3.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,524 | 32.9 | |||
Turnout | 35,050 | 51.9 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1990s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Keith Bradley | 27,103 | 61.56 | +8.9 | |
Conservative | Jonathan M. Smith | 8,522 | 19.4 | −11.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Yasmin Zalzala | 6,000 | 13.6 | −0.6 | |
Referendum | Mark B.B. Sheppard | 1,079 | 2.5 | N/A | |
ProLife Alliance | Simon P. Caldwell | 614 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Socialist Alternative | Julie White | 376 | 0.9 | N/A | |
Rainbow Dream Ticket | Stephen Kingston | 181 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Natural Law | Mark E.J. Gaskell | 152 | 0.4 | +0.1 | |
Majority | 18,581 | 42.2 | |||
Turnout | 44,027 | 65.8 | |||
Labour hold | Swing | +10.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Keith Bradley | 23,962 | 52.7 | +9.7 | |
Conservative | Eric N. Farthing | 14,227 | 31.3 | −5.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Gordon Hennell | 6,457 | 14.2 | −5.6 | |
Green | Brian A. Candeland | 725 | 1.6 | +0.6 | |
Natural Law | Clive E. Menhinick | 128 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 9,735 | 21.4 | +14.7 | ||
Turnout | 45,499 | 71.3 | −5.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +7.3 |
Elections in the 1980s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Keith Bradley | 21,650 | 42.9 | +8.7 | |
Conservative | Fred Silvester | 18,259 | 36.2 | −3.0 | |
Liberal | Audrey Jones | 9,978 | 19.8 | −6.4 | |
Green | Michael Abberton | 524 | 1.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,391 | 6.7 | |||
Turnout | 50,411 | 77.1 | +4.8 | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.9 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Fred Silvester | 18,329 | 39.2 | −8.1 | |
Labour | Frances Done | 15,956 | 34.2 | −4.7 | |
SDP | Bernard L. Lever | 12,231 | 26.2 | ||
Independent | Michael Gibson | 184 | 0.4 | +0.0 | |
Majority | 2,373 | 5.1 | |||
Turnout | 46,700 | 72.3 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | −3.4 |
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Fred Silvester | 18,862 | 47.3 | +4.3 | |
Labour | Geoffrey Hodgson | 15,510 | 38.9 | +1.1 | |
Liberal | John T. Mitchell | 5,387 | 13.5 | −5.7 | |
Independent | Michael George Gibson | 157 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,352 | 8.4 | |||
Turnout | 39,916 | 74.7 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Fred Silvester | 16,937 | 43.0 | ||
Labour | Peter J. Hildrew | 14,936 | 37.8 | ||
Liberal | Nan Davies | 7,555 | 19.2 | ||
Majority | 2,001 | 5.1 | |||
Turnout | 39,428 | 67.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Fred Silvester | 17,997 | 42.4 | ||
Labour | Sholto N.M. Moxley | 13,584 | 32.0 | ||
Liberal | Ian McWilliam-Fowler | 10,877 | 25.6 | ||
Majority | 4,413 | 10.39 | |||
Turnout | 73.6 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Cary | 18,854 | 48.64 | ||
Labour | Michael Noble | 13,365 | 39.64 | ||
Liberal | James Clarney | 4,540 | 11.71 | ||
Majority | 3,489 | 9.00 | |||
Turnout | 67.84 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Cary | 16,676 | 42.92 | ||
Labour | David Clark | 16,029 | 41.25 | ||
Liberal | Geoffrey Vaughan Davies | 6,150 | 15.83 | ||
Majority | 647 | 1.67 | |||
Turnout | 71.18 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Cary | 18,259 | 44.28 | ||
Labour | Keith Openshaw | 13,117 | 31.18 | ||
Liberal | Geoffrey Vaughan Davies | 9,860 | 23.91 | ||
Majority | 5,142 | 12.47 | |||
Turnout | 72.35 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Cary | 23,170 | 52.28 | ||
Labour | Robert Sheldon | 13,476 | 30.41 | ||
Liberal | Geoffrey Vaughan Davies | 7,675 | 17.32 | ||
Majority | 9,694 | 21.84 | |||
Turnout | 74.54 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Cary | 25,707 | 58.64 | ||
Labour | John B. Hayes | 13,054 | 29.78 | ||
Liberal | Geoffrey Vaughan Davies | 5,077 | 11.58 | ||
Majority | 12,653 | 28.86 | |||
Turnout | 71.94 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Cary | 26,804 | 64.73 | ||
Labour | James Clough | 14,604 | 35.27 | ||
Majority | 12,200 | 29.46 | |||
Turnout | 80.29 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Frederick Cundiff | 22,817 | 52.32 | ||
Labour | Lewis Wright | 14,206 | 32.57 | ||
Liberal | Leonard Behrens | 6,591 | 15.11 | ||
Majority | 8,611 | 19.74 | |||
Turnout | 85.31 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Election in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fleming | 30,881 | 46.4 | ||
Labour | R. Edwards | 22,634 | 34.0 | ||
Liberal | Leonard Behrens | 13,107 | 19.7 | ||
Majority | 8,247 | 12.4 | |||
Turnout | 74.5 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Election in the 1930s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fleming | 35,564 | 62.27 | ||
Labour | D. Scott Morton | 12,248 | 21.45 | ||
Liberal | William Ross | 9,298 | 16.28 | ||
Majority | 23,316 | 40.83 | |||
Turnout | 70.89 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fleming | 36,097 | 62.8 | +23.0 | |
Liberal | Philip Guedalla | 21,379 | 37.2 | -6.6 | |
Majority | 5,562 | 11.5 | 15.5 | ||
Turnout | 48,168 | 75.8 | -2.0 | ||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +14.8 | |||
Elections in the 1920s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Ernest Simon | 20,948 | 43.8 | +4.8 | |
Unionist | Thomas Watts | 19,063 | 39.8 | -11.1 | |
Labour | Joseph Robinson | 7,853 | 16.4 | +7.2 | |
Majority | 1,885 | 4.0 | 15.9 | ||
Turnout | 77.8 | -4.0 | |||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +8.0 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Thomas Watts | 13,633 | 50.9 | ||
Liberal | Ernest Simon | 10,435 | 39.0 | ||
Labour | Edgar Whiteley | 2,467 | 9.2 | n/a | |
Independent | Kenneth Burke | 236 | 0.9 | n/a | |
Majority | 3,198 | 11.9 | |||
Turnout | 81.8 | ||||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Ernest Simon | 13,944 | 58.2 | +9.7 | |
Unionist | Thomas Watts | 10,026 | 41.8 | -9.7 | |
Majority | 3,918 | 16.4 | 19.4 | ||
Turnout | 78.0 | +0.6 | |||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +9.7 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Thomas Watts | 11,678 | 51.5 | -17.8 | |
Liberal | Ernest Simon | 11,008 | 48.5 | +17.8 | |
Majority | 670 | 3.0 | -35.6 | ||
Turnout | 77.4 | +16.4 | |||
Unionist hold | Swing | -17.8 |
Elections in the 1910s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Alfred Deakin Carter | 11,677 | 69.3 | ||
Liberal | George Frederick Burditt[22] | 5,166 | 30.7 | ||
Majority | 6,511 | 38.6 | |||
Turnout | 16,843 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing |
See also
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester
- Opinion polling for the next United Kingdom general election in individual constituencies
Notes and references
- Notes
- A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
- References
- "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- Library, House of Commons (23 June 2017). "GE2017: Marginal seats and turnout".
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
- "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
- Constituency Profile The Guardian
- "Blackley & Broughton Parliamentary constituency". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- "Manchester Withington - Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017. Pdf.
- "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- "Manchester Withington". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "Parliamentary Election Results 2005". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010.
- "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "UK General Election results May 1997". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- UK General Election results: July 1945
- British parliamentary election results, 1918–1949 by FWS Craig
- BURDITT, George Frederick’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 18 Sept 2017