Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)

Wigan is a constituency[n 1] in Greater Manchester, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Lisa Nandy of the Labour Party, who also serves as the Shadow Foreign Secretary.[n 2]

Wigan
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wigan in Greater Manchester
Location of Greater Manchester within England
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	74,241 (December 2017)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Lisa Nandy (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Wigan, South West Lancashire
1545–1885
Number of members	Two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Wigan

History

Wigan in Lancashire, boundaries used 1974-83

In 1295 and January 1307, Wigan was one of the significant places called upon to send a representative, then known as a 'burgess,’ to the Model Parliament. However, for the remainder of the medieval period, the seat was not summoned to send an official. This changed with Henry VIII's grant of two Members of Parliament to the town, which is believed to have been incorporated as a borough in 1246, after the issue of a charter by Henry III. At the close of the Middle Ages, in the Tudor period, Wigan was one of four boroughs in Lancashire possessing Royal Charters; the others were Lancaster, Liverpool and Preston.

Following the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, single-member constituencies were imposed nationwide[n 3], meaning the seat saw a reduction of the number of its members.

The death of Roger Stott in office in 1999 made him the fourth Wigan MP in the twentieth century to die in office (uniquely for a constituency in the United Kingdom); the others were John Parkinson, Ronald Williams and William Foster.

Political history

Wigan is considered a safe seat given that it has been held by the Labour Party since 1918, with solid majorities ranging from 1,018 votes (2.2%) in 1931 to 22,643 votes (51.7%) in 1997.

Prominent frontbenchers

Member of Parliament	Notability
William Ewart	Carried the Hanging in Chains Act of 1834, abolishing hanging in chains Carried a bill in 1837 to abolish capital punishment for cattle-stealing and similar offences Carried the Public Libraries Act 1850, establishing free libraries supported out of public rates Instrumental in the passage of the Metric Weights and Measures Act 1864
Algernon Egerton	Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1874–80)
Alan Fitch	Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (1968–70)
Roger Stott	Joint Chairman of the Council for Arab-British Understanding Parliamentary Private Secretary to James Callaghan (1976–79)
Lisa Nandy	Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under Keir Starmer 2020 Labour Party leadership election contender who placed third.

Boundaries

1832–1918: The Township of Wigan.[2]

• In 1835 Wigan became a Municipal borough, using the then current Parliamentary boundaries of the Township.[3][4]
• In 1888 Wigan Municipal Borough became the County Borough of Wigan on the same boundaries.[5][6]
• In 1904 Pemberton Urban District was dissolved, with the area covered by it becoming part of the County Borough of Wigan.[7] However, for Parliamentary purposes, that area remained part of South-West Lancashire, Ince Division[8] until the Parliamentary boundaries were redefined in 1918.[9][10][11]

1918–1983: The County Borough of Wigan[9][12][13][14]

• In 1974 the Country Borough of Wigan was abolished and superseded by the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, covering a far greater area.[15] However, the boundary of the Parliamentary Constituency of Wigan remained unchanged until 1983, when it was expanded to cover the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough.[16]

1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Aspull-Standish, Beech Hill, Ince, Langtree, Newtown, Norley, Swinley, Whelley.[16]

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Aspull-Standish, Beech Hill, Langtree, Newtown, Norley, Swinley, Whelley.[17]

• In 2004, new ward boundaries in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan came in to effect. However, the Parliamentary boundaries remained unchanged until they were reviewed and adjusted to line up with the new ward boundaries in 2010.[18]

2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Aspull, New Springs and Whelley; Douglas; Ince; Pemberton; Shevington with Lower Ground; Standish with Langtree; Wigan Central; Wigan West.[18]

Constituency profile

The seat is productive and has excellent links to Manchester, as well as close links to the M6, which lies just within its western border. However, over the past century, Wigan has witnessed a fall in manufacturing, particularly in the production of textiles, which have been unable to compete with the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. Another industry which has suffered is coal mining, which had been a large employer in this part of Lancashire up until the mid-20th century.

As of May 2018, the rate of JSA and Universal Credit claimants was 3.9%, higher than the national average of 2.8% and regional average of 3.7%, based on a statistical compilation by the House of Commons Library.[19]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1295	William le Teinterer	Henry le Bocher
1306/7 (Jan)	Simon Payer	John de Mersee
1307-1545	No Members returned to Parliament
1545	Thomas Chaloner	John Eston[20]
1547 (Nov)	Alexander Barlowe	Thomas Carus[20]
1552/3 (Mar)	Alexander Barlowe	Gilbert Gerard[21]
1553 (Oct)	Alexander Barlowe	Gilbert Gerard[21]
1554 (Apr)	Alexander Barlowe	William Barnes[20]
1554 (Nov)	Alexander Barlowe	John Barnes[20]
1555	Alexander Barlowe	Gilbert Gerard[21]
1558	Ralph Barton	Thomas Smith[20]
1559 (Jan)	William Gerard II	Thomas Bromley[22]
1562/3 (Mar)	William Gerard II	John Ratcliffe[22]
1571	William Gerard II	Owen Ratcliffe[22]
1572	Edward Fitton (the younger) on Queen's Service and repl. 1581 by Richard Molyneux	Edward Elrington[22]
1584 (Nov)	Thomas Grimsditch	William Gerard III[22]
1586	William Gerard III	Peter Legh[22]
1588 (Dec)	Peter Legh	William Leycester[22]
1593	William Gerard III	Michael Heneage[22]
1597 (Oct)	Edward Legh	Nicholas Smyth[22]
1601 (Oct)	Roger Downes	John Pulteney[22]
1604	Sir William Cooke	Sir John Pulteney
1614	Sir Gilbert Gerard[23]	Sir Richard Molyneux
1621	Sir Thomas Gerard, 1st Baronet (died and replaced 1621 by George Garrard)	Roger Downes
1624	Sir Anthony St John	Francis Downes
1625	Francis Downes	Edward Bridgeman
1626	Sir Anthony St John	Sir William Pooley
1628	Edward Bridgeman	Sir Anthony St John
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened

MPs 1640–1885

Year		First member[24]	First party		Second member[24]	Second party
April 1640		Orlando Bridgeman	Royalist		Alexander Rigby	Parliamentarian
November 1640
May 1642	Bridgeman expelled - seat vacant
1646		John Holcroft
December 1648	Holcroft excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
August 1650				Rigby died - seat vacant
1653	Wigan was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Robert Markland			Hugh Forth
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		William Gardiner			Hugh Forth
October 1660		John Molyneux			Roger Stoughton
1661		The Earl of Ancram			Geoffrey Shakerley
February 1679					Roger Bradshaigh
September 1679					William Banks
1681					Viscount Colchester
1685					Lord Charles Murray
1689		Sir Edward Chisenhall			William Banks
1690		Sir Richard Standish			Peter Shakerley
1694		John Byrom
1695		Sir Roger Bradshaigh	Tory
1698					Orlando Bridgeman
1701					Sir Alexander Rigby
1702					Orlando Bridgeman
1705					Brigadier Emanuel Scrope Howe	Whig
1708					Major Henry Bradshaigh
1713					George Kenyon
1715					The Earl of Barrymore
1727					Peter Bold	Tory
1734					The Earl of Barrymore
March 1747		Richard Clayton
June 1747					Hon. Richard Barry
1754		Sir William Meredith	Tory
1761		Fletcher Norton			Simon Luttrell
1768		George Byng			Beaumont Hotham
1775					John Morton	Tory
August 1780					Henry Simpson Bridgeman
September 1780		Hon. Horatio Walpole	Tory[25]
1782					John Cotes	Tory[25]
1784		Orlando Bridgeman [mpnotes 1]	Tory[25]
1800		George Gunning
1802		John Hodson	Tory[25]		Sir Robert Holt Leigh	Tory[25]
1820		James Alexander Hodson	Tory[25]		Lord Lindsay	Tory[25]
1825					Lieutenant-Colonel James Lindsay	Tory[25]
March 1831		John Hodson Kearsley	Tory[25]
May 1831					Ralph Thicknesse	Whig[25]
1832		Richard Potter	Radical[26][27][28]
1835					John Hodson Kearsley	Conservative[25]
1837					Charles Strickland Standish	Whig[25][26]
1839		William Ewart	Radical[25][29][30][31][32][33]
1841		Peter Greenall	Conservative[25]		Thomas Bright Crosse [mpnotes 2]	Conservative[25]
1842					Charles Strickland Standish	Whig[25][26]
1845		Hon. James Lindsay	Conservative
1847					Ralph Anthony Thicknesse	Whig[34][35]
1854					Joseph Acton	Whig[36]
1857		Francis Powell	Conservative		Henry Woods	Whig
1859		Hon. James Lindsay	Conservative			Liberal
1866		Nathaniel Eckersley	Conservative
1868		John Lancaster	Liberal
1874		Lord Lindsay	Conservative		Thomas Knowles	Conservative
1881		Francis Powell [mpnotes 3]	Conservative
1881	Writ suspended following corrupt election - seat vacant
December 1882		Hon. Algernon Egerton	Conservative
1883					Nathaniel Eckersley	Conservative
1885	Representation reduced to one member

MPs since 1885

Election		Member[24]	Party
	1885	Sir Francis Powell	Conservative
	1910 (January)	Henry Twist	Labour
	1910 (December)	Reginald Neville	Conservative
	1918	John Parkinson	Labour
	1942 by-election	William Foster	Labour
	1948 by-election	Ronald Williams	Labour
	1958 by-election	Alan Fitch	Labour
	1983	Roger Stott	Labour
	1999 by-election	Neil Turner	Labour
	2010	Lisa Nandy	Labour

Notes

1. The Honourable Orlando Bridgeman from 1796
2. On petition, the election of Crosse was declared void and after scrutiny of the votes his opponent, Standish, was declared duly elected.
3. On petition, Powell's election was declared void and the writ was suspended. The following year a new writ was issued and a by-election was held

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Wigan[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lisa Nandy	21,042	46.7	15.5
	Conservative	Ashley Williams	14,314	31.8	3.3
	Brexit Party	William Molloy	5,959	13.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Thomas	2,428	5.4	3.5
	Green	Peter Jacobs	1,299	2.9	1.3
Majority			6,728	14.9	18.8
Turnout			45,042	59.5	3.1
	Labour hold		Swing	9.4

General election 2017: Wigan[38][39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lisa Nandy	29,575	62.2	10.0
	Conservative	Alex Williams	13,548	28.5	7.8
	UKIP	Nathan Ryding	2,750	5.8	13.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Clayton	916	1.8	0.8
	Green	Will Patterson	753	1.6	1.2
Majority			16,027	33.7	2.3
Turnout			47,542	62.6	3.1
	Labour hold		Swing	1.1

General election 2015: Wigan[38][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lisa Nandy	23,625	52.2	3.7
	Conservative	Caroline Kerswell	9,389	20.7	4.0
	UKIP	Mark Bradley	8,818	19.5	13.8
	Green	Will Patterson	1,273	2.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Clayton	1,255	2.8	12.6
	Wigan Independents	Gareth Fairhurst	768	1.7	N/A
	Independent	Brian Parr	165	0.4	N/A
Majority			14,236	31.4	7.6
Turnout			45,293	59.5	1.1
	Labour hold		Swing	3.9

General election 2010: Wigan[41][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lisa Nandy	21,404	48.5	9.6
	Conservative	Michael Winstanley	10,917	24.7	5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Clayton	6,797	15.4	1.5
	UKIP	Alan Freeman	2,516	5.7	2.3
	BNP	Charles Mather[43]	2,506	5.7	N/A
Majority			10,487	23.8	10.5
Turnout			44,140	58.4	6.3
	Labour hold		Swing	7.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Wigan[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Neil Turner	18,901	55.1	6.6
	Conservative	John Coombes	7,134	20.8
	Liberal Democrats	Denise Capstick	6,051	17.7	2.9
	UKIP	John Whittaker	1,166	3.4	N/A
	Community Action	Kevin Williams	1,026	3.0	N/A
Majority			11,767	34.3	6.6
Turnout			34,278	53.3	0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	3.3

General election 2001: Wigan[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Neil Turner	20,739	61.7	6.8
	Conservative	Mark Page	6,996	20.8	3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Beswick	4,970	14.8	4.8
	Socialist Alliance	Dave Lowe	886	2.6	N/A
Majority			13,743	40.9	10.8
Turnout			33,591	52.5	15.3
	Labour hold		Swing	5.4

Elections in the 1990s

1999 Wigan by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Neil Turner	9,641	59.6	9.0
	Conservative	Tom Peet	2,912	18.0	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Rule	2,148	13.3	3.3
	UKIP	John Whittaker	834	5.2	N/A
	Socialist Labour	William Kelly	240	1.5	N/A
	Green	Chris Maile	190	1.2	0.2
	National Democrats	Stephen Ebbs	100	0.6	N/A
	Natural Law	Paul Davis	64	0.4	0.2
	Independent	David Braid	58	0.4	N/A
Majority			6,729	41.6	10.1
Turnout			16,187	25.0	42.7
	Labour hold		Swing	5.0

General election 1997: Wigan[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Roger Stott	30,043	68.6	5.6
	Conservative	Mark A. Loveday	7,400	16.9	6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor R. Beswick	4,390	10.0	1.0
	Referendum	Anthony Bradborne	1,450	3.3	N/A
	Green	Christopher Maile	442	1.0	N/A
	Natural Law	William J. Ayliffe	94	0.2	0.2
Majority			22,643	51.7	12.3
Turnout			43,819	67.7	8.5
	Labour hold		Swing	6.2

General election 1992: Wigan[47][48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Roger Stott	34,910	63.0	1.5
	Conservative	Edward J.W. Hess	13,068	23.6	0.9
	Liberal Democrats	George Davies	6,111	11.0	3.0
	Liberal	Kevin White	1,116	2.0	12.0
	Natural Law	Annie B. Tayler	197	0.4	N/A
Majority			21,842	39.4	2.3
Turnout			55,402	76.2	0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Wigan[49][50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Roger Stott	33,955	61.5	6.9
	Conservative	Kenneth Wade	13,493	24.5	2.5
	Liberal	Kevin White	7,732	14.0	8.9
Majority			20,462	37.1	5.5
Turnout			55,179	76.6	1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	7.9

General election 1983: Wigan[51][52]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Roger Stott	29,859	54.6	5.2
	Liberal	John Piggott	12,554	22.9	13.5
	Conservative	Henry Cadman	12,320	22.5	7.5
Majority			17,305	31.6	1.9
Turnout			54,734	75.6	1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	26,144	59.8	6.0
	Conservative	T Peet	13,149	30.0	8.9
	Liberal	K Bruce	4,102	9.4	3.8
	Workers Revolutionary	A Smith	348	0.8	N/A
Majority			12,995	29.7	15.0
Turnout			43,742	74.1	0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	7.5

General election October 1974: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	27,692	65.8	5.5
	Conservative	PM Beard	8,865	21.1	7.6
	Liberal	J Campbell	5,548	13.2	N/A
Majority			18,827	44.7	2.1
Turnout			42,105	74.0	1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	1.1

General election February 1974: Wigan[53][54]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	30,485	71.3	3.8
	Conservative	P Beard	12,283	28.7	2.2
Majority			18,202	42.6	6.1
Turnout			42,766	75.8	3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	3.0

General election 1970: Wigan[55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	28,102	67.5	5.4
	Conservative	Anthony Daniels	12,882	30.9	5.9
	Communist	Jack Kay	672	1.6	0.6
Majority			15,220	36.5	11.3
Turnout			41,655	72.3	3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	5.7

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	28,754	72.9	3.5
	Conservative	Malcolm Kingston	9,876	25.0	3.2
	Communist	Michael Weaver	858	2.2	0.2
Majority			18,878	47.8	6.6
Turnout			42,766	75.8	3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	3.4

General election 1964: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	28,640	69.4	3.1
	Conservative	Ian K Paley	11,648	28.2	3.4
	Communist	Michael Weaver	988	2.4	0.4
Majority			16,992	41.2	6.5
Turnout			41,276	79.4	4.4
	Labour hold		Swing	3.3

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	30,664	66.3	1.9
	Conservative	John Hodgson	14,615	31.6	0.6
	Communist	Michael Weaver	945	2.0	1.4
Majority			16,049	34.7	2.5
Turnout			46,224	83.8	3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	1.3

1958 Wigan by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Alan Fitch	27,415	71.0	6.6
	Conservative	John Hodgson	10,248	26.5	5.7
	Communist	Michael Weaver	972	2.5	0.9
Majority			17,167	44.4	12.2
	Labour hold		Swing	6.2

General election 1955: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Ronald Williams	29,755	64.4	2.5
	Conservative	Harold D Lowe	14,883	32.2	0.9
	Communist	Thomas Rowlandson	1,567	3.4	N/A
Majority			14,872	32.2	1.6
Turnout			46,205	80.3	6.7
	Labour hold		Swing	0.8

General election 1951: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Ronald Williams	34,530	66.9	4.4
	Conservative	Dennis C Walls	17,078	33.1	3.1
Majority			17,452	33.8	1.3
Turnout			51,608	87.0	2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	0.7

General election 1950: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Ronald Williams	32,746	62.5	5.7
	Conservative	Harold Dowling	15,733	30.0	1.8
	Liberal	Ian Webster	2,651	5.0	N/A
	Communist	Thomas Rowlandson	1,243	2.4	N/A
Majority			17,013	32.5	3.8
Turnout			52,373	89.3	8.9
	Labour hold		Swing	2.0

Elections in the 1940s

1948 Wigan by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Ronald Williams	28,941	59.1	9.1
	Conservative	Harold Dowling	17,466	35.6	3.8
	Communist	Thomas Rowlandson	1,647	3.7	N/A
	King's Cavalier	Owen L Roberts	932	1.6	N/A
Majority			11,475	23.4	12.9
	Labour hold		Swing	6.5

}

General election 1945: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Foster	31,392	68.2	6.9
	Conservative	Evelyn Charles Lacy Hulbert-Powell	14,666	31.8	6.9
Majority			16,726	36.3	13.7
Turnout			46,058	80.4	1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	6.9

1942 Wigan by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Foster	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Elections in the 1930s

}

General election 1935: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	27,950	61.3	10.2
	Conservative	Robert Grant-Ferris	17,646	38.7	10.2
Majority			10,304	22.6	20.4
Turnout			45,596	81.7	2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	10.2

}

General election 1931: Wigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	23,544	51.1	7.4
	Conservative	Geoffrey Dorling Roberts	22,526	48.9	10.2
Majority			1,018	2.2	17.6
Turnout			46,070	84.2	2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	8.8

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Wigan[56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	27,462	58.5	0.9
	Unionist	Ernest Barlow	18,144	38.7	3.7
	Communist	Frank Bright	1,307	2.8	N/A
Majority			9,318	19.8	4.6
Turnout			46,913	86.9	1.0
Registered electors			54,008
	Labour hold		Swing	2.3

General election 1924: Wigan[56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	20,350	57.6
	Unionist	David Maxwell Fyfe	15,006	42.4
Majority			5,344	15.2
Turnout			35,356	87.9	2.9
Registered electors			40,217
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1923: Wigan[56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	19,637	57.6	1.1
	Unionist	David Lindsay	14,451	42.4	1.1
Majority			5,186	15.2	2.2
Turnout			34,088	85.0	3.9
Registered electors			40,105
	Labour hold		Swing	1.1

General election 1922: Wigan[56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	20,079	56.5	8.5
	Unionist	Albert Edward Baucher	15,436	43.5	0.5
Majority			4,643	13.0	8.0
Turnout			35,515	88.9	19.5
Registered electors			39,929
	Labour hold		Swing	4.0

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Wigan[56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Parkinson	12,914	48.0	+1.2
C	Unionist	Reginald Neville	11,584	43.0	−10.2
	Liberal	Robert Alstead	2,434	9.0	N/A
Majority			1,330	5.0	N/A
Turnout			26,932	69.4	−22.3
Registered electors			38,811
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+5.7
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Reginald Neville
• Labour: Henry Twist

General election December 1910: Wigan[57][58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Reginald Neville	4,673	53.2	+6.0
	Labour	Henry Twist	4,110	46.8	-6.0
Majority			563	6.4	+12.0
Turnout				91.7	-3.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.0

General election January 1910: Wigan[57][58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Henry Twist	4,803	52.8
	Conservative	Reginald Neville	4,293	47.2
Majority			510	5.6
Turnout				95.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Wigan[57][59]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,573	46.6	−8.1
	Independent Labour	Thorley Smith[n 4]	2,205	28.7	N/A
	Liberal	William Woods	1,900	24.7	−20.6
Majority			1,368	17.9	+8.5
Turnout			7,678	87.2	+1.6
Registered electors			8,804
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.3

General election 1900: Wigan[57][59][60]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,772	54.7	−1.5
	Liberal	William Woods	3,130	45.3	+1.5
Majority			642	9.4	−3.0
Turnout			6,902	85.6	−3.7
Registered electors			8,059
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.5

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Wigan[57][59][60]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,949	56.2	+5.4
	Lib-Lab	Thomas Aspinwall	3,075	43.8	-5.4
Majority			874	12.4	+10.8
Turnout			7,024	89.3	-1.8
Registered electors			7,864
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.4

General election 1892: Wigan[57][59]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,422	50.8	−4.0
	Lib-Lab	Thomas Aspinwall	3,312	49.2	+4.0
Majority			110	1.6	−8.0
Turnout			6,734	91.1	+3.1
Registered electors			7,390
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.0

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Wigan[57][59]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,371	54.8	-2.4
	Liberal	Cornelius McLeod Percy	2,780	45.2	+2.4
Majority			591	9.6	-4.8
Turnout			6,151	88.0	-3.0
Registered electors			6,988
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.4

General election 1885: Wigan[57][59][61]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,637	57.2	+5.7
	Liberal	George Harris Lea	2,721	42.8	−5.8
Majority			916	14.4	+14.1
Turnout			6,358	91.0	−2.1 (est)
Registered electors			6,988
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.8

By-election, 21 Dec 1883: Wigan (1 seat)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Nathaniel Eckersley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Knowles' death.

By-election, 4 Dec 1882: Wigan (1 seat)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Algernon Egerton	2,867	56.1	+4.6
	Liberal	Walter Wren[63]	2,243	43.9	−4.7
Majority			624	12.2	+11.9
Turnout			5,110	83.8	−9.3 (est)
Registered electors			6,097
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.7

• Caused by the previous election being declared void on petition.

By-election, 20 Jan 1881: Wigan (1 seat)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	3,005	54.2	+2.7
	Liberal	John Lancaster	2,536	45.8	−2.8
Majority			469	8.5	+8.2
Turnout			5,541	93.3	+0.2 (est)
Registered electors			5,937
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.8

• Caused by Lindsay's elevation to the peerage, becoming Earl of Crawford and Balcarres. This by-election was later voided on petition.

General election 1880: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Lord Lindsay	2,946	25.9	−2.0
	Conservative	Thomas Knowles	2,913	25.6	−1.3
	Liberal	John Lancaster	2,880	25.3	+4.2
	Liberal	George McCorquodale	2,653	23.3	+11.8
Majority			33	0.3	−5.5
Turnout			5,696 (est)	93.1 (est)	+4.8
Registered electors			6,120
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.6

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Lindsay	2,493	27.9	+4.4
	Conservative	Thomas Knowles	2,401	26.9	+4.0
	Liberal	John Lancaster	1,883	21.1	−5.4
	Lib-Lab	William Pickard	1,134	12.7	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Woods	1,029	11.5	−15.6
Majority			518	5.8	N/A
Turnout			4,470 (est)	88.3 (est)	+5.5
Registered electors			5,062
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.5
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.3

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Henry Woods	2,219	27.1	N/A
	Liberal	John Lancaster	2,166	26.5	N/A
	Conservative	Nathaniel Eckersley	1,920	23.5	N/A
	Conservative	John Pearson[64]	1,875	22.9	N/A
Majority			246	3.0	N/A
Turnout			4,090 (est)	82.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			4,939
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

By-election, 27 March 1866: Wigan[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Nathaniel Eckersley	411	54.1	N/A
	Liberal	John Lancaster	349	45.9	N/A
Majority			62	8.2	N/A
Turnout			760	88.1	N/A
Registered electors			863
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

• Caused by Lindsay's resignation due to prolonged service in Canada in the British Army.[65]

General election 1865: Wigan[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Lindsay	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry Woods	Unopposed
Registered electors			863
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Lindsay	500	40.0	+15.2
	Liberal	Henry Woods	476	38.1	+2.3
	Conservative	Francis Powell	273	21.9	−17.5
Turnout			625 (est)	74.8 (est)	−4.5
Registered electors			835
Majority			24	1.9	−1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.0
Majority			203	16.3	+5.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.3

General election 1857: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Francis Powell	492	39.4	+8.4
	Whig	Henry Woods	447	35.8	+0.8
	Conservative	James Lindsay	309	24.8	−9.2
Turnout			624 (est)	78.3 (est)	+5.5
Registered electors			797
Majority			45	3.6	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.0
Majority			138	11.1	+10.1
	Whig hold		Swing	+0.8

By-election, 3 October 1854: Wigan[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Joseph Acton	339	50.4	+15.4
	Conservative	Francis Powell	334	49.6	−15.4
Majority			5	0.7	−0.3
Turnout			673	85.4	+12.6
Registered electors			788
	Whig hold		Swing	+15.4

• Caused by Thicknesse's death.

General election 1852: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Ralph Anthony Thicknesse	366	35.0	N/A
	Conservative	James Lindsay	356	34.0	N/A
	Conservative	Francis Powell	324	31.0	N/A
Majority			10	1.0	N/A
Turnout			523 (est)	72.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			797
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: Wigan (2 seats)[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Lindsay	Unopposed
	Whig	Ralph Anthony Thicknesse	Unopposed
Registered electors			637
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

By-election, 16 October 1845: Wigan[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Lindsay	274	56.5	+5.8
	Whig	Ralph Anthony Thicknesse	211	43.5	−5.8
Majority			63	13.0	+12.6
Turnout			485	93.8	+2.3
Registered electors			517
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.8

• Caused by Greenall's death.

After the 1841 election, Crosse was unseated on petition and Standish was declared elected in his place on 11 April 1842.

General election 1841: Wigan (2 seats)[62][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Greenall	273	25.6	+1.1
	Conservative	Thomas Bright Crosse	268	25.1	+2.5
	Whig	Charles Strickland Standish	264	24.7	+11.4
	Whig	Charles Grenfell	263	24.6	+11.3
Majority			4	0.4	N/A
Turnout			536	91.5	+4.5
Registered electors			586
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	−5.1
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	−4.4

Elections in the 1830s

By-election, 9 March 1839: Wigan[62][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Radical	William Ewart	261	50.2	+24.0
	Conservative	John Hodson Kearsley	259	49.8	+2.7
Majority			2	0.4	−1.3
Turnout			520	94.4	+7.4
Registered electors			551
	Radical hold		Swing	+10.7

• Caused by Potter's resignation

General election 1837: Wigan (2 seats)[62][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Charles Strickland Standish	249	26.7	+1.3
	Radical	Richard Potter	245	26.2	−3.0
	Conservative	John Hodson Kearsley	229	24.5	+1.9
	Conservative	Peter Greenall	211	22.6	−0.1
Turnout			469	87.0	−5.3
Registered electors			539
Majority			4	0.4	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.2
Majority			16	1.7	−2.1
	Radical hold		Swing	−2.0

General election 1835: Wigan (2 seats)[62][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Hodson Kearsley	296	45.3	+27.6
	Radical	Richard Potter	191	29.2	−22.4
	Whig	Charles Strickland Standish	166	25.4	−5.3
Turnout			457	92.3	+2.2
Registered electors			495
Majority			105	16.1	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+16.5
Majority			25	3.8	−4.7
	Radical hold		Swing	−18.1

General election 1832: Wigan (2 seats)[62][25][66]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Ralph Thicknesse	302	30.7	−17.0
	Radical	Richard Potter	296	30.1	+26.6
	Radical	James Whittle	212	21.5	+18.0
	Tory	John Hodson Kearsley	174	17.7	−27.6
Turnout			435	90.1	c. +58.4
Registered electors			483
Majority			6	0.6	−19.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−19.7
Majority			84	8.5	N/A
	Radical gain from Tory		Swing	+20.2

General election 1831: Wigan (2 seats)[25][66]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Ralph Thicknesse	41	47.7	+41.9
	Tory	John Hodson Kearsley	24	27.9	−18.0
	Tory	Richard Bootle-Wilbraham	15	17.4	−28.5
	Radical	Richard Potter	6	7.0	+4.5
Turnout			38	c. 31.7	c. −20.0
Registered electors			c. 120
Majority			17	19.8	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+32.6
Majority			9	10.5	−16.8
	Tory hold		Swing	−19.5

By-election, 1 March 1831: Wigan[25][66]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Tory	John Hodson Kearsley	48	92.3	+0.6
	Whig	James Hardcastle	4	7.7	+1.9
Majority			44	84.6	+57.3
Turnout			52	c. 43.3	c. −8.4
Registered electors			c. 120
	Tory hold		Swing	−0.7

• Caused by Hodson's resignation

General election 1830: Wigan (2 seats)[25][66]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	James Alexander Hodson	54	44.6
	Tory	James Lindsay	45	37.2
	Tory	John Hodson Kearsley	12	9.9
	Whig	James Hardcastle	7	5.8
	Radical	Richard Potter	3	2.5
Majority			33	27.3
Turnout			62	c. 51.7
Registered electors			c. 120
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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.
3. Exceptions were the twenty-three borough constituencies, the City of London and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin
4. Nominee of the Lancashire and Cheshire Women's Textile and Other Workers Representation Committee

References

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2. Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832
3. Municipal Corporations Act 1835
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5. Local Government Act 1888
6. "A History of the County of Lancaster | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
7. A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4
8. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
9. Representation of the People Act 1918
10. "View: Lancashire XCIII.SE (includes: Ashton in Makerfield; Ince in Makerfield; Wigan.) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952". maps.nls.uk.
11. Local Administrative Units: Northern England, Frederic A. Youngs, Jr, Royal Historical Society, 1991
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13. Boundary Commission for England: First Periodical Report
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Sources

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