Makerfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Makerfield | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Greater Manchester |
Electorate | 74,856 (December 2010) |
Major settlements | Wigan (part) and Ashton-in-Makerfield |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1983 |
Member of Parliament | Yvonne Fovargue (Labour) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Ince, Wigan, Newton and Westhoughton |
Makerfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Yvonne Fovargue of the Labour Party.
History
This seat was formed in 1983 mostly from the Ince and Wigan seats however with some of the Leigh seat.
Constituency profile
Makerfield is on some calculations, particularly a historical measure based on the period of time since a previous party served the area, the safest Labour seat in the country — with its predecessor constituencies, the area has been held by Labour since the Parliamentary Labour Party was formed in 1906. In 2010 the constituency, of the 650 nationally, polled the 105th highest share of the vote for the Labour Party. However, Labour's majority fell significantly in 2019 as with many "Red Wall" seats.
There is no town called Makerfield itself; instead, the name refers to the suffix of 'in-Makerfield' of the towns Ashton-in-Makerfield and Ince-in-Makerfield, though since 2010 the latter is now part of the Wigan seat. The seat comprises mostly working-class residential suburbs south of Wigan and to the west of Leigh. Deprivation however is relatively lower than that of neighbouring towns and home-ownership is higher, with a mostly skilled working-class population and a lower than average proportion of ethnic minorities. There is some semi-rural land towards the west of the constituency where it borders St Helens and green buffers separating the constituent towns and villages. Formerly a coal-mining area, there is now a small amount of light industry remaining, though not as much as Wigan, and the area is mostly residential as the towns continue to grow. The area is also home to Winstanley College, one of the highest performing sixth-form colleges in the country, enrolling around 1800 students.
Boundaries
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Abram, Ashton-Golborne, Bryn, Lightshaw, Orrell, Winstanley, and Worsley Mesnes.
1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Abram, Ashton-Golborne, Bryn, Ince, Orrell, Winstanley, and Worsley Mesnes.
2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Abram, Ashton, Bryn, Hindley, Hindley Green, Orrell, Winstanley, and Worsley Mesnes.
Makerfield consists of the western and central section of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester. It comprises the wards to the south and to the west of Wigan and to the west of Leigh.
Proposed
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be expanded slightly by adding small areas of the Atherleigh ward (part of polling district LCA) and the Leigh West ward (polling district LDA).
Members of Parliament
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Michael McGuire | Labour | |
1987 | Ian McCartney | Labour | |
2010 | Yvonne Fovargue | Labour |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvonne Fovargue | 19,954 | 45.1 | –15.0 | |
Conservative | Nick King | 15,214 | 34.4 | +3.1 | |
Brexit Party | Ross Wright | 5,817 | 13.1 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | John Skipworth | 2,108 | 4.8 | +2.0 | |
Green | Sheila Shaw | 1,166 | 2.6 | New | |
Majority | 4,740 | 10.7 | –18.1 | ||
Turnout | 44,259 | 59.7 | –4.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –9.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvonne Fovargue | 28,245 | 60.1 | +8.3 | |
Conservative | Adam Carney | 14,703 | 31.3 | +11.8 | |
Independent | Bob Brierley | 2,663 | 5.7 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | John Skipworth | 1,322 | 2.8 | –0.9 | |
Majority | 13,542 | 28.8 | –0.6 | ||
Turnout | 46,933 | 63.8 | +3.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –1.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvonne Fovargue | 23,208 | 51.8 | +4.5 | |
UKIP | Andrew Collinson | 10,053 | 22.4 | New | |
Conservative | Syeda Zaidi | 8,752 | 19.5 | +0.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Skipworth | 1,639 | 3.7 | −12.5 | |
Green | Philip Mitchell | 1,136 | 2.5 | New | |
Majority | 13,155 | 29.4 | +0.9 | ||
Turnout | 44,788 | 60.2 | +0.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Yvonne Fovargue | 20,700 | 47.3 | −14.8 | |
Conservative | Itrat Ali | 8,210 | 18.8 | +5.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Dave Crowther | 7,082 | 16.2 | +4.8 | |
Independent | Bob Brierley | 3,424 | 7.8 | New | |
BNP | Ken Haslam | 3,229 | 7.4 | +4.1 | |
Independent | John Mather | 1,126 | 2.6 | New | |
Majority | 12,490 | 28.5 | -22.5 | ||
Turnout | 43,771 | 59.4 | +9.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −10.0 |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ian McCartney | 22,494 | 63.2 | −5.3 | |
Conservative | Kulveer Ranger | 4,345 | 12.2 | −5.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Trevor Beswick | 3,789 | 10.6 | −0.8 | |
Community Action | Peter Franzen | 2,769 | 7.8 | New | |
BNP | Dennis Shambley | 1,221 | 3.4 | New | |
UKIP | Gregory Atherton | 962 | 2.7 | New | |
Majority | 18,149 | 51.0 | +0.1 | ||
Turnout | 35,580 | 51.5 | +0.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +0.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ian McCartney | 23,879 | 68.5 | −5.2 | |
Conservative | Jane Brooks | 6,129 | 17.6 | +2.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Crowther | 3,990 | 11.4 | +3.1 | |
Socialist Alliance | Malcolm Jones | 858 | 2.5 | New | |
Majority | 17,750 | 50.9 | -7.0 | ||
Turnout | 34,856 | 50.9 | −15.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1990s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ian McCartney | 33,119 | 73.3 | +12.9 | |
Conservative | Michael Winstanley | 6,942 | 15.4 | −11.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Bruce Hubbard | 3,743 | 8.3 | −1.1 | |
Referendum | Andrew Seed | 1,210 | 2.7 | New | |
Majority | 26,177 | 57.9 | +24.6 | ||
Turnout | 45,014 | 66.8 | -9.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +12.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ian McCartney | 32,832 | 60.4 | +4.1 | |
Conservative | Davina Dickson | 14,714 | 27.1 | −0.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Stephen Jeffers | 5,097 | 9.4 | −7.1 | |
Liberal | Stella Cairns | 1,309 | 2.4 | New | |
Natural Law | Christopher Davies | 397 | 0.7 | New | |
Majority | 18,118 | 33.3 | +4.3 | ||
Turnout | 54,349 | 76.1 | +0.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +2.2 |
Elections in the 1980s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ian McCartney | 30,190 | 56.3 | +7.0 | |
Conservative | Laurence Robertson | 14,632 | 27.3 | −0.6 | |
Liberal | William Hewer | 8,838 | 16.5 | −6.3 | |
Majority | 15,558 | 29.0 | +7.6 | ||
Turnout | 53,660 | 75.8 | +2.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +3.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Michael McGuire | 25,114 | 49.3 | ||
Conservative | Edward Hay | 14,238 | 27.9 | ||
Liberal | Robin Grayson | 11,633 | 22.8 | ||
Majority | 10,876 | 21.4 | |||
Turnout | 50,985 | 73.7 | |||
Labour win (new seat) |