Manchester Gorton (UK Parliament constituency)

Manchester, Gorton
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Manchester Gorton in Greater Manchester in 2010.
Location of Greater Manchester within England.
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	74,681 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of parliament	Gerald Kaufman (Labour)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	North West England

South East Lancashire Gorton
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Created from	South East Lancashire

Manchester, Gorton is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Sir Gerald Kaufman, a Labour MP and Father of the House.^{[n 2]}

History

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 divided the existing seat of South East Lancashire into eight single-member constituencies, an Act which significantly increased representation across Britain.

Historic boundaries

1885–1918

South-East Lancashire, Gorton Division consisted of the area of the Gorton Local Board and the townships or parishes of Denton, Haughton, and Openshaw. The constituency comprised an area bounded on the west by the city of Manchester and to the east and south by the county boundary with Cheshire.^[2] In 1890 Manchester's municipal boundaries were extended to include Gorton and Openshaw, although constituency boundaries remained unchanged until 1918.^[3]

1918–1950

The Representation of the People Act 1918 reorganised parliamentary seats throughout Great Britain. The redistribution reflected the boundary changes of 1890, with Gorton becoming a division of the parliamentary borough of Manchester. The Manchester, Gorton Division comprised three wards of the county borough of Manchester: Gorton North, Gorton South and Openshaw. Denton and Haughton, which together had formed Denton Urban District in 1894, were transferred to the Mossley Division of Lancashire.^[3][4]

1950–1955

The next redrawing of English constituencies was effected by the Representation of the People Act 1948. The Act introduced the term "borough constituency", with Manchester Gorton Borough Constituency now consisting of four wards of the city: Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme and Openshaw.^[5] Levenshulme was transferred from the abolished Manchester Rusholme seat.^[3] The revised boundaries were first used at the 1950 general election.

1955–1983

In 1955 boundary changes were made based on the recommendations of the Boundary Commission appointed under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. The constituency was redefined as consisting of the Gorton North and Gorton South wards of the county borough and the two neighbouring urban districts of Audenshaw and Denton in the administrative county of Lancashire. Levenshulme passed to Manchester Withington while Openshaw formed the core of a new Manchester Openshaw seat.^[6]

1983–2010

The 1983 redistribution of seats reflected local government reforms made in 1974. Manchester Gorton became a borough constituency in the parliamentary county of Greater Manchester. The constituency was redefined as comprising six wards of the Metropolitan district and City of Manchester, namely: Fallowfield, Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme, Longsight and Rusholme.^[7] The constituency was unaltered at the next redistribution prior to the 1997 general election.^[8]

Boundaries

From the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the seat has had wards (since the 2010 general election) of:

• Fallowfield, Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme, Longsight, Rusholme and Whalley Range.^[9]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[10]	Party
	1885	Richard Peacock	Liberal
	1889 by-election	Sir William Mather	Liberal
	1895	Ernest Frederic George Hatch	Conservative
	1904		Liberal
	1906	John Hodge	Labour
	1923	Joseph Compton	Labour
	1931	Eric Bailey	Conservative
	1935	Joseph Compton	Labour
	1937 by-election	William Wedgewood Benn	Labour
	1942 by-election	William Oldfield	Labour
	1955	Konni Zilliacus	Labour
	1967 by-election	Kenneth Marks	Labour
	1983	Sir Gerald Kaufman	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Manchester Gorton[11][12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	28,187	67.1	+17.0
	Green	Laura Bannister	4,108	9.8	+7.0
	Conservative	Mohammed Afzal	4,063	9.7	-1.4
	UKIP	Phil Eckersley	3,434	8.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Dave Page	1,782	4.2	-28.4
	TUSC	Simon Hickman	264	0.6	-0.3
	Pirate	Cris Chesha	181	0.4	-0.2
Majority			24,079	57.3	+39.8
Turnout			42,019	57.6	+7.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.0

General Election 2010: Manchester Gorton[13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	19,211	50.1	−3.0
	Liberal Democrat	Qassim Afzal	12,508	32.6	−0.9
	Conservative	Caroline Healy	4,224	11.0	+1.2
	Green	Justine Hall	1,048	2.7	N/A
	Respect	Mohammed Zulfikar	507	1.3	N/A
	TUSC	Karen Reissman	337	0.9	N/A
	Christian	Peter Harrison	254	0.7	N/A
	Pirate	Tim Dobson	236	0.6	N/A
Majority			6,703	17.5	−2.1
Turnout			38,325	50.5	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Manchester Gorton[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	15,480	53.2	−9.6
	Liberal Democrat	Qassim Afzal	9,672	33.2	+11.9
	Conservative	Amanda Byrne	2,848	9.8	−0.1
	UKIP	Gregg Beaman	783	2.7	+1.0
	Workers Revolutionary	Dan Waller	181	0.6	N/A
	Resolutionist Party	Matthew Kay	159	0.5	N/A
Majority			5,808	19.9
Turnout			29,123	45.0	+2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−10.8

General Election 2001: Manchester Gorton[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	17,099	62.8	−2.5
	Liberal Democrat	Miss Jacqueline M. Pearcey	5,795	21.3	+3.8
	Conservative	Christopher George Causer	2,705	9.9	−1.8
	Green	Bruce Simon Bingham	835	3.1	+2.2
	UKIP	Rashid Ahmed Bhatti	462	1.7	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Miss Kirsty Muir	333	1.2	−0.2
Majority			11,304	41.5
Turnout				42.7	−12.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

Changes in vote compared with notional figures for 1997 election following boundary changes.

General Election 1997: Manchester Gorton[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	23,704	65.3	+2.9
	Liberal Democrat	Jackie Pearcey	6,362	17.5	+3.5
	Conservative	Guy Senior	4,249	11.7	−7.8
	Referendum	Kevin Hartley	812	2.2	N/A
	Green	Spencer FitzGibbon	683	1.9	+0.3
	Socialist Labour	Trevor Wongsam	501	1.4	N/A
Majority			17,342	47.8
Turnout			36,311	55.6	−5.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Manchester, Gorton[18][19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	23,671	62.3	+7.9
	Conservative	Jonathan Bullock	7,392	19.5	−3.8
	Liberal Democrat	Phil Harris	5,327	14.0	−7.7
	Liberal	Terry Henderson	767	2.0	−19.7
	Green	Mike Daw	595	1.6	N/A
	Revolutionary Communist	Miss Pam Lawrence	108	0.3	N/A
	Natural Law	Philip D. Mitchell	84	0.2	N/A
	International Communist	Mrs Colleen E. Smith	30	0.1	N/A
Majority			16,279	42.9	+11.8
Turnout			37,974	60.8	−9.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.9

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Manchester Gorton[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	24,615	54.40
	Conservative	John Kershaw	10,550	23.32
	Liberal	Keith Arthur Whitmore	9,830	21.72
	Red Front	Pam Lawrence	253	0.56
Majority			14,065	31.08
Turnout				70.43
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Manchester Gorton[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	22,460	51.20
	Conservative	John Kershaw	12,495	28.48
	Liberal	Keith Arthur Whitmore	8,348	19.03
	Communist	Malcolm Cowle	333	0.76
	BNP	Leslie Charles Andrews	231	0.53
Majority			9,965	22.72
Turnout				67.86
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Manchester Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Marks	22,293	53.54
	Conservative	Michael Lord	16,009	38.45
	Liberal	Graham Shaw	2,867	6.89
	National Front	Richard Chadfield	469	1.13
Majority			6,284	15.09
Turnout				77.19
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Manchester Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Marks	21,287	53.63
	Conservative	Stephen Waley-Cohen	12,423	31.30
	Liberal	A. Cottam	5,984	15.08
Majority			8,864	22.33
Turnout				70.94
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Manchester Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Marks	22,276	51.23
	Conservative	Stephen Waley-Cohen	13,300	30.59
	Liberal	Robert Brooks	7,906	18.18
Majority			8,976	20.64
Turnout				78.35
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Marks	23,679	53.47
	Conservative	J.A. Kevill	17,594	39.73
	Liberal	J.M. Ashley	3,013	6.80
Majority			6,085	13.74
Turnout				71.90
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

Manchester Gorton by-election, 1967
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Marks	19.259	45.89	-14.21
	Conservative	Winston Churchill	18,682	44.51	+4.61
	Liberal	Terry Lacey	2,471	5.89	N/A
	All Party Alliance	John Creasey	1,123	2.68	N/A
	Communist	Victor Eddisford	437	1.04	N/A
Majority			557
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1966: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Konni Zilliacus	24,726	60.10
	Conservative	I.K. Paley	16,418	39.90
Majority			8,308	20.19
Turnout				72.56
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Konni Zilliacus	23,895	55.11
	Conservative	E. Hodson	19,465	44.89
Majority			4,430	10.22
Turnout				76.44
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Konni Zilliacus	23,337	50.94
	Conservative	D.H. Moore	22,480	49.06
Majority			857	1.87
Turnout				82.04
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Konni Zilliacus	21,102	50.32
	Conservative	K.B. Campbell	20,833	49.68
Majority			269	0.64
Turnout				76.49
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Henry Oldfield	28,763	58.02
	Conservative	S.H. Garlick	20,815	41.98
Majority			7,948	16.03
Turnout				82.31
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Manchester, Gorton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Henry Oldfield	28,088	55.18
	Conservative	J. Watts	18,564	36.47
	Liberal	A Maxwell Caplin	3,377	6.63
	Communist	S. Abbott	873	1.72
Majority			9,524	18.71
Turnout				85.49
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Manchester, Gorton Manchester County Borough wards of Gorton North, Gorton South, Openshaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Oldfield	24,095	69.05
	Conservative	H. Sharp	10,799	30.95
Majority			13,296	38.10
Turnout				75.53
	Labour hold		Swing

By Election 11 March 1942: Manchester, Gorton Manchester County Borough wards of Gorton North, Gorton South, Openshaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Oldfield	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

By Election 20 February 1937: Manchester, Gorton Manchester County Borough wards of Gorton North, Gorton South, Openshaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wedgewood Benn	17,849
	Conservative	A Spearman	13,091
Majority			4,758
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1935: Manchester, Gorton Manchester County Borough wards of Gorton North, Gorton South, Openshaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Compton	20,039	55.86
	Conservative	Eric Bailey	15,833	44.14
Majority			4,206	11.73
Turnout				77.12
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1931: Manchester, Gorton Manchester County Borough wards of Gorton North, Gorton South, Openshaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eric Bailey	21,228	55.1
	Labour	Joseph Compton	16,316	42.3
	Communist	Chris Flanagan	1,000	2.6
Majority			4,912	12.7
Turnout				81.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Manchester Gorton [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Compton	22,056	61.1
	Unionist	Alfred Cecil Critchley	10,664	29.5
	Liberal	Mrs Beatrice Annie Bayfield	3,385	9.4
Majority			11,392	31.6
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Manchester Gorton [23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Compton	16,080	60.0
	Unionist	William Heap	10,702	40.0
Majority			5,378	20.0
Turnout				74.5
	Labour hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes and references

Notes

1. A borough 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.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Seventh Schedule, Counties At Large, Number Of Members And Names And Contents Of Divisions, Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (C.23)
3. F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.II: Northern England, London 1991
4. Ninth Schedule: Redistribution of Seats, Representation of the People Act 1918 (C.5)
5. First Schedule, Parliamentary Constituencies, Representation of the People Act 1948 (C.65)
6. The Parliamentary Constituencies (Manchester, Oldham and Ashton under Lyne) Order, 1955 (S.I. 1955 No.16)
7. The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983 No.417)
8. The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995 No.1626)
9. Fifth periodical report - Volume 3 Mapping for the London Boroughs and the Metropolitan Counties, The Stationery Office, 26 February 2007, ISBN 0-10-170322-8
10. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 2)
11. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. "Manchester Gorton". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
13. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
14. BBC - Election 2010 - Manchester Gorton
15. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
20. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
23. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig