Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Leigh is a constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

Leigh is a safe Labour seat containing the working-class area of Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....

 and its environs within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...

.

Boundary review

Following the review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester in 2009, the Boundary Commission for England recommended alterations to constituencies in the Wigan area. The electoral wards used in the altered Leigh constituency are:
  • Astley
    Astley, Greater Manchester
    Astley is a settlement within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, variously described as a suburb or a village. Astley lies on flat land to the northwest of the city of Manchester, and is crossed by the Bridgewater Canal and the A580 "East Lancashire Road"...

    , Mosley Common
    Mosley Common
    Mosley Common is a suburb of Tyldesley at the far-eastern edge of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It was anciently a hamlet in the east of the township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley, in the ancient parish of Leigh...

    , Atherleigh, Golborne
    Golborne
    Golborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. It has a population of 23,119....

     and Lowton
    Lowton
    Lowton is a village, part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is around from Leigh and south of Wigan. The settlement lies across the A580 East Lancashire Road....

     West, Leigh East, Leigh South, Leigh West, Lowton East, and Tyldesley
    Tyldesley
    Tyldesley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies an area north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, east-southeast of Wigan and west-northwest of the city of Manchester...

     all from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
    Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
    The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...


Constituency Profile

Leigh has been held by the Labour Party since they first gained it in 1922 and remains one of the safest seats in the country. The seat covers the southern and eastern parts of Wigan Borough, and comprises former coalmining communities of Leigh, Astley, and Tyldesley.

Members of Parliament

The constituency has been represented by the Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, since 2001.
ElectionMember Party
1885
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

Caleb Wright
Caleb Wright
Caleb Wright was a mill owner and Liberal politician in Lancashire, north-west England.He was one of thirteen children of William Wright, bookmaker of Tyldesley, near Manchester. At the age of nine he began work as a "piecer" in a local cotton mill. The only education he received was by attending...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1895
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...

Charles Prestwich Scott
C. P. Scott
Charles Prestwich Scott was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the Manchester Guardian from 1872 until 1929 and its owner from 1907 until his death...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

Sir John Brunner
Sir John Brunner, 2nd Baronet
Sir John Fowler Leece Brunner, 2nd Baronet was a British Liberal Party politician.Brunner was the eldest son of industrialist Sir John Tomlinson Brunner...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

January 1910 Peter Raffan
Peter Wilson Raffan
Peter Wilson Raffan was a British Liberal politician.Raffan came from Newbridge, Monmouthshire, and in 1910 was chairman of the Monmouthshire County Council. When a general election was called in January 1910, P W Raffan was selected as Liberal candidate for Leigh in south Lancashire...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

Henry Twist
Henry Twist
Henry Twist was a British miner's agent and Labour politician.Twist was born at Platt Bridge, near Wigan, Lancashire, and after primary education at the local Wesleyan School, began employment at Bamfurlong coal mine at the age of eleven...

Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

John Tinker
John Joseph Tinker
Joseph Tinker was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected at the 1923 general election as Member of Parliament for Leigh in Lancashire, and held the seat until his retirement from the House of Commons at the 1945 general election.During his 22 years in the House of Commons, Joseph...

Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...

Harold Boardman
Harold Boardman
Harold Boardman was a British Labour Party politician.Boardman worked as an official of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and was a member of Derby Town Council for 25 years...

Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

1979
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...

Lawrence Cunliffe
Lawrence Cunliffe
Lawrence Cunliffe is a retired British Labour Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Leigh from 1979 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 2001 general election...

Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

Andy Burnham Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...


Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

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