Manchester Withington

Constituency profile

Demographically contrasting with neighbouring inner-city seats with similarly high Labour majorities, this constituency is the most affluent of all the Manchester seats, as it contains the medium-to-high income average areas of Chorlton and Didsbury, as well as mixed Old Moat and Withington neighbourhoods. Manchester Withington is a seat south of Manchester's city centre with a sizeable student population. It also has a particularly high number of young professionals and graduates. The southern border with Wythenshawe is the River Mersey, along which there are mostly green spaces, such as Fletcher Moss Park and Chorlton Water Park. Chorlton and Didsbury are mostly middle-class areas, with houses on leafy roads and thriving independent shops on their respective high streets. House prices are higher than other parts of Manchester, and the area has one of the highest proportion of graduates in the city. Many of the large Victorian family houses in Didsbury have been split into apartments for young professionals moving into the area.

History

In the post-war period, 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 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 retained the seat in 2010, with both of the major parties' losing candidates becoming MPs elsewhere by the next election: Lucy Powell of Labour in Manchester Central in a 2012 by-election, and Conservative Chris Green in Bolton West in 2015.

Amidst a UK-wide collapse in support for the Lib Dems, the seat swung back to Labour in 2015 and in 2017 it became one of the safest Labour seats in the country, with an almost 30,000 majority for Jeff Smith. It was also one of the few seats in England outside London in 2015 where UKIP lost their deposit.

Smith retained the seat in 2019 with a slightly reduced majority, but this was halved in 2024 when a resurgent Green Party jumped from fourth to second place, overtaking the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives falling to fourth place, narrowly avoiding losing their deposit.

Boundaries

Historic

1950–1955: The County Borough of Manchester wards of Rusholme and Withington.

1955–1974: The County Borough of Manchester wards of Barlow Moor, Burnage, Levenshulme, Old Moat, and Withington.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Manchester wards of Barlow Moor, Burnage, Didsbury, Old Moat, and Withington.

1983–2018: The City of Manchester wards of Barlow Moor, Burnage, Chorlton, Didsbury, Old Moat, and Withington.2018–2024: The City of Manchester wards of Burnage (part), Chorlton (part), Chorlton Park (part), Didsbury East, Didsbury West, Old Moat, and Withington.

Following a local government review of ward boundaries which became effective from May 2018, the contents of the constituency were adjusted, but this did not affect its boundaries.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following wards of the City of Manchester (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• Chorlton; Chorlton Park; Didsbury East; Didsbury West; Old Moat; Withington.

The boundaries were subject to minor changes to align with the revised ward boundaries, with the whole of the Burnage ward being included in new constituency of Gorton and Denton.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

|reg. electors = 70,549

Elections in the 2010s

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Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Election in the 1940s

Election in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Notes

References

References

1. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics".
2. [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/constituency/1113/manchester-withington Constituency Profile] ''[[The Guardian]]''
3. "DataShine: Census".
4. {{cite legislation UK. (1973)
5. LGBCE. "Manchester {{!}} LGBCE".
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023".
7. {{Rayment-hc. w. 4. (March 2012)
8. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001354 Manchester Withington]
9. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". [[UK Parliament]].
10. "Blackley & Broughton Parliamentary constituency". Manchester City Council.
11. "Manchester Withington - Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll". [[Manchester City Council]].
12. "Election Data 2015". [[Electoral Calculus]].
13. "Election Data 2010". [[Electoral Calculus]].
14. "Election Data 2005". [[Electoral Calculus]].
15. "Parliamentary Election Results 2005". Manchester City Council.
16. "Election Data 2001". [[Electoral Calculus]].
17. "Election Data 1997". [[Electoral Calculus]].
18. "Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
19. (9 April 1992). "UK General Election results April 1992". Politics Resources.
20. "Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
21. "Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
22. [http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge45/i13.htm UK General Election results: July 1945]
23. British parliamentary election results, 1918–1949 by FWS Craig
24. 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 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U206893, accessed 18 Sept 2017]