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Wikipedia / Manchester Withington

Manchester Withington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jeff Smith of Labour.

Constituency profile

Manchester Withington is a suburban constituency located in Greater Manchester. It covers neighbourhoods of Manchester around south of the city centre, including Withington, Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Didsbury. Manchester is a major city that grew from textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. The city has undergone strong economic development in the 21st century and is sometimes considered the United Kingdom's "second city".

Manchester Withington is the wealthiest of Manchester's constituencies; there is some deprivation in Withington but the rest of the constituency is generally affluent, especially in Didsbury. The constituency has a large student and graduate population due to its location close to the University of Manchester's Fallowfield Campus. Much of the area was developed during the Victorian era to house the growing city's middle-class residents and contains leafy suburbs and many large detached and semi-detached properties. House prices here are higher than the national average and considerably higher than the rest of North West England.

Residents of Manchester Withington are generally young and well-educated. Few residents are married and the homeownership rate is low, however household income is high and many residents work in professional occupations, particularly in the health and property sectors. Rates of unemployment and child poverty are lower than the rest of the region. White people made up 72% of the population at the 2021 census, including a large Irish community. Asians were the largest ethnic minority group at 15%, mostly of Pakistani origin.

The constituency is mostly represented by the Labour Party at the local city council, with some Liberal Democrats in West Didsbury and some Green Party representatives in the constituency's north. Voters in Manchester Withington overwhelmingly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 80% voted to remain compared to 48% nationwide, making it the fifth most remain-supporting constituency out of 650 across the United Kingdom according to Electoral Calculus.

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

1918–1950: The County Borough of Manchester wards of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Didsbury, and Withington.

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

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

Election in the 1940s

Election in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

See also

Notes

References