Heywood And Middleton
Prior to the 2024 general election, the constituency was known as Heywood and Middleton. The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies proposed that two of the Middleton wards be included in a new constituency named Blackley and Middleton South and this seat be renamed Heywood and Middleton North.
Constituency profile
The constituency covers the west half of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, including the towns of Heywood and Middleton, and some of the western fringes of Rochdale itself such as Castleton. Norden and Bamford are strong Conservative areas, with several million-pound houses, but all other wards are mostly favourable to Labour. Middleton includes the large overspill council estate of Langley though the South Middleton ward includes a relatively affluent area in Alkrington Garden Village, but even this ward generally returns Labour councillors.
Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as a "Somewhere" demographic, indicating socially conservative, economically soft left views and strong support for Brexit.
Boundaries
1983–1997: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Heywood North, Heywood South, Heywood West, Middleton Central, Middleton East, Middleton North, Middleton South, and Middleton West.
1997–2010: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Castleton, Heywood North, Heywood South, Heywood West, Middleton Central, Middleton East, Middleton North, Middleton South, Middleton West, and Norden and Bamford.
2010–2024: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Bamford, Castleton, East Middleton, Hopwood Hall, Norden, North Heywood, North Middleton, South Middleton, West Heywood, and West Middleton.
2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election the constituency of Heywood and Middleton North is composed of the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- Bamford; Castleton; Hopwood Hall; Norden; North Heywood; North Middleton; Spotland and Falinge; West Heywood; West Middleton.
East Middleton and South Middleton wards were transferred to the new constituency of Blackley and Middleton South, partly compensated by the addition of the Spotland and Falinge ward from Rochdale.
History
The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the former seats of Heywood and Royton and Middleton and Prestwich and was held by the Labour Party since then until the 2019 Election.
From 1983 until his retirement in 1997, the MP was Jim Callaghan, not to be confused with a former Prime Minister with the same name.
In a 2014 by-election UKIP came within 617 votes of winning the seat, which was on the same day as the Rochester and Strood by-election, and in 2015 it produced one of their largest results in the country. Subsequently, the constituency heavily voted to Leave in the EU referendum and swung to the Conservatives for the first time in 2019, in line with many other Leave-voting Labour seats in the North and Midlands.
Under the 2023 boundary changes, it was estimated that the newly named seat would notionally have been held by Labour. As a result, the sitting Conservative MP, Chris Clarkson, decided not to stand in 2024 and he was selected for the previously safe seat of Stratford-on-Avon, where he was defeated. The Labour Party candidate, Elsie Blundell, duly won this seat with a majority of 16.4% over Reform UK, with the Conservatives dropping down to third place.
Members of Parliament
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Jim Callaghan | Labour | |
1997 | Jim Dobbin | Labour Co-op | |
2014 by-election | Liz McInnes | Labour | |
2019 | Chris Clarkson | Conservative | |
2024 | Elsie Blundell | Labour |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Elsie Blundell | 15,069 | 40.6 | –2.5 | |
Reform UK | Steve Potter | 8,987 | 24.2 | +15.8 | |
Conservative | Laura-Beth Thompson | 6,423 | 17.3 | –24.2 | |
Independent | Chris Furlong | 4,349 | 11.7 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Tom Shaw | 2,302 | 6.2 | +2.0 | |
Majority | 6,082 | 16.4 | +14.8 | ||
Turnout | 37,130 | 49.6 | −8.3 | ||
Registered electors | 74,786 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | -9.1 |
Heywood and Middleton North is the only constituency (in England or Wales) where the Green Party of England and Wales didn’t stand a candidate.
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional result | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Vote | % | |
Labour | 18,281 | 43.1 | |
Conservative | 17,601 | 41.5 | |
Brexit Party | 3,581 | 8.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1,787 | 4.2 | |
Green | 1,196 | 2.8 | |
Turnout | 42,446 | 57.9 | |
Electorate | 73,306 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chris Clarkson | 20,453 | 43.1 | +5.1 | |
Labour | Liz McInnes | 19,790 | 41.7 | –11.6 | |
Brexit Party | Colin Lambert | 3,952 | 8.3 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Anthony Smith | 2,073 | 4.4 | +2.2 | |
Green | Nigel Ainsworth-Barnes | 1,220 | 2.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 663 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 47,488 | 59.2 | –3.2 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +8.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Liz McInnes | 26,578 | 53.3 | +10.2 | |
Conservative | Chris Clarkson | 18,961 | 38.0 | +18.9 | |
UKIP | Lee Seville | 3,239 | 6.5 | –25.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Bill Winlow | 1,087 | 2.2 | –1.1 | |
Majority | 7,617 | 15.3 | +4.4 | ||
Turnout | 49,865 | 62.4 | +1.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –4.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Liz McInnes | 20,926 | 43.1 | +3.0 | |
UKIP | John Bickley | 15,627 | 32.2 | +29.6 | |
Conservative | Iain Gartside | 9,268 | 19.1 | –8.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Anthony Smith | 1,607 | 3.3 | –19.4 | |
Green | Abi Jackson | 1,110 | 2.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,299 | 10.9 | –2.0 | ||
Turnout | 48,538 | 60.7 | +3.2 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –16.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Liz McInnes | 11,633 | 40.9 | +0.8 | |
UKIP | John Bickley | 11,016 | 38.7 | +36.1 | |
Conservative | Iain Gartside | 3,496 | 12.3 | –14.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Anthony Smith | 1,457 | 5.1 | –17.6 | |
Green | Abi Jackson | 870 | 3.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 617 | 2.2 | –10.7 | ||
Turnout | 28,472 | 36.0 | −21.5 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | –18.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | Jim Dobbin | 18,499 | 40.1 | –8.2 | |
Conservative | Mike Holly | 12,528 | 27.2 | +5.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Wera Hobhouse | 10,474 | 22.7 | +2.5 | |
BNP | Peter Greenwood | 3,239 | 7.0 | +2.6 | |
UKIP | Victoria Cecil | 1,215 | 2.6 | +0.7 | |
Independent | Chrissy Lee | 170 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,971 | 12.9 | –13.6 | ||
Turnout | 46,125 | 57.5 | +3.7 | ||
Labour Co-op hold | Swing | –6.8 |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | Jim Dobbin | 19,438 | 49.8 | –7.9 | |
Conservative | Stephen Pathmarajah | 8,355 | 21.4 | –6.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Crea Lavin | 7,261 | 18.6 | +7.4 | |
BNP | Gary Aronsson | 1,855 | 4.7 | N/A | |
Liberal | Philip Burke | 1,377 | 3.5 | +0.9 | |
UKIP | John Whittaker | 767 | 2.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,083 | 28.4 | –1.7 | ||
Turnout | 39,053 | 54.6 | +1.5 | ||
Labour Co-op hold | Swing | –0.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | Jim Dobbin | 22,377 | 57.7 | 0.0 | |
Conservative | Marilyn Hopkins | 10,707 | 27.6 | +4.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ian Greenhalgh | 4,329 | 11.2 | –4.4 | |
Liberal | Philip Burke | 1,021 | 2.6 | +1.1 | |
Christian Democrats | Christine West | 345 | 0.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,670 | 30.1 | –4.6 | ||
Turnout | 38,779 | 53.1 | −15.3 | ||
Labour Co-op hold | Swing | –2.3 |
Elections in the 1990s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | Jim Dobbin | 29,179 | 57.7 | +11.2 | |
Conservative | Sebastian Grigg | 11,637 | 23.0 | –8.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Clayton | 7,908 | 15.6 | –4.3 | |
Referendum | Christine West | 1,076 | 2.1 | N/A | |
Liberal | Philip Burke | 750 | 1.5 | –0.3 | |
Majority | 17,542 | 34.7 | +15.8 | ||
Turnout | 50,550 | 68.4 | −6.5 | ||
Labour Co-op win |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Callaghan | 22,380 | 52.3 | +2.4 | |
Conservative | Eric Ollerenshaw | 14,306 | 33.4 | –0.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Michael B. Taylor | 5,252 | 12.3 | –3.5 | |
Liberal | Philip Burke | 757 | 1.8 | N/A | |
Natural Law | Anne-Marie Scott | 134 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 8,074 | 18.9 | +3.3 | ||
Turnout | 42,829 | 74.9 | +1.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.6 |
Elections in the 1980s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Callaghan | 21,900 | 49.9 | +6.6 | |
Conservative | Roy Walker | 15,052 | 34.3 | +0.5 | |
SDP | Ian Greenhalgh | 6,953 | 15.8 | –6.3 | |
Majority | 6,848 | 15.6 | +6.1 | ||
Turnout | 43,905 | 73.8 | +3.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +3.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Callaghan | 18,111 | 43.3 | ||
Conservative | Christine Hodgson | 14,137 | 33.8 | ||
SDP | Arthur Rumbelow | 9,262 | 22.1 | ||
BNP | Kenneth Henderson | 316 | 0.8 | ||
Majority | 3,974 | 9.5 | |||
Turnout | 41,826 | 69.9 | |||
Labour win (new seat) |
See also
References
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "North West | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Middleton name no longer to be wiped from Parliamentary map under constituency boundary changes as Boundary Commission for England publishes final recommendations". www.rochdaleonline.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Heywood+and+Middleton
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated - Heywood and Middleton North". Rochdale Council. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ "Our candidates".
- ^ https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/downloads/file/2388/statement-of-persons-nominated-heywood-and-middleton-north
- ^ https://www.chorley.gov.uk/media/3390/Persons-Nominated-and-Notice-of-Poll-and-Polling-Locations-2024/pdf/Persons_Nominated_and_Notice_of_Poll_and_Polling_Locations_2024.pdf?m=1717778284623
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated 2019" (PDF).
- ^ "Heywood & Middleton". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Iain Gartside Chosen as By-Election Candidate". Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale Conservatives.
- ^ "Lib Dems select Anthony Smith for Heywood and Middleton contest". www.rochdaleonline.co.uk.
- ^ "Rochdale Green Party Announce Abi Jackson as their candidate for the Heywood & Middleton by-election" (Press release). Green Party of England and Wales. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ^ Council, Rochdale Metropolitan Borough (6 May 2010). "Election results for Heywood & Middleton, 6 May 2010". democracy.rochdale.gov.uk.
- ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "UK General Election results: June 1987". Archived from the original on 28 May 2004.
- ^ "UK General Election results: June 1983". Archived from the original on 3 January 2004.
External links
- Heywood and Middleton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Heywood and Middleton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Heywood and Middleton North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK