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Blackley and Broughton (UK Parliament constituency)

Blackley and Broughton
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Blackley and Broughton in Greater Manchester
Outline map
Location of Greater Manchester within England
CountyGreater Manchester
Population110,754 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate69,006 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlementsBlackley, Broughton, Cheetham Hill, Crumpsall
Current constituency
Created2010
Member of ParliamentGraham Stringer (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromManchester Blackley and part of Salford

Blackley and Broughton (Blayk-lee and Brore-tun) /ˈblkli ænd brɔːtən/ was a constituency[n 1] in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented through its entire existence by Graham Stringer. He was first elected in 1997 for the former Manchester Blackley and prior to this was Leader of Manchester City Council. The constituency covered north Manchester and east Salford.[n 2]

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was subject to major boundary changes, including the loss of its two City of Salford wards (Broughton) and the addition of two Borough of Rochdale wards (Middleton South). Accordingly, the seat was renamed Blackley and Middleton South, a constituency which was first contested at the 2024 general election.[3][4]

Boundaries

Map
Map of boundaries 2010-2024

The City of Manchester wards of Charlestown, Cheetham, Crumpsall, Harpurhey, and Higher Blackley; and the City of Salford wards of Broughton and Kersal.

Formed following the Boundary Commission for England's review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester, this seat is a cross-border constituency with electoral wards from Salford City Council and Manchester City Council. This redrawn constituency uses the River Irwell as the eastern border with Salford and Eccles. The constituency of Blackley and Broughton is the successor seat to Manchester Blackley.

This is one of only five seats in the UK that each cover two cities, in this case Manchester and Salford. The others in England are Cities of London and Westminster in Central London, and Morley and Outwood in West Yorkshire, which includes parts of Leeds and Wakefield. In Northern Ireland, the two cities of Newry and Armagh are included in the constituency of that name, and Belfast West includes part of the city of Lisburn.

Constituency profile

The seat covers a mostly residential area, major roads with many small parks and two large green spaces, Heaton Park which is one of the largest municipal parks in Europe and hosts the annual Parklife concert, and Boggart Hole Clough, a large ancient woodland in Blackley towards the east. A diverse constituency which stretches from the city centre's outskirts (including Manchester Arena and the Strangeways Prison), featuring a large Asian population in Cheetham and Orthodox Jewish populations in parts of Crumpsall and the Salford suburbs of Broughton and Kersal. There is also an above-average number of Irish (the Irish World Heritage Centre is based here) and other European residents.

Blackley itself is a mostly owner occupied, suburban residential area at the northern half of the seat, while the inner-city Harpurhey district has a high proportion of social housing and has faced problems with deprivation, and is mostly white working-class. More affluent areas include Higher Kersal and the Broughton Park area, with leafy roads and large detached houses.

The Constituency narrowly voted Leave in the European referendum in 2016 and the incumbent, Graham Stringer was a prominent Vote Leave.

History

Results of the Incumbent party

Most of the area has been held by Labour since 1964.[5]

Results of other parties

In 2019, the Conservatives came second with 24.6% vote share a 3% increase again from 2017. The Conservatives came second in 2017, with 21.6% of the vote, a 7% increase on the 2015 election.

A March 2017 by-election saw the Conservatives win the ward of Kersal within the constituency from Labour and in the 2018 Local Elections another Conservative candidate was elected meaning the Conservatives now hold 2/3 Salford City Council seats in the area.

The 2015 general election saw much more than the national average swing (+16.5%) to the UKIP candidate (compared with 9.5% nationwide). UKIP came second overall.

Turnout

At the 2019 General Election, turnout fell by 3.3% to 52.8%, for the first time since the constituency was created in 2010, having risen from 49.7% in 2010 and to 56.1% of electors in 2017. In 2019 the constituency had the 5th lowest turnout in the country, and the lowest of all the Manchester seats.

Members of Parliament

Election Member[6] Party
2010 Graham Stringer Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Blackley and Broughton[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Graham Stringer 23,887 61.9 ―8.6
Conservative Alexander Elias 9,485 24.6 +3.0
Brexit Party James Buckley 2,736 7.1 New
Liberal Democrats Iain Donaldson 1,590 4.1 +2.3
Green David Jones 920 2.4 +1.3
Majority 14,402 37.3 ―11.6
Turnout 38,618 52.8 ―3.3
Labour hold Swing ―5.8
General election 2017: Blackley and Broughton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Graham Stringer 28,258 70.5 +8.6
Conservative David Goss 8,657 21.6 +6.6
UKIP Martin Power 1,825 4.6 ―12.0
Liberal Democrats Richard Gadsden 737 1.8 ―0.6
Green David Jones 462 1.15 ―3.1
CPA Abi Ajoku 174 0.4 New
Majority 19,601 48.87 +3.4
Turnout 40,113 56.13 +4.5
Labour hold Swing +1.0
General election 2015: Blackley and Broughton[9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Graham Stringer 22,982 61.9 +7.6
UKIP Martin Power 6,108 16.5 +13.9
Conservative Michelle Tanfield-Johnson 5,581 15.0 ―3.3
Green David Jones 1,567 4.2 New
Liberal Democrats Richard Gadsden 874 2.4 ―11.8
Majority 16,874 45.4 +9.4
Turnout 37,112 51.6 +2.9
Labour hold Swing –3.0
General election 2010: Blackley and Broughton[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Graham Stringer 18,563 54.3
Conservative James Edsberg 6,260 18.3
Liberal Democrats William Hobhouse 4,861 14.2
BNP Derek Adams 2,469 7.2
Respect Kay Phillips 996 2.9
UKIP Robert Willescroft 894 2.6
Christian Shafiq uz Zaman 161 0.5
Majority 12,303 36.0
Turnout 34,204 49.7
Labour win (new seat)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ^ As with all constituencies after 1950, the constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

  1. ^ "Blackley and Broughton: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  3. ^ "North West | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
  6. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
  7. ^ "Blackley & Broughton Parliamentary constituency". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Blackley and Broughton Constituency - Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017. Pdf.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Blackley & Broughton". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

53°30′36″N 2°12′07″W / 53.510°N 2.202°W / 53.510; -2.202