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Stretford and Urmston (UK Parliament constituency)

Stretford and Urmston
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Stretford and Urmston in North West England
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	70,520 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Stretford, Urmston, Davyhulme, Partington
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Andrew Western (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Davyhulme, Stretford

Stretford and Urmston is a constituency^{[n 1]}inGreater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since a 2022 by-electionbyAndrew Western, a Labour MP.

History[edit]

Stretford and Urmston was created in 1997 from significant parts of the former constituencies of Davyhulme – a Conservative-held marginal whose last member was the Conservative Winston Churchill (grandson of the former Prime Minister) – and safely Labour Stretford, whose last member was Tony Lloyd (Labour).

The constituency was first represented by Beverley Hughes, who stood down at the 2010 general election.^[2] Kate Green, a Labour front-bencher, held the seat from 2010 until she resigned in November 2022 after being nominated as Greater Manchester's deputy mayor for policing and crime, taking over from Beverley Hughes once again.^[3][4]

Boundaries[edit]

Map of current boundaries

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford wards of Bucklow, Clifford, Davyhulme East, Davyhulme West, Flixton, Longford, Park, Stretford, Talbot, and Urmston.

2010–2023: The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford wards of Bucklow-St. Martins, Clifford, Davyhulme East, Davyhulme West, Flixton, Gorse Hill, Longford, Stretford, and Urmston.

2023–present: Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,^[5][6] the constituency now comprises the following wards of Metropolitan Borough of Trafford:

• Bucklow-St. Martins; Davyhulme; Flixton; Gorse Hill & Cornbrook; Longford; Lostock & Barton; Old Trafford; Stretford & Humphrey Park; Urmston.^[7]

This is one of three seats in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford and covers its north and west. As of 2000, the total electorate for the constituency was 72,414.^[8]

Proposed[edit]

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency (based on the ward structure which existed on 1 December 2020) will be unchanged from the 2024 United Kingdom general election.^[9]

Constituency profile[edit]

The Conservatives are traditionally strongest in the affluent suburbs of Davyhulme and Flixton, whereas Urmston is often a marginal battle between them and Labour. But in the 2018 and 2019 Local Elections, Labour won every ward in the constituency for the first time ever, gaining Flixton and both Davyhulme wards. These were crucial seats in terms of giving them control of Trafford Council in May 2019. The rest of the wards, which include Stretford and its suburbs, and the areas of Carrington and Partington (Bucklow-St Martins) are strongly Labour. There is significant commercial activity in the north-east of the seat along the ship canal at Trafford Park, which also includes the Trafford Centre, opened in 1998 and is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK.

The seat is also home to Manchester United's Old Trafford football ground as well as the cricket ground of the same name.

The constituency is of approximately average scale in area for Greater Manchester, featuring several green spaces, and is convenient for workers in both the cities of Salford and Manchester. It is the only borough in Greater Manchester to retain state-funded grammar schools, two of which, Stretford Grammar and Urmston Grammar, are in this seat, with the others being in Altrincham in the neighbouring seat.

As to other parties, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP are to date the only parties to have achieved the retention of deposit threshold of 5% of the vote, the former achieving a peak vote share of 16.9% in 2010.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher the regional average of 4.4%, at 4.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. This in turn was higher than the national average at the time of 3.8%^[10]

Members of Parliament[edit]

Elections[edit]

Elections in the 2020s[edit]

By-election 2022: Stretford and Urmston^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Western	12,828	69.6	9.3
	Conservative	Emily Carter-Kandola	2,922	15.9	11.7
	Green	Dan Jerrome	789	4.3	1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Anna Fryer	659	3.6	2.4
	Reform UK	Paul Swansborough	650	3.5	New
	Rejoin EU	Jim Newell	237	1.3	New
	Independent	Hazel Gibb	183	1.0	New
	Freedom Alliance	Christina Glancy	76	0.4	New
	SDP	Julien Yvon	74	0.4	New
Majority			9,906	53.7	21.0
Turnout			18,418	25.8	43.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.5

Elections in the 2010s[edit]

Elections in the 2000s[edit]

Elections in the 1990s[edit]

See also[edit]

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

53°27′N 2°20′W / 53.45°N 2.33°W / 53.45; -2.33