Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)

Leigh was a constituency^{[n 1]} in Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

Leigh
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Leigh in Greater Manchester
Location of Greater Manchester within England
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	77,001 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Leigh, Astley, Tyldesley, Lowton, Golborne
1885–2024
Seats	One
Created from	South West Lancashire
Replaced by	Leigh and Atherton

From 2019 to 2024, Leigh was held by James Grundy of the Conservative Party. Before this, the seat was represented by Andy Burnham of the Labour Party, who served as the MP from 2001, and Shadow Home Secretary in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet until October 2016.^{[n 2]} Burnham stood down following his victory at the 2017 Greater Manchester mayoral election, and was succeeded by the Labour and Co-operative Party's Jo Platt who was MP from 2017 to 2019. Burnham, who was re-elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2021 with an increased majority, still resides in the Leigh constituency.

The constituency was abolished as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. With the addition of the town of Atherton, it was reformed as Leigh and Atherton, and was first contested in the 2024 general election.^[2]

Constituency profile

Leigh in Lancashire, boundaries used 1974–1983

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

Leigh was a marginal seat in the south of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and on the border with Warrington, with virtually all wards held by the Labour Party at local level, although also containing the more Conservative-inclined area of Lowton East. In line with the wider borough of Wigan it voted by a majority to Leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, but has slightly lower levels of deprivation than the town of Wigan itself,^[3] and is mostly made of skilled working-class families in residential areas, with some light industry, all factors in the swing towards the Conservatives in 2019. Leigh, Tyldesley and Golborne are former mill and mining towns undergoing urban regeneration. Pennington Flash in between Lowton and Leigh is an important local nature reserve and area of natural regeneration in a former mining area.

Boundaries

Following the review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester in 2009, the Boundary Commission for England recommended alterations to constituencies in the Wigan area. The electoral wards used in the altered Leigh constituency were:

• Astley, Mosley Common, Atherleigh, Golborne and Lowton West, Leigh East, Leigh South, Leigh West, Lowton East and Tyldesley, all from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan.

History

The constituency was created in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a result of the South West Lancashire constituency being divided into eight single member seats. Between 1922 and December 2019, candidates belonging to the Labour Party had continuously served the seat, which for the political party made it one of their longest held constituencies. One recent Labour incumbent was Andy Burnham, Shadow Home Secretary from September 2015 to October 2016.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[4]	Party
	1885	Caleb Wright	Liberal
	1895	C. P. Scott	Liberal
	1906	Sir John Brunner	Liberal
	January 1910	Peter Raffan	Liberal
	1922	Henry Twist	Labour
	1923	John Tinker	Labour
	1945	Harold Boardman	Labour
	1979	Lawrence Cunliffe	Labour
	2001	Andy Burnham	Labour
	2017	Jo Platt	Labour Co-op
	2019	James Grundy	Conservative
	2024	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Leigh^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Grundy	21,266	45.3	+9.5
	Labour Co-op	Jo Platt	19,301	41.1	−15.1
	Brexit Party	James Melly	3,161	6.7	New
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Clayton	2,252	4.8	+2.8
	Independent	Ann O'Bern	551	1.2	New
	UKIP	Leon Peters	448	0.9	−5.0
Majority			1,965	4.2	N/A
Turnout			46,979	60.9	−0.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+12.3

The 2019 result saw the largest 2017 majority for a party overturned in the country.^[6] It also saw the largest fall in the UKIP vote share.^[6]

General election 2017: Leigh^[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jo Platt	26,347	56.2	+2.3
	Conservative	James Grundy	16,793	35.8	+13.2
	UKIP	Mark Bradley	2,783	5.9	−13.8
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Kilpatrick	951	2.0	−0.5
Majority			9,554	20.4	−10.1
Turnout			46,874	61.5	+4.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.4

General election 2015: Leigh^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andy Burnham	24,312	53.9	+5.9
	Conservative	Louisa Townson	10,216	22.6	+1.7
	UKIP	Les Leggett	8,903	19.7	+16.2
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Winlow	1,150	2.5	−15.7
	TUSC	Stephen Hall	542	1.2	New
Majority			14,096	31.3	+4.2
Turnout			45,123	59.4	−2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 2010: Leigh^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andy Burnham	21,295	48.0	−15.3
	Conservative	Shazia Awan	9,284	20.9	+3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Blackburn	8,049	18.2	−2.1
	BNP	Gary Chadwick	2,724	6.1	New
	UKIP	Mary Lavelle	1,535	3.5	New
	Independent	Norman Bradbury	988	2.2	New
	Independent	Terry Dainty	320	0.7	New
	Christian	Ryan Hessell	137	0.3	New
Majority			12,011	27.1	−20.2
Turnout			44,332	62.0	+10.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Leigh^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andy Burnham	23,097	63.3	−1.2
	Conservative	Laurance Wedderburn	5,825	16.0	−2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Dave Crowther	4,962	13.6	+0.8
	Community Action	Ian Franzen	2,185	6.0	New
	Legalise Cannabis	Thomas Hampson	415	1.1	New
Majority			17,272	47.3	+1.0
Turnout			36,484	50.3	+0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.5

General election 2001: Leigh^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andy Burnham	22,783	64.5	−4.4
	Conservative	Andrew Oxley	6,421	18.2	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Ray Atkins	4,524	12.8	+1.6
	Socialist Labour	William Kelly	820	2.3	New
	UKIP	Chris Best	750	2.1	New
Majority			16,362	46.3	−7.0
Turnout			35,298	49.7	−16.0
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.5

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Leigh^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Lawrence Cunliffe	31,652	68.9	+7.6
	Conservative	Edward Young	7,156	15.6	−9.9
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Hough	5,163	11.2	−1.4
	Referendum	Roy Constable	1,949	4.2	New
Majority			24,496	53.3	+17.5
Turnout			45,920	65.7	−9.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.8

General election 1992: Leigh^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lawrence Cunliffe	32,225	61.3	+2.7
	Conservative	Joseph Egerton	13,398	25.5	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Bleakley	6,621	12.6	−2.5
	Natural Law	Adrian Tayler	320	0.6	New
Majority			18,827	35.8	+3.5
Turnout			52,564	75.0	+0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Leigh^[18][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lawrence Cunliffe	30,064	58.6	+7.4
	Conservative	Louis Brown	13,458	26.3	−0.5
	SDP	Steven Jones	7,743	15.1	−6.2
Majority			16,606	32.3	+7.7
Turnout			51,265	74.1	+1.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1983: Leigh^[20][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lawrence Cunliffe	25,477	51.2	−2.9
	Conservative	Paul Johnstone	13,163	26.8	−9.7
	SDP	David Eccles	10,468	21.3	New
Majority			12,314	24.6	+7.0
Turnout			49,108	72.2	−4.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Leigh^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lawrence Cunliffe	27,736	54.1	−2.1
	Conservative	David Lawrence Shaw	18,713	36.5	+10.7
	Liberal	Michael Godwin	4,796	9.4	−8.6
Majority			9,023	17.6	−12.8
Turnout			51,245	76.9	+3.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Leigh^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	27,036	56.2	+5.2
	Conservative	Maureen Williams	12,401	25.8	+1.2
	Liberal	Roy D. Pemberton	8,640	18.0	−6.4
Majority			14,635	30.4	+4.0
Turnout			48,077	73.9	−6.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

General election February 1974: Leigh^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	26,310	51.0	−7.2
	Conservative	William Legge	12,663	24.6	−8.9
	Liberal	Roy D. Pemberton	12,594	24.4	New
Majority			13,647	26.4	−1.3
Turnout			51,567	80.0	+9.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Leigh^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	26,625	58.2	−10.5
	Conservative	James Peter McGuire	15,314	33.5	+2.2
	Ratepayers	Joseph Knowles	3,776	8.3	New
Majority			11,311	27.7	−9.6
Turnout			45,715	71.0	−3.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Leigh^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	29,552	68.7	+1.2
	Conservative	Robert R Hipkiss	13,490	31.3	−1.2
Majority			16,062	37.4	+2.4
Turnout			43,042	74.3	−3.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Leigh^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	30,102	67.5	+2.3
	Conservative	Neville Montague B Brown	14,478	32.5	−2.3
Majority			15,624	35.0	+4.6
Turnout			44,580	77.6	−4.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Leigh^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	31,672	65.2	+2.8
	Conservative	William Cameron	16,897	34.8	−2.6
Majority			14,775	30.4	+5.6
Turnout			48,569	82.4	−17.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Leigh^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	30,098	62.4	−1.0
	Conservative	John Bryan Leck	18,142	37.6	+1.0
Majority			11,956	24.8	−2.0
Turnout			48,240	80.0	−6.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Leigh^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	33,881	63.4	−0.1
	Conservative	Henry Donald Moore	19,585	36.6	+0.1
Majority			14,296	26.8	−0.2
Turnout			53,466	86.0	−1.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Leigh^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	34,320	63.5	−6.3
	Conservative	John W Whiteley	19,720	36.5	+6.3
Majority			14,600	27.0	−12.6
Turnout			54,040	87.4	+6.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Leigh^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Boardman	32,447	69.8	N/A
	Conservative	Eric Heriot Hill	14,029	30.2	N/A
Majority			18,418	39.6	N/A
Turnout			46,476	81.0	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Leigh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joe Tinker	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1931: Leigh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joe Tinker	23,965	52.32
	Conservative	Peter Eckersley	21,837	47.68
Majority			2,128	4.64
Turnout			45,802	87.38
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Leigh^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joe Tinker	25,635	57.0	+5.5
	Unionist	Claude Herbert Grundy	10,942	24.3	−24.2
	Liberal	Thomas Hardy	8,435	18.7	New
Majority			14,693	32.7	+29.7
Turnout			45,012	88.3	+0.1
Registered electors			50,982
	Labour hold		Swing	+14.9

General election 1924: Leigh^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joe Tinker	17,262	51.5	+8.5
	Unionist	Edwin Owen	16,247	48.5	+21.8
Majority			1,015	3.0	−9.7
Turnout			33,509	88.2	+1.7
Registered electors			38,010
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.7

General election 1923: Leigh ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joe Tinker	13,989	43.0	−2.0
	Liberal	Robert Burrows	9,854	30.3	+9.2
	Unionist	Herbert Metcalfe (magistrate)	8,664	26.7	−7.2
Majority			4,135	12.7	+1.6
Turnout			32,507	86.5	−3.4
Registered electors			37,597
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.6

General election 1922: Leigh ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Henry Twist	15,006	45.0	−1.4
	Unionist	Herbert Metcalfe	11,279	33.9	New
	Liberal	Joseph Ashworth	7,012	21.1	−32.5
Majority			3,727	11.1	N/A
Turnout			33,297	89.9	+23.0
Registered electors			37,050
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+15.6

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Leigh^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Raffan	12,892	53.6	−1.6
	Labour	Richard Owen Jones	11,146	46.4	New
Majority			1,746	7.2	−3.2
Turnout			24,038	66.9	−20.0
Registered electors			35,912
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.6

General Election 1914–15

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected:

• Liberal: Peter Raffan
• Unionist: Frank Hatchard
• Labour: Thomas Greenall

General election December 1910: Leigh^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Raffan	6,790	55.2	+15.0
	Conservative	William Thomas Oversby	5,507	44.8	+9.7
Majority			1,283	10.4	+5.3
Turnout			12,297	86.9	−6.7
Registered electors			14,150
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.6

Greenall

General election January 1910: Leigh^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Raffan	5,325	40.2	−17.9
	Conservative	F Cuthbert Smith	4,646	35.1	−6.8
	Labour	Thomas Greenall	3,268	24.7	New
Majority			679	5.1	−11.1
Turnout			13,239	93.6	+1.3
Registered electors			14,150
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.6

Elections in the 1900s

Brunner

General election 1906: Leigh^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Brunner	7,175	58.1	+7.5
	Conservative	Donald MacMaster	5,169	41.9	−7.5
Majority			2,006	16.2	+15.0
Turnout			12,344	92.3	+5.3
Registered electors			13,380
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.5

General election 1900: Leigh^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C. P. Scott	5,239	50.6	−2.9
	Conservative	William Walter Augustine Fitzgerald	5,119	49.4	+2.9
Majority			120	1.2	−5.8
Turnout			10,358	87.0	−2.0
Registered electors			11,907
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.9

Elections in the 1890s

Scott

General election 1895: Leigh ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C. P. Scott	5,130	53.5	−1.6
	Conservative	William Walter Augustine Fitzgerald	4,453	46.5	+1.6
Majority			677	7.0	−3.2
Turnout			9,583	89.0	−1.4
Registered electors			10,763
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.6

General election 1892: Leigh ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Caleb Wright	4,899	55.1	−2.7
	Conservative	William Charles Jones	3,995	44.9	+2.7
Majority			904	10.2	−5.4
Turnout			8,894	90.4	+3.7
Registered electors			9,839
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.7

Elections in the 1880s

Myers

General election 1886: Leigh ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Caleb Wright	4,297	57.8	−0.7
	Conservative	William Myers	3,134	42.2	+0.7
Majority			1,163	15.6	−1.4
Turnout			7,431	86.7	−5.4
Registered electors			8,572
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.7

Knowles

General election 1885: Leigh ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Caleb Wright	4,621	58.5
	Conservative	Lees Knowles	3,275	41.5
Majority			1,346	17.0
Turnout			7,896	92.1
Registered electors			8,572
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes

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