Makerfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Makerfield /ˈmeɪkərfiːld/ is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented by Labour MP Josh Simons since 2024.

Makerfield
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Makerfield in North West England
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	76,517 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Wigan (part) and Ashton-in-Makerfield
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Josh Simons (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Ince, Wigan, Newton and Westhoughton[2]

History

This seat was formed in 1983 mostly from parts of the Ince and Wigan seats together with a small part of the Leigh seat.

Constituency profile

Makerfield is considered one of the safest Labour seats in the country. The Labour Party held the predecessor seat of Ince from 1906 until 1983 when the current constituency was created.^[3] In 2010 the constituency, of the 650 nationally, polled the 105th highest share of the vote for the Labour Party. Labour's majority fell significantly in 2019 as with many "Red Wall" seats.

There is no town called Makerfield itself; instead, the name refers to the suffix of 'in-Makerfield' of the towns Ashton-in-Makerfield and Ince-in-Makerfield, though since 2010 the latter is now part of the Wigan seat. The seat comprises mostly working-class residential suburbs south of Wigan and to the west of Leigh. Deprivation however is relatively lower than that of neighbouring towns and home-ownership is higher, with a mostly skilled working-class population and a lower than average proportion of ethnic minorities.^[4] There is some semi-rural land towards the west of the constituency where it borders St Helens and green buffers separating the constituent towns and villages. Formerly a coal-mining area, there is now a small amount of light industry remaining, though not as much as Wigan, and the area is mostly residential as the towns continue to grow. The area is also home to Winstanley College, one of the highest performing sixth-form colleges in the country, enrolling around 1800 students.^{[5][circular reference]}

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Abram, Ashton-Golborne, Bryn, Lightshaw, Orrell, Winstanley, and Worsley Mesnes.

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Abram, Ashton-Golborne, Bryn, Ince, Orrell, Winstanley, and Worsley Mesnes.

2010–2024: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Abram, Ashton, Bryn, Hindley, Hindley Green, Orrell, Winstanley, and Worsley Mesnes.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for 2024 general election, the boundaries of the constituency were expanded slightly by adding small areas (as they existed on 1 December 2020) of the Atherleigh ward (part of polling district LCA) and the Leigh West ward (polling district LDA).^[6]

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,^[7][8] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan from the 2024 general election:

• Abram; Ashton-in-Makerfield South; Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North; Hindley; Hindley Green (nearly all); Leigh West (small part); Orrell; Winstanley; Worsley Mesnes; and very small parts of Golborne & Lowton West, and Ince.^[9]

Makerfield consists of the western and central section of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester. It comprises the wards to the south and to the west of Wigan and to the west of Leigh.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[10]	Party
	1983	Michael McGuire	Labour
	1987	Ian McCartney	Labour
	2010	Yvonne Fovargue	Labour
	2024	Josh Simons	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Makerfield ^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Josh Simons	18,202	45.2	−0.1
	Reform UK	Robert Kenyon	12,803	31.8	+18.7
	Conservative	Simon Finkelstein	4,379	10.9	−23.4
	Liberal Democrats	John Skipworth	2,735	6.8	+2.0
	Green	Maria Deery	1,776	4.4	+1.8
	English Democrat	Thomas Bryer	368	0.9	N/A
Majority			5,399	13.4	+2.4
Turnout			40,263	52.5	−6.2
Registered electors			76,641
	Labour hold		Swing	−9.4

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[13]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	20,432	45.3
	Conservative	15,477	34.3
	Brexit Party	5,902	13.1
	Liberal Democrats	2,161	4.8
	Green	1,166	2.6
Turnout		45,138	59.0
Electorate		76,517

General election 2019: Makerfield^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Yvonne Fovargue	19,954	45.1	−15.0
	Conservative	Nick King	15,214	34.4	+3.1
	Brexit Party	Ross Wright	5,817	13.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	John Skipworth	2,108	4.8	+2.0
	Green	Sheila Shaw	1,166	2.6	N/A
Majority			4,740	10.7	−18.1
Turnout			44,259	59.7	−4.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−9.2

General election 2017: Makerfield^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Yvonne Fovargue	28,245	60.1	+8.3
	Conservative	Adam Carney	14,703	31.3	+11.8
	Independent	Bob Brierley	2,663	5.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	John Skipworth	1,322	2.8	−0.9
Majority			13,542	28.8	−0.6
Turnout			46,933	63.8	+3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.7

General election 2015: Makerfield^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Yvonne Fovargue	23,208	51.8	+4.5
	UKIP	Andrew Collinson	10,053	22.4	N/A
	Conservative	Syeda Zaidi	8,752	19.5	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	John Skipworth	1,639	3.7	−12.5
	Green	Philip Mitchell	1,136	2.5	N/A
Majority			13,155	29.4	+0.9
Turnout			44,788	60.2	+0.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 2010: Makerfield^[18][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Yvonne Fovargue	20,700	47.3	−14.8
	Conservative	Itrat Ali	8,210	18.8	+5.2
	Liberal Democrats	Dave Crowther	7,082	16.2	+4.8
	Independent	Bob Brierley	3,424	7.8	N/A
	BNP	Ken Haslam	3,229	7.4	+4.1
	Independent	John Mather	1,126	2.6	N/A
Majority			12,490	28.5	−22.5
Turnout			43,771	59.4	+9.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−10.0

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Makerfield^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian McCartney	22,494	63.2	−5.3
	Conservative	Kulveer Ranger	4,345	12.2	−5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Beswick	3,789	10.6	−0.8
	Community Action	Peter Franzen	2,769	7.8	N/A
	BNP	Dennis Shambley	1,221	3.4	N/A
	UKIP	Gregory Atherton	962	2.7	N/A
Majority			18,149	51.0	+0.1
Turnout			35,580	51.5	+0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.1

General election 2001: Makerfield^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian McCartney	23,879	68.5	−5.2
	Conservative	Jane Brooks	6,129	17.6	+2.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Crowther	3,990	11.4	+3.1
	Socialist Alliance	Malcolm Jones	858	2.5	N/A
Majority			17,750	50.9	−7.0
Turnout			34,856	50.9	−15.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Makerfield^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian McCartney	33,119	73.6	+12.9
	Conservative	Michael Winstanley	6,942	15.4	−11.7
	Liberal Democrats	Bruce Hubbard	3,743	8.3	−1.1
	Referendum	Andrew Seed	1,210	2.7	N/A
Majority			26,177	57.9	+24.6
Turnout			45,014	66.8	−9.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+12.3

General election 1992: Makerfield^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian McCartney	32,832	60.4	+4.1
	Conservative	Davina Dickson	14,714	27.1	−0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Jeffers	5,097	9.4	−7.1
	Liberal	Stella Cairns	1,309	2.4	N/A
	Natural Law	Christopher Davies	397	0.7	N/A
Majority			18,118	33.3	+4.3
Turnout			54,349	76.1	+0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Makerfield^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian McCartney	30,190	56.3	+7.0
	Conservative	Laurence Robertson	14,632	27.3	−0.6
	Liberal	William Hewer	8,838	16.5	−6.3
Majority			15,558	29.0	+7.6
Turnout			53,660	75.8	+2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

General election 1983: Makerfield^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	25,114	49.3
	Conservative	Edward Hay	14,238	27.9
	Liberal	Robin Grayson	11,633	22.8
Majority			10,876	21.4
Turnout			50,985	73.7
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• Ince parliamentary constituency.
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)