Salford (UK Parliament constituency)

Salford is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was re-established for the 2024 general election and is represented by Rebecca Long-Bailey of the Labour Party.

Salford
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Salford in North West England
County	Greater Manchester
Electorate	72,169 (2023)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Rebecca Long-Bailey (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Salford and Eccles
1997–2010
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Created from	Salford East, Eccles
1832–1885
Created from	Lancashire
Replaced by	Salford North, Salford South and Salford West

Long-Bailey was MP for the predecessor seat of Salford and Eccles from 2015 to 2024.

History

The constituency was first established as a single-member parliamentary borough by the Reform Act 1832. It returned two MPs from 1868.^[2] It was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when it was replaced by three single member (North, South and West).

The borough constituency was created for the 1997 general election, primarily from the abolished Salford East seat. This was abolished and absorbed into the new Salford and Eccles constituency for the 2010 election. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established (though is not identical to its 1997 incarnation) for the 2024 general election, replacing the now abolished Salford and Eccles seat once again.^[3]

Boundaries

1832–1885

In 1832 the constituency was formed from the townships of Broughton, Pendleton and Salford, with part of the township of Pendlebury. The exact boundaries were defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832:^[4]

From the Northernmost Point at which the Boundary of the Township of Salford meets the Boundary of the Township of Broughton, Northward, along the Boundary of the Township of Broughton, to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the Township of Pendleton; thence, Westward, along the Boundary of the Township of Pendleton to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the detached Portion of the Township of Pendlebury; thence, Southward, along the Boundary of the detached Portion of the Township of Pendlebury to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the Township of Salford; thence, Westward, along the Boundary of the Township of Salford to the Point first described.

In 1883 the detached portion of Pendlebury was absorbed by Pendleton.^[2]

1997–2010

The constituency was re-created for the 1997 election. It boundaries were defined by the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, and consisted of eight wards of the City of Salford: Blackfriars, Broughton, Claremont, Kersal, Langworthy, Ordsall, Pendleton, and Weaste & Seedley.^[5]

From 1997-2010 this was a very safe Labour seat which had some of the UK's most deprived areas, typified by council estates like Ordsall, Pendleton and Langworthy, which were due for apparent redevelopment. Higher Broughton has a considerable Jewish population and has some very decent residential housing, but during this period Labour were usually in the lead at local level; the Conservatives, like all the other neighbouring Manchester seats, tended to be in third place in General Elections before the decline of the Liberal Democrats in 2015.

2010 boundary review

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester the Boundary Commission for England recommended that Salford be split into three new constituencies and this was enacted in 2010:

• Blackley and Broughton, a cross-border constituency formed with wards in the to-be-abolished Manchester Blackley seat.
• Salford and Eccles took the existing Salford seat and married it with central electoral wards of Eccles
• Worsley and Eccles South brought Walkden, Worsley and Eccles together in a new seat following the removal of the Wigan-Salford link

Current

Map of boundaries from 2024

The re-established constituency is composed of the following wards of the City of Salford (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• Blackfriars & Trinity; Broughton; Claremont; Ordsall; Pendlebury & Clifton; Pendleton & Charlestown; Quays; Swinton Park; Weaste & Seedley.^[6]

The constituency now comprises the majority of, and replaces, the constituency of Salford and Eccles - excluding the town of Eccles and Swinton town centre, which formed part of the new constituency of Worsley and Eccles. The town of Swinton was split, with residential areas in the Swinton Park ward instead joining this constituency.

It also includes Broughton, previously part of the abolished constituency of Blackley and Broughton. The ward of Kersal and Broughton Park, the other Salford City ward of that constituency, joined Bury South.

The new constituency varies from its 1997 version by inclusion of the Salford suburbs of Swinton and Pendlebury (which were in the now-defunct Eccles constituency), and exclusion of Kersal and Broughton Park which was annexed to Bury South for the first time.

An economically diverse area that has seen much regeneration over the past 25 years through slum clearance and flagship developments such as MediaCityUK, home of BBC and ITV in the north, and The Lowry at Salford Quays, though some areas are relatively deprived. The constituency stretches from the Blackfriars and Trinity areas, on the border of Manchester City Centre, featuring new high-rise apartments with high levels of graduates and professional workers, similarly Salford Quays, along with relatively working class areas of inner-city Salford such as Weaste and Seedley with higher proportions of social housing, through to the residential suburbs of Swinton, Clifton and Pendlebury in the Irwell Valley. The presence of the University of Salford also means there is a sizeable proportion of students in the constituency. In addition to the MediaCityUK and The Lowry development which attracts millions of visitors annually, other points of interest in the area include Clifton Country Park, Peel Park, and Ordsall Hall.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1868

Election		Member [7]	Party
	1832	Joseph Brotherton	Radical[8][9][10][11]
	1857 by-election	Edward Ryley Langworthy	Independent Whig[12]
	1857	William Nathaniel Massey	Radical[13][14]
	1859		Liberal
	1865	John Cheetham	Liberal
Representation increased to two members 1868

MPs 1868–1885

Election	1st Member [7]		1st Party	2nd Member[7]		2nd Party
1868		Charles Edward Cawley	Conservative		William Thomas Charley	Conservative
1877 by-election		Oliver Ormerod Walker	Conservative
1880		Benjamin Armitage	Liberal		Arthur Arnold	Liberal
1885	Parliamentary borough split into three single-member divisions: see Salford North, Salford South, Salford West

MPs 1997–2010

Election		Member [7]	Party
	1997	Hazel Blears	Labour
	2010	Constituency abolished; see Salford and Eccles

MPs 2024–present

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Rebecca Long-Bailey	Labour
	2024		Independent
	2025		Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Salford^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rebecca Long-Bailey	21,132	53.2	−4.2
	Reform UK	Keith Whalley	6,031	15.2	+6.3
	Green	Wendy Olsen	5,188	13.1	+8.8
	Conservative	Hilary Scott	3,583	9.0	−14.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jake Austin	2,752	6.9	+0.7
	Workers Party	Mustafa Abdullah	791	2.0	N/A
	SDP	Stephen Lewthwaite	227	0.6	N/A
Majority			15,101	38.0	+3.6
Turnout			39,889	47.7	−10.2
Registered electors			83,633
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.3

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[16]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	23,977	57.4
	Conservative	9,729	23.3
	Brexit Party	3,703	8.9
	Liberal Democrats	2,571	6.2
	Green	1,783	4.3
Turnout		41,763	57.9
Electorate		72,169

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Salford^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hazel Blears	13,007	57.6	−7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Owen	5,062	22.4	+6.2
	Conservative	Laetitia Cash	3,440	15.2	−0.1
	UKIP	Lisa Duffy	1,091	4.8	N/A
Majority			7,945	35.2	−13.7
Turnout			22,600	42.4	+0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.9

General election 2001: Salford^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hazel Blears	14,649	65.1	−3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Owen	3,637	16.2	+5.9
	Conservative	Christopher King	3,446	15.3	−2.2
	Socialist Alliance	Peter Grant	414	1.8	N/A
	Independent	Sheilah Wallace	216	1.0	N/A
	Independent	Roy Masterson	152	0.7	N/A
Majority			11,012	48.9	−2.6
Turnout			22,514	41.6	−14.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Salford^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hazel Blears	22,848	69.0
	Conservative	Elliot Bishop	5,779	17.5
	Liberal Democrats	Norman J. Owen	3,407	10.3
	Referendum	Robert W. Cumpsty	926	2.8
	Natural Law	Susan Herman	162	0.5
Majority			17,069	51.5
Turnout			33,122	56.3
	Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Salford (2 seats)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Benjamin Armitage	11,116	28.6	+3.8
	Liberal	Arthur Arnold	11,110	28.5	+4.1
	Conservative	William Thomas Charley	8,400	21.6	−3.8
	Conservative	Oliver Ormerod Walker	8,302	21.3	−4.1
Majority			2,710	7.0	N/A
Majority			2,808	7.2	N/A
Turnout			19,464 (est)	87.1 (est)	+15.3
Registered electors			22,334
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.8
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.1

Elections in the 1870s

1877 Salford by-election (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Oliver Ormerod Walker	8,642	50.8	N/A
	Liberal	Joseph Kay[21]	8,372	49.2	N/A
Majority			270	1.6	+1.0
Turnout			17,014	77.2	+5.4
Registered electors			22,041
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.0

• Caused by Cawley's death.

General election 1874: Salford (2 seats)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Edward Cawley	7,003	25.4	−0.2
	Conservative	William Thomas Charley	6,987	25.4	+0.3
	Liberal	Joseph Kay[21]	6,827	24.8	−0.1
	Liberal	Henry Lee	6,709	24.4	+0.0
Majority			160	0.6	+0.4
Turnout			13,763 (est)	71.8 (est)	−5.9
Registered electors			19,177
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.2

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Salford (2 seats)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Edward Cawley	6,312	25.6	N/A
	Conservative	William Thomas Charley	6,181	25.1	N/A
	Liberal	John Cheetham	6,141	24.9	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Rawson[22]	6,018	24.4	N/A
Majority			40	0.2	N/A
Turnout			12,326 (est)	77.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			15,862
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

• Seat increased to two members

General election 1865: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Cheetham	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,397
	Liberal hold

By-election, 13 February 1865: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Cheetham	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

• Caused by Massey's resignation after his appointment as a member of the Council of India.

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Massey	1,919	51.8	−8.0
	Liberal	Henry Ashworth[23]	1,787	48.2	N/A
Majority			132	3.6	−16.0
Turnout			3,706	87.8	+9.7
Registered electors			4,222
	Liberal hold		Swing	−8.0

General election 1857: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Nathaniel Massey	1,880	59.8	N/A
	Radical	Elkanah Armitage[24]	1,264	40.2	N/A
Majority			616	19.6	N/A
Turnout			3,144	78.1	N/A
Registered electors			4,028
	Radical gain from Ind. Whig

By-election, 2 February 1857: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Whig	Edward Ryley Langworthy	Unopposed
	Ind. Whig gain from Radical

• Caused by Brotherton's death

General election 1852: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Joseph Brotherton	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,950
	Radical hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: Salford (1 seat)^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Joseph Brotherton	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,605
	Radical hold

General election 1841: Salford (1 seat)^[20][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Joseph Brotherton	991	53.2	+3.1
	Conservative	William Garnett	873	46.8	−3.1
Majority			118	6.4	+6.2
Turnout			1,864	76.3	+8.6
Registered electors			2,443
	Radical hold		Swing	+3.1

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: Salford (1 seat)^[20][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Joseph Brotherton	890	50.1	−8.1
	Conservative	William Garnett	888	49.9	+8.1
Majority			2	0.2	−16.2
Turnout			1,778	67.7	+9.2
Registered electors			2,628
	Radical hold		Swing	−8.1

General election 1835: Salford (1 seat)^[20][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Joseph Brotherton	795	58.2	+0.3
	Conservative	John Dugdale	572	41.8	−0.3
Majority			223	16.4	+0.6
Turnout			1,367	58.5	−24.3
Registered electors			2,336
	Radical hold		Swing	+0.3

General election 1832: Salford (1 seat)^[20][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Radical	Joseph Brotherton	712	57.9
	Tory	William Garnett	518	42.1
Majority			194	15.8
Turnout			1,230	82.8
Registered electors			1,497
	Radical win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester