Heywood and Middleton North (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Heywood and Middleton North
County constituencyfor the House of Commons
MapInteractive map of boundaries from 2024
Map of constituencyBoundary of within North West England
County Greater Manchester
Electorate 73,306 (2023)[1]
Major settlements Heywood, Middleton, Alkrington, Castleton
Current constituency
Created 1983
Member of Parliament Elsie Blundell (Labour Party)
Seats One
Created from Heywood and Royton; Middleton and Prestwich

Heywood and Middleton North is a constituency in Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Elsie Blundell of the Labour Party.

Prior to the 2024 general election, the constituency was known as Heywood and Middleton. The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies proposed that two of the Middleton wards be included in a new constituency named Blackley and Middleton South and this seat be renamed Heywood and Middleton North.[2][3]

Constituency profile

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The constituency covers the west half of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, including the towns of Heywood and Middleton, and some of the western fringes of Rochdale itself such as Castleton. Norden and Bamford are strong Conservative areas, with several million-pound houses, but all other wards are mostly favourable to Labour. Middleton includes the large overspill council estate of Langley though the South Middleton ward includes a relatively affluent area in Alkrington Garden Village, but even this ward generally returns Labour councillors.

Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as a "Somewhere" demographic, indicating socially conservative, economically soft left views and strong support for Brexit.[4]

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the former seats of Heywood and Royton and Middleton and Prestwich and was held by the Labour Party since then until the 2019 Election.

From 1983 until his retirement in 1997, the MP was Jim Callaghan, not to be confused with a former Prime Minister with the same name.

In a 2014 by-election UKIP came within 617 votes of winning the seat, which was on the same day as the Rochester and Strood by-election, and in 2015 it produced one of their largest results in the country. Subsequently, the constituency heavily voted to Leave in the EU referendum and swung to the Conservatives for the first time in 2019, in line with many other Leave-voting Labour seats in the North and Midlands.

Under the 2023 boundary changes, it was estimated that the newly named seat would notionally have been held by Labour.[5] As a result, the sitting Conservative MP, Chris Clarkson, decided not to stand in 2024 and he was selected for the previously safe seat of Stratford-on-Avon, where he was defeated. The Labour Party candidate, Elsie Blundell, duly won this seat with a majority of 16.4% over Reform UK, with the Conservatives dropping down to third place.

Map

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1983–1997: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Heywood North, Heywood South, Heywood West, Middleton Central, Middleton East, Middleton North, Middleton South, and Middleton West.

1997–2010: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Castleton, Heywood North, Heywood South, Heywood West, Middleton Central, Middleton East, Middleton North, Middleton South, Middleton West, and Norden and Bamford.

2010–2024: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Bamford, Castleton, East Middleton, Hopwood Hall, Norden, North Heywood, North Middleton, South Middleton, West Heywood, and West Middleton.

2024–present: The Borough of Rochdale wards of Bamford, Castleton, Hopwood Hall, Norden, North Heywood, North Middleton, Spotland and Falinge, West Heywood, and West Middleton.[6]

East Middleton and South Middleton wards were transferred to the new constituency of Blackley and Middleton South, partly compensated by the addition of the Spotland and Falinge ward from Rochdale.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member[7] Party
1983 Jim Callaghan
1997 Jim Dobbin
2014 by-election Liz McInnes
2019 Chris Clarkson
2024 Elsie Blundell

Elections in the 2020s

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Heywood and Middleton North is the only constituency (in England or Wales) where the Green Party of England and Wales didn’t stand a 2024 candidate.[10][_better source needed_]

Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[5]
Party Vote %
Labour 18,281
Conservative 17,601
Brexit Party 3,581
Liberal Democrats 1,787
Green 1,196
Turnout 42,446 57.9
Electorate 73,306

Elections in the 2000s

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Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 1980s

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  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  2. ^ "North West | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Heywood+and+Middleton
  5. ^ a b "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  6. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
  7. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
  8. ^ "Statement of persons nominated – Heywood and Middleton North". Rochdale Council. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Heywood and Middleton North - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Our candidates".
  11. ^ "Statement of persons nominated 2019" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Heywood & Middleton". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Iain Gartside Chosen as By-Election Candidate". Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale Conservatives.
  14. ^ "Lib Dems select Anthony Smith for Heywood and Middleton contest". www.rochdaleonline.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Rochdale Green Party Announce Abi Jackson as their candidate for the Heywood & Middleton by-election" (Press release). Green Party of England and Wales. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  16. ^ Council, Rochdale Metropolitan Borough (6 May 2010). "Election results for Heywood & Middleton, 6 May 2010". democracy.rochdale.gov.uk.
  17. ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  18. ^ "UK General Election results: June 1987". Archived from the original on 28 May 2004.
  19. ^ "UK General Election results: June 1983". Archived from the original on 3 January 2004.

53°34′N 2°13′W / 53.57°N 2.21°W / 53.57; -2.21