Manchester Rusholme

Manchester Rusholme
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Manchester Rusholme in North West England
Electorate70,692 (2023)[1]
Current constituency
Created2024
Member of ParliamentAfzal Khan (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromManchester Central & Manchester Gorton
1918–1950
Created fromManchester South and Stretford
Replaced byManchester Ardwick, Manchester Gorton and Manchester Withington

Manchester Rusholme is a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rusholme district of Manchester. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system. Since 2024, it has been represented by the Labour Party's Afzal Khan, who was MP for Manchester Gorton from 2017 to 2024.

Constituency profile

Manchester Rusholme is an urban constituency in Greater Manchester. It covers the areas of Manchester immediately to the south of the city centre, including Rusholme, Hulme, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Ardwick, Moss Side, Whalley Range, Fallowfield and part of Longsight. Manchester is a major city that grew from textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. The city has undergone strong economic development in the 21st century and is sometimes considered the United Kingdom's "second city".[2][3]

Manchester Rusholme is an inner-city constituency with dense terraced housing, and was home to much of the city's industry. It has a very large student population as the location of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, which together have around 85,000 students.[4] As a result, 29% of the constituency's population are between the ages of 18 and 24 compared to 8% nationally.[5][6] There are high levels of deprivation here; Ardwick and Moss Side fall within the top 10% most-deprived areas in England.[7] House prices are higher than the rest of North West England but lower than the national average.[8]

In general, residents of Manchester Rusholme are very young and well-educated. Most are unmarried and few are homeowners. Household income is low, and a large proportion work in the health and education sectors.[8][9] A high percentage of residents claim unemployment benefits and the child poverty rate is more than double the UK-wide figure.[5]

The constituency is ethnically diverse. White people made up 41% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians were the largest ethnic minority group at 27%, mostly concentrated in Rusholme and Longsight, with Pakistanis being the largest Asian group. Black people were 18% and made up around half the population in Moss Side. There is also a large Arab community.[10]

At the local city council, all seats in Manchester Rusholme are represented by the Green Party and the Labour Party. Voters overwhelmingly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 71% voted to remain compared to the nationwide figure of 48%.[8]

History

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established for the 2024 general election.[11] At the 2024 election, this seat had the lowest turnout out of all constituencies in the UK, at just 40%.

Boundaries

1918–1950

The constituency was created as Manchester, Rusholme Division, by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and was defined as consisting of three wards of the county borough of Manchester, namely Levenshulme, Longsight and Rusholme.[12]

The division consisted of areas that had been included with Manchester's municipal boundaries in 1890 and 1909.[13] Since the previous redistribution of seats in 1885, they had formed part of the Stretford Division of Lancashire.

The seat was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948, with its area being redistributed between Manchester Ardwick (Longsight), Manchester Gorton (Levenshulme) and Manchester Withington (Rusholme) borough constituencies.[14]

Current

The re-established seat comprises the City of Manchester wards of Ardwick, Fallowfield, Hulme, Moss Side, Rusholme and Whalley Range,[15] transferred in approximately equal parts from Manchester Central and the abolished constituency of Manchester Gorton (remaining parts included in the new constituency of Gorton and Denton).

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1918 Robert Burdon Stoker Coalition Conservative
1919 John Henry Thorpe Coalition Conservative
1923 Charles Masterman Liberal
1924 Sir Boyd Merriman Conservative
1933 Edmund Ashworth Radford Conservative
1944 Frederick Cundiff Conservative
1945 Lester Hutchinson Labour
1949 Labour Independent Group
1950 constituency abolished, replaced with
2024 constituency re-established
Afzal Khan Labour

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Manchester Rusholme[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Afzal Khan 15,054 51.9 26.7
Green Thirza Asanga-Rae 6,819 23.5 19.2
Workers Party Mohhamed Bilal 3,660 12.6 N/A
Conservative Alexandra Marsanu 1,678 5.8 3.3
Reform Joel McGuigan 1,313 4.5 0.5
Independent Faraz Bhatti 342 1.2 N/A
Communist League Peter Clifford 167 0.6 N/A
Majority 8,235 28.4 40.1
Turnout 29,033 40.0 16.8
Registered electors 72,604
Labour hold Swing 23.0

Manchester Rusholme is one of only two constituencies in England or Wales where the Liberal Democrats did not stand a candidate (the other being Chorley, by convention to not stand against the Speaker). This was due to the nomination paper being rejected after the close of nominations.[18] It also had the lowest turnout in the country at just 40% of registered electors voting in 2024.

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[19]
Party Vote %
Labour 31,554 78.6
Conservative 3,653 9.1
Green 1,709 4.3
Brexit Party 1,621 4.0
Liberal Democrats 1,612 4.0
Turnout 40,149 56.8
Electorate 70,692

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Lester Hutchinson 15,408 43.4 +14.0
Conservative Frederick Cundiff 15,398 43.4 −19.2
Liberal Charles Gordon Chappell 4,673 13.2 New
Majority 10 0.0 N/A
Turnout 47,486 74.7 +4.9
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
1944 Manchester Rusholme by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Cundiff 8,430 53.3 −9.3
Common Wealth Harold William Blomerley 6,670 42.1 New
Independent Labour C.J. Taylor 734 4.6 New
Majority 1,760 11.2 −22.0
Turnout 15,834 34.7 −35.1
Conservative hold Swing

General Election 1940: Another election was due to take place by 1940 but did not take place due to the outbreak of war. The following candidates had already been selected to fight this election:

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edmund Ashworth Radford 19,678 62.6 −6.7
Labour Albert Knight 9,258 29.4 +11.8
Independent Liberal Percy McDougall 2,525 8.0 N/A
Majority 10,420 33.2 −18.5
Turnout 31,461 69.8 −10.2
Conservative hold Swing
1933 Manchester Rusholme by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edmund Ashworth Radford 13,904 50.8 −18.5
Labour George Woods 11,005 40.1 +22.5
Independent Liberal Percy McDougall 2,503 9.1 −3.9
Majority 2,899 10.7 −41.0
Turnout 27,412 60.8 −19.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1931: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Boyd Merriman 24,817 69.3 +26.5
Labour Jerrold Adshead 6,319 17.6 −6.7
Liberal Frank Thornborough 4,658 13.0 −19.9
Majority 18,498 51.7 +41.8
Turnout 35,794 80.0 +1.3
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Manchester Rusholme [21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Boyd Merriman 14,230 42.8 −7.6
Liberal Philip Guedalla 10,958 32.9 +3.5
Labour Jerrold Adshead 8,080 24.3 New
Majority 3,272 9.9 −11.1
Turnout 33,268 78.7 −1.1
Registered electors 42,289
Unionist hold Swing −5.6
General election 1924: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Boyd Merriman 13,341 50.4 +15.1
Liberal Charles Masterman 7,772 29.4 −14.0
Communist William Paul 5,328 20.2 New
Majority 5,569 21.0 N/A
Turnout 26,441 79.8 +1.8
Registered electors 33,147
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +14.6
General election 1923: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Masterman 10,901 43.4 +17.3
Unionist John Henry Thorpe 8,876 35.3 −12.6
Labour William Paul 5,366 21.3 −4.7
Majority 2,025 8.1 N/A
Turnout 25,143 78.0 +0.2
Registered electors 32,253
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +15.0
General election 1922: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist John Henry Thorpe 11,765 47.9 −17.2
Liberal Ernest Frederick Martin Sutton 6,421 26.1 +6.8
Labour Albert E. Wood 6,397 26.0 +10.4
Majority 5,344 21.8 −24.0
Turnout 25,583 77.8 +14.9
Registered electors 31,582
Unionist hold Swing −12.0

Elections in the 1910s

1919 Manchester Rusholme by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist John Henry Thorpe 9,394 45.7 −19.4
Labour Robert Dunstan 6,412 31.2 +15.6
Liberal William Pringle 3,923 19.1 −0.2
National Roger Bowan Crewdson 815 4.0 New
Majority 2,982 14.5 −31.3
Turnout 20,544 67.5 +4.6
Registered electors 30,421
Unionist hold Swing +17.5
General election 1918: Manchester Rusholme
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Robert Burdon Stoker 12,447 65.1
Liberal Walter Butterworth 3,699 19.3
Labour Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence 2,985 15.6
Majority 8,748 45.8
Turnout 19,131 62.9
Registered electors 30,421
Unionist win (new seat)

References

  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. ^ https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html Archived 24 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine , GaWC study
  3. ^ "How regeneration has cemented Manchester as the UK's second city". LCR Property. 26 October 2023.. "Manchester is frequently lauded as the UK's 'second city' ... While the claim to the 'second city' title may stir debate, particularly among those from Birmingham, experts are in unanimous agreement that Manchester is forging ahead"
  4. ^ "Where do HE students study?". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Students by HE provider: HE student enrolments by HE provider. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Constituency dashboard". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  6. ^ "Constituency data: Population, by age". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  7. ^ "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  8. ^ a b c "Seat Details - Manchester Rusholme". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  9. ^ "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  10. ^ "2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  11. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  12. ^ Ninth Schedule, Part I: Parliamentary Boroughs, 1918 c.64 sch.9
  13. ^ F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.II: Northern England, London, 1991
  14. ^ First Schedule: Parliamentary Constituencies, 1948 c.65 sch.1
  15. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
  16. ^ "Statement of person nominated and notice of poll - Manchester Rusholme". Manchester City Council. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Manchester Rusholme - General election results 2024". BBC News.
  18. ^ Timan, Joseph (9 June 2024). "This part of Manchester is the only place in Britain with no Lib Dem candidate". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ The Liberal Magazine 1939
  21. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results, 1918–1949.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.