Bury South (UK Parliament constituency)

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Coordinates: 53°34′48″N 2°17′56″W / 53.580°N 2.299°W / 53.580; -2.299

Bury South
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bury South in Greater Manchester
Location of Greater Manchester within England
County	Greater Manchester
Population	97,842 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	75,140 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlements	Prestwich, Radcliffe, Whitefield
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Christian Wakeford (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Middleton and Prestwich & Bury and Radcliffe

Bury South is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As of the 2019 General Election it is the 10th most marginal seat in the country^{[citation needed]}, with a majority of 402 for the Conservatives' Christian Wakeford.

Constituency profile[]

The seat covers Prestwich, Whitefield and Radcliffe, towns that were absorbed into Bury Council in 1974. The western border contains much of Bury's green belt land including Philips Park in Whitefield, Prestwich Clough and Drinkwater Park, making up 500 acres of green space. Prestwich and Whitefield are residential areas with one of the largest Jewish communities outside London. Radcliffe is a former mill town which declined after the loss of industry, with its only secondary school shut down; it is attempting regeneration as a commuter suburb and features a large park-and-ride Metrolink station. North Radcliffe includes Ainsworth, a rural area, along with Simister to the east of Prestwich which still has some farmland, now under threat from development. Overall this is an economically diverse area, as there are pockets of social housing in each town, while houses in areas such as Ringley Road in Whitefield, and Sheepfoot Lane in Prestwich, facing Heaton Park, can sell for over £1 million, with mostly owner-occupied semi-detached housing in between. The proportion of graduates and those employed in managerial/professional occupations is slightly above the national average.^[3]

At local elections, Prestwich mostly returns Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, with some Conservative representation in Sedgley. Whitefield is a mix of safe Conservative and safe Labour, and Unsworth marginally Labour. Radcliffe was generally Labour with the exception of Radcliffe North. In 2019, the Conservatives gained their second Radcliffe North seat, and Labour lost both Radcliffe East and West wards to an independent local party, Radcliffe First.

Boundaries[]

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Map of present boundaries

1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Bury wards of Besses, Holyrood, Pilkington Park, Radcliffe Central, Radcliffe North, Radcliffe South, St Mary's, and Sedgley.

2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Bury wards of Besses, Holyrood, Pilkington Park, Radcliffe East, Radcliffe North, Radcliffe West, St Mary's, Sedgley, and Unsworth.

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the former seats of Middleton and Prestwich & Bury and Radcliffe, both of which were Labour-Conservative marginals, held by Labour on slim majorities at the 1979 election. It covers the suburban towns of Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich. The constituency does not contain any area of the town of Bury itself (which is in Bury North), apart from Unsworth , but only towns in the south of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury.

The seat was contested by future cabinet minister Hazel Blears in 1992, narrowly losing and would later be elected in her hometown in nearby Salford the following election until retiring in 2015.

The 2018 Boundary Commission proposals would have seen Bury South boundaries changed, once again becoming Prestwich and Middleton, taking Middleton from the existing Heywood and Middleton constituency and losing Radcliffe to a new Farnworth and Radcliffe constituency, while Unsworth becomes part of a newly created Bury constituency.

Members of Parliament[]

Elections[]

Elections in the 2010s[]

General election 2019: Bury South^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christian Wakeford	22,034	43.8	2.2
	Labour	Lucy Burke	21,632	43.0	10.3
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Kilpatrick	2,315	4.6	2.5
	Brexit Party	Andrea Livesey	1,672	3.3	New
	Independent	Ivan Lewis	1,366	2.7	New
	Green	Glyn Heath	848	1.7	New
	Independent	Michael Boyle	277	0.6	New
	Women's Equality	Gemma Evans	130	0.3	New
Majority			402	0.8	N/A
Turnout			50,274	66.9	2.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	6.3

General election 2017: Bury South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Lewis	27,165	53.3	8.2
	Conservative	Robert Largan[8]	21,200	41.6	7.0
	UKIP	Ian Henderson	1,316	2.6	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Page	1,065	2.1	1.5
	Independent	Peter Wright	244	0.5	New
Majority			5,965	11.7	1.2
Turnout			50,990	69.2	5.3
	Labour hold		Swing	0.7

General election 2015: Bury South^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Lewis	21,272	45.1	4.7
	Conservative	Daniel Critchlow	16,350	34.6	1.0
	UKIP	Séamus Martin	6,299	13.3	11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Ankers	1,690	3.6	14.6
	Green	Glyn Heath	1,434	3.0	2.0
	English Democrat	Valerie Morris	170	0.4	0.6
Majority			4,922	10.5	3.7
Turnout			47,215	63.9	1.7
	Labour hold		Swing	1.8

General election 2010: Bury South^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Lewis	19,508	40.4	10.5
	Conservative	Michelle Wiseman	16,216	33.6	5.5
	Liberal Democrats	Victor D'Albert	8,796	18.2	1.1
	BNP	Jean Purdy	1,743	3.6	New
	UKIP	Paul Chadwick	1,017	2.1	0.5
	English Democrat	Valerie Morris	494	1.0	New
	Green	George Heron	493	1.0	New
Majority			3,292	6.8	16.0
Turnout			48,267	65.6	7.1
	Labour hold		Swing	8.0

Elections in the 2000s[]

General election 2005: Bury South^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Lewis	19,741	50.4	8.8
	Conservative	Alexander Williams	10,829	27.7	0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Victor D'Albert	6,968	17.8	3.9
	UKIP	Jim H. Greenhalgh	1,059	2.7	New
	Independent	Yvonne Hossack	557	1.4	New
Majority			8,912	22.7	9.6
Turnout			39,154	58.5	0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	4.8

General election 2001: Bury South^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Lewis	23,406	59.2	2.3
	Conservative	Nicola Le Page	10,634	26.9	5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Tim Pickstone	5,499	13.9	5.5
Majority			12,772	32.3	7.7
Turnout			39,539	58.8	16.6
	Labour hold		Swing	3.9

Elections in the 1990s[]

General election 1997: Bury South^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Lewis	28,658	56.9	12.3
	Conservative	David Sumberg	16,277	32.3	13.7
	Liberal Democrats	Victor D'Albert	4,227	8.4	0.5
	Referendum	Bryan Slater	1,216	2.4	New
Majority			12,381	24.6	N/A
Turnout			50,378	75.4	6.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	13.0

General election 1992: Bury South^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Sumberg	24,873	46.0	0.0
	Labour	Hazel Blears	24,085	44.6	3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Cruden	4,832	8.9	4.2
	Natural Law	Norma Sullivan	228	0.4	New
Majority			788	1.4	3.7
Turnout			54,018	82.1	2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.9

Elections in the 1980s[]

General election 1987: Bury South^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Sumberg	23,878	46.0	2.0
	Labour	Derek Boden	21,199	40.9	4.4
	SDP	Derek Eyre	6,772	13.1	6.4
Majority			2,679	5.1	2.4
Turnout			51,849	79.7	3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.2

See also[]

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• nomis Constituency Profile for Bury South — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.