Makerfield () is a constituency in Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented by Labour MPs since its creation in 1983.
The seat is currently vacant, and most recently held by Josh Simons of the Labour Party from the 2024 general election until his resignation on 18 May 2026. On 14 May 2026, Simons announced that he would stand down to trigger a by-election in order for Andy Burnham to stand for election to the House of Commons.
History
This seat was formed in 1983 from parts of the Ince, Wigan, Leigh, Newton and Westhoughton constituencies.
Constituency profile
Makerfield is considered one of the safest Labour seats in the country, in terms of length of tenure by the party. The Labour Party held the predecessor seat of Ince from 1906 until 1983 when the current constituency was created. 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, however it did not fall to the Conservatives, unlike neighbouring Leigh. In 2024, there was little increase in Labour's share of the vote or majority, instead there was a significant increase in Reform UK's vote share, pushing the Conservatives into third place. In 2015, Reform's predecessor, UKIP, also came second, however Labour's majority was over 13,000, compared to over 5,000 over Reform in 2024.
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 has been part of the Wigan constituency. The seat comprises mostly working-class residential suburbs south of Wigan and to the west of Leigh. Deprivation is 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. 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. The area was formerly noted for coal-mining. There remains a small amount of light industry – though not as much as in Wigan – but residential land-use is increasing 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, which has around 1800 students enrolled.
Boundaries
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).
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, 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.
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
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member
!Party
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1983
| Michael McGuire
| Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1987
| Ian McCartney
| Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 2010
| Yvonne Fovargue
| Labour
|-
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|2024
|Josh Simons
|Labour
|-
| colspan="2" |2026
| colspan="2" |Vacant
|}
Elections
thumb|centre|upright=2.5|Election results 1983–2024
Elections in the 2020s
<!-- this section is transcluded on 2026 Makerfield by-election -->
<section begin="Makerfield results 2024"/>
<section end="Makerfield results 2024" />
Elections in the 2010s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2019 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 20,432 ||align=right| 45.3
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 15,477 ||align=right| 34.3
|-
|
| Brexit Party ||align=right| 5,902 ||align=right| 13.1
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 2,161 ||align=right| 4.8
|-
|
| Green ||align=right| 1,166 ||align=right| 2.6
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|45,138
|align=right|59.0
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|76,517
|}
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
See also
- Ince parliamentary constituency
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester
Notes
References
External links
- Makerfield UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Makerfield UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Makerfield UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK