Manchester Gorton is a parliamentary constituency in the city of 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.

History and Boundaries

1885 - 1918

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 divided the existing seat of South East Lancashire into eight single-member constituencies. South-East Lancashire, Gorton Division consisted of the area of the Gorton Local Board and the townships or parishes of Denton, Haughton, and Openshaw. The constituency comprised an area bounded on the west by the city of Manchester and to the east and south by the county boundary with Cheshire. In 1890 Manchester's municipal boundaries were extended to include Gorton and Openshaw, although constituency boundaries remained unchanged until 1918.

1918 - 1950

The Representation of the People Act 1918 reorganised parliamentary seats throughout Great Britain. The redistribution reflected the boundary changes of 1890, with Gorton becoming a division of the parliamentary borough of Manchester. The Manchester, Gorton Division comprised three wards of the county borough of Manchester: Gorton North, Gorton South and Openshaw. Denton and Haughton, which together had formed Denton Urban District in 1894, were transferred to the Mossley Division of Lancashire.

1950 - 1955

The next redrawing of English constituencies was effected by the Representation of the People Act 1948. The Act introduced the term "borough constituency", with Manchester Gorton Borough Constituency now consisting of four wards of the city: Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme and Openshaw. Levenshulme was transferred from the abolished Manchester Rusholme seat. The revised boundaries were first used at the 1950 general election.

1955 - 1983

In 1955 boundary changes were made based on the recommendations of the Boundary Commission appointed under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. The constituency was redefined as consisting of the Gorton North and Gorton South wards of the county borough and the two neighbouring urban districts of Audenshaw and Denton in the administrative county of Lancashire. Levenshulme passed to Manchester Withington while Openshaw formed the core of a new Manchester Openshaw seat.

1983 - date

The 1983 redistribution of seats reflected local government reforms made in 1974. Manchester Gorton became a borough constituency in the parliamentary county of Greater Manchester. The constituency was redefined as comprising five wards of the Metropolitan district and City of Manchester, namely: Fallowfield, Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme, Longsight and Rusholme. The constituency was unaltered at the next redistribution prior to the 1997 general election.

Future boundaries

At the next general election, revised boundaries will be used, with the constituency consisting of seven Manchester wards, namely: Fallowfield, Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme, Longsight, Rusholme and Whalley Range.

Representation

With the exception of the 1931 election, Manchester Gorton has been represented by a Labour MP since 1906. In local elections the Liberal Democrats did well in 2005, but lost 4 wards in 2006, retaining only Levenshulme and Rusholme.

The constituency includes a large student population who tend not to vote, especially in local elections, and an increasing population of people from Asia and Africa. Gerald Kaufman, having been Manchester Gorton's MP for over 35 years, is reckoned to have a large personal vote.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Richard Peacock	Liberal
	1889 by-election	Sir William Mather	Liberal
	1895	Ernest Frederic George Hatch	Conservative
	1904		Liberal
	1906	John Hodge	Labour
	1923	Joseph Compton	Labour
	1931	Eric Bailey	Conservative
	1935	Joseph Compton	Labour
	1937 by-election	William Wedgewood Benn	Labour
	1942 by-election	William Oldfield	Labour
	1955	Konni Zilliacus	Labour
	1967 by-election	Kenneth Marks	Labour
	1983	Sir Gerald Kaufman	Labour

Election results

2000s

References

• Historical list of MPs, accessed 10 January, 2006

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester