Congleton (UK Parliament constituency)

Congleton is a parliamentary constituency in Cheshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Sarah Russell of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile
The constituency adjoins the Stoke-on-Trent urban area and rural areas in all other directions, including the Peak District to the East, Staffordshire Moorlands to the South and Cheshire Plain to the West.

Congleton was considered a stronghold for the Conservative Party as the seat had elected a Conservative MP since its creation in 1983, with a majority of 32% in the 2019 general election. However, the constituency was won by Labour in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

The constituency consists mainly of rural areas of south-east Cheshire, with the only four towns being – in descending order of population – Congleton, Sandbach, Middlewich and Alsager. The seat is also home to the large village of Holmes Chapel, as well as many much smaller villages and settlements, such as Church Lawton, Rode Heath and Goostrey.

Creation
The constituency was created for the 1983 general election following the major reorganisation of local authorities under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974. It comprises parts of Macclesfield and the abolished constituencies of Crewe, Knutsford and Nantwich.

Boundaries
1983–1997: The Borough of Congleton, and the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich ward of Haslington.

The town of Congleton was previously in the constituency of Macclesfield; Alsager, Sandbach and Haslington, came from Crewe; Middlewich from Nantwich; and rural areas comprising the former Rural District of Congleton were previously part of Knutsford.

1997–2010: The Borough of Congleton.

Haslington was transferred to Crewe and Nantwich.

The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007 made no changes to Congleton. However, before this came into force for the 2010 election, the Borough of Congleton was abolished on 1 April 2009, becoming part of the new unitary authority of Cheshire East. Consequently, the constituency's boundaries were revised to:

2010–2024: The Borough of Cheshire East wards of Alsager, Brereton Rural (most), Congleton East, Congleton West, Dane Valley, Middlewich, Odd Rode, Sandbach Elworth, Sandbach Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Sandbach Heath and East, and Sandbach Town.

2024–present: The Borough of Cheshire East wards of Alsager, Brereton Rural (most), Congleton East, Congleton West, Dane Valley, Odd Rode, Sandbach Elworth, Sandbach Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Sandbach Heath and East, and Sandbach Town.
 * To bring the electorate within the permitted range, Middlewich was transferred to the new constituency of Mid Cheshire.

Political history
Congleton was a stronghold for the Conservative Party, electing a Conservative MP from its creation in 1983 until 2024, with a majority of 32% in the 2019 UK General Election.

The seat was held comfortably from 1983 until 2010 by the Conservative Ann Winterton, the wife of Sir Nicholas Winterton, the MP for the adjacent Macclesfield constituency. Both stood down at the 2010 general election; their joint statement cited the hectic life of politics as part of their reason for standing down, in addition to an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who concluded that they misused their MPs' expenses to pay rent for a flat that they had already bought outright.

Ann Winterton was succeeded by Fiona Bruce at the 2010 general election. Fiona Bruce held the seat until the 2024 General Election when she was unseated by the current MP Sarah Russell.

Elections in the 2020s
Changes are from the notional 2019 results on the 2024 boundaries.