Makerfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Makerfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented by Labour MP Josh Simons since 2024.

History
This seat was formed in 1983 mostly from the Ince and Wigan seats however with some of the Leigh seat.

Constituency profile
Makerfield is on some calculations, particularly a historical measure based on the period of time since a previous party served the area, one of the safest Labour seats in the country — with its predecessor constituencies, the area has been held by Labour since the Parliamentary Labour Party was formed in 1906. In 2010 the constituency, of the 650 nationally, polled the 105th highest share of the vote for the Labour Party. However, Labour's majority fell significantly in 2019 as with many "Red Wall" seats.

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 is now part of the Wigan seat. The seat comprises mostly working-class residential suburbs south of Wigan and to the west of Leigh. Deprivation however is relatively 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. Formerly a coal-mining area, there is now a small amount of light industry remaining, though not as much as Wigan, and the area is mostly residential 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, enrolling around 1800 students.

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.

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.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the 2024 United Kingdom general election will be 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 will now comprise 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.