Hazel Grove is a constituency in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

since 2015 by

William Wragg William Peter Wragg (born 11 December 1987) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester since May 2015. He is a vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee. Early life Wragg ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Constituency profile

The constituency was first used at the February 1974 general election, having previously formed part of the Cheadle constituency. It covers the south-eastern edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation and an area of countryside to the east bordering the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

. Residents are wealthier than average for the North West and the UK as a whole.

Boundaries

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Bredbury and Romiley,

Hazel Grove and Bramhall The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

, and

Marple Marple may refer to: Places * Marple, Greater Manchester, a town close to Stockport, in England ** Marple Bridge, a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester ** Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manches ...

. From 1 April 1974 until the next boundary review came into effect for the 1983 general election, the constituency comprised parts of the

Metropolitan Borough of Stockport The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, south-east of central Manchester. As well as the towns of Stockport, Bredbury and Marple, it includes the outlying areas of Hazel ...

, but its boundaries were unchanged. 1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport wards of Bredbury, Great Moor, Hazel Grove, Marple North, Marple South and Romiley. ''

Bramhall Bramhall is a suburban area in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Cheshire, it had a population of 17,436 at the 2011 Census.Bramhall South and Bramhall North Wards History The Anglo-Saxon m ...

was transferred back to Cheadle. The Great Moor ward, incorporating the community of Offerton, was transferred from the abolished Stockport South constituency.'' 2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport wards of Bredbury and Woodley, Bredbury Green and Romiley, Hazel Grove, Marple North, Marple South and High Lane, and Offerton. ''Boundaries adjusted to take account of revision of local authority wards.''

Political history

At its first election in February 1974, the seat was won by

Michael Winstanley Michael Platt Winstanley, Baron Winstanley (27 August 1918 – 18 July 1993) was the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheadle from 1966 to 1970 and, after boundary changes, for Hazel Grove, a newly created seat comprising half his former ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, who had been the MP for Cheadle between 1966 and 1970. Winstanley only held it for a few months because, at the general election in October 1974, he lost to the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), ...

. Arnold held the seat until 1997, although (with the exception of the 1979 election) this was with small majorities over the local Liberals/ SDP-Liberal Alliance/ Liberal Democrats' candidate. At the 1997 general election, Arnold stood down and the seat was taken by Andrew Stunell of the Liberal Democrats. Stunell held the seat until his retirement in 2015, although with reduced majorities. The Conservative share of the vote fell in Hazel Grove in both the 2001 and 2005 general elections, from a (winning) peak under Tom Arnold of 44.8% in 1992 to a low of 29.7% in 2005. Following three failed attempts to increase the share of the vote (1997, 2001 and 2005), this decline was reversed in the 2010 election by Annesley Abercorn, who achieved a 33.6% share of the vote (+3.9%) and a 2.4% swing from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Major boundary changes occurred at this election. The vote changes compare with estimates for the 1979 election on the same boundaries.

Elections in the 1970s

Notes

References

Sources

Election results 1974–2001

External links

Photos of Hazel Grove
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazel Grove (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1974 Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport