Macclesfield

Macclesfield County constituency
Macclesfield shown within Cheshire, and Cheshire shown within England
Created:	1832, 1885
MP:	Sir Nicholas Winterton
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Cheshire
EP constituency:	North West England

Macclesfield is a constituency 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.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the north-eastern part of the Cheshire East unitary authority, including the town of Macclesfield itself and the area surrounding it, such as Bollington and Prestbury, as well as Disley and Poynton. Much of the constituency is commuter territory for Manchester, with affluent villages such as Prestbury.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Cheshire, the Boundary Commission for England proposed minor changes to the existing arrangement as a consequence of population changes with Henbury ward proposed to be transferred into the Tatton constituency, however following representations this proposal was dropped and the outer boundary of the Macclesfield constituency remained unchanged ^[1]. The electoral wards included in this modified constituency were (as at 12 April 2005) :

• Bollington Central, Bollington East, Bollington West, Disley and Lyme Handley, Gawsworth, Henbury, Macclesfield Bollinbrook, Macclesfield Broken Cross, Macclesfield Central, Macclesfield East, Macclesfield Hurdsfield, Macclesfield Ivy, Macclesfield Ryles, Macclesfield South, Macclesfield Tytherington, Macclesfield West, Poynton Central, Poynton East, Poynton West, Prestbury, Rainow and Sutton, all from the Borough of Macclesfield ^[2]

History

Macclesfield was first represented in Parliament after the Reform Act of 1832, from when it had two members of Parliament. This situation lasted until 1880, when after problems at the general election that year it was decided to declare the election void and suspend the writ of election (so no by-election could take place).

In September 1880 a Royal Commission was appointed to investigate further. A report of March 1881 confirmed the allegations of corruption. As a result the borough constituency was disenfranchised for corruption. The disenfranchisement took effect on 25 June 1885, when the town was transferred to the East Cheshire constituency.

However under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the Macclesfield constituency was recreated with extended boundaries, as a county division, later in 1885. From the United Kingdom general election, 1885 it has elected one MP.

Macclesfield was a safe seat for the Conservative Party, having been held by them since the 1918 general election. The current MP is Sir Nicholas Winterton, who was first elected at a by-election in 1971 and has held the seat since then. Sir Nicholas will be standing down at the next general election due to controversy over the expenses of himself and his wife Ann, who is also standing down as a Conservative MP. On 17 October 2009 David Rutley was selected as the Conservative candidate by way of an open primary organised by the party.^[3]

Earlier that same week, the East Cheshire Green Party had selected local man John Knight to be their first ever candidate to contest the Macclesfield constituency.^[4]

Members of Parliament

• From 1832 until 1880, Macclesfield was represented by two members of Parliament.

• The Macclesfield constituency was recreated in 1885, and subsequently has elected one MP only.

Election results

References

1. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, S.I. 2007/1681
2. ^ The borough of Macclesfield and its constituent wards were abolished on 1 April 2009, when they became part of the new unitary authority of Cheshire East; however, the boundaries of the parliamentary constituency remain fixed according to the wards in operation at 12 April 2005
3. ^ "David Rutley adopted to succeed Sir Nicholas Winterton in Macclesfield". Conservative Home. 17 October 2009. http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2009/10/david-rutley-adopted-to-succeed-sir-nicholas-winterton-in-macclesfield.html. Retrieved 17 October 2009. 
4. ^ "Greens to stand in Macclesfield". East Cheshire Green Party. 17 October 2009. http://eastcheshire.greenparty.org.uk/news/14. Retrieved 21 October 2009. 

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire
• The House of Commons Constituencies beginning with "M"

Coordinates: 53°19′N 2°8′W / 53.317°N 2.133°W / 53.317; -2.133