# Manchester Clayton (UK Parliament constituency)

Manchester Clayton was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election and abolished for the 1955 general election.

## Boundaries
### 1918–1950

The constituency was created as a result of the Report of the Boundary Commission in 1917, when it was recommended to be called "Manchester Newton Heath". However, when the Representation of the People Bill to give effect to the commission's recommendations was debated in Parliament, the Government accepted an amendment to change the name to Clayton. The new constituency came into effect at the 1918 general election. Although Parliament had altered the recommended name, it retained the recommended boundaries, and was defined as consisting of three municipal wards of the county borough of Manchester, namely Beswick, Bradford and Newton Heath.

### 1950–1955

Constituencies throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland were reorganised by the Representation of the People Act 1948, which introduced the term "borough constituency". Manchester, Clayton Borough Constituency was redefined to comprise four wards: Beswick, Bradford, Miles Platting and Newton Heath. Miles Platting had previously formed part of the Manchester Platting seat. The revised boundaries were first used in the 1950 general election.

### Abolition

Following a report by the boundary commissioners appointed under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949, constituencies in the Manchester area were reorganised in 1955. The Clayton constituency was abolished, with its area divided between the Manchester Cheetham and Manchester Openshaw seats.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1918 | Edward Hopkinson | Conservative |
| 1922 by-election | John Edward Sutton | Labour |
| 1922 | William Flanagan | Conservative |
| 1923 | John Edward Sutton | Labour |
| 1931 | William Flanagan | Conservative |
| 1935 | John Jagger | Labour |
| 1942 by-election | Harry Thorneycroft | Labour |
| 1955 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## History of the constituency

See Clayton, Greater Manchester

## Election results
### Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Edward Hopkinson | 12,285 | 61.6 | |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 7,654 | 38.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,631 | 23.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,939 | 57.5 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,659 | | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |

### Election in the 1920s

By-election, 1922: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 14,662 | 57.1 | +18.7 |
| | Unionist | William Flanagan | 11,038 | 42.9 | −18.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,624 | 14.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,700 | 73.7 | +16.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,851 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +18.7 | |
General election 1922: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | William Flanagan | 14,800 | 50.0 | −11.6 |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 14,789 | 50.0 | +11.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11 | 0.0 | −23.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,589 | 82.9 | +25.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,681 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −11.6 | |
General election 1923: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 17,255 | 56.7 | +6.7 |
| | Unionist | William Flanagan | 13,164 | 43.3 | −6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,091 | 13.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,419 | 83.5 | +0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,430 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +6.7 | |
General election 1924: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 17,338 | 54.2 | −2.5 |
| | Unionist | T.E. Thorpe | 14,634 | 45.8 | +2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,704 | 8.4 | −5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,972 | 84.7 | +1.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,729 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.5 | |
General election 1929: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 21,103 | 55.0 | +0.8 |
| | Unionist | William Flanagan | 14,062 | 36.6 | −9.2 |
| | Liberal | Charles Harold Travis | 3,207 | 8.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,041 | 18.4 | +10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,372 | 83.1 | −1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 47,308 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +5.0 | |

### Election in the 1930s

General election 1931: Manchester Clayton Manchester County Borough wards of Beswick, Bradford and Newton Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Flanagan | 22,072 | 56.2 | +15.6 |
| | Labour | John Sutton | 17,169 | 43.8 | −11.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,903 | 12.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,241 | 83.4 | +0.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 47,038 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +13.4 | |
General election 1935: Manchester Clayton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Jagger | 19,225 | 53.7 | +9.9 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Hewlett | 16,557 | 46.3 | −9.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,668 | 7.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,782 | 77.0 | −7.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,475 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.9 | |

### Election in the 1940s

By-election, 1942: Manchester Clayton> :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Thorneycroft | 8,892 | 93.3 | +39.6 |
| | Independent | E. H. Foot | 636 | 6.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,256 | 86.6 | +79.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,528 | 20.8 | −56.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 45,720 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1945: Manchester Clayton Manchester County Borough wards of Beswick, Bradford and Newton Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Thorneycroft | 22,401 | 69.4 | +15.7 |
| | National Liberal | Philip Smith | 9,883 | 30.6 | −15.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,518 | 38.8 | +31.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,284 | 69.6 | −7.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,394 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Manchester Clayton Manchester County Borough wards of Beswick, Bradford, Miles Platting and Newton Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Thorneycroft | 29,128 | 63.0 | −6.4 |
| | Conservative | D H Broome | 14,800 | 32.0 | +1.4 |
| | Liberal | Herbert Walls | 2,295 | 5.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,328 | 31.0 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,223 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Manchester Clayton Manchester County Borough wards of Beswick, Bradford, Miles Platting and Newton Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Thorneycroft | 27,985 | 63.5 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Marjorie S Grant | 16,122 | 36.5 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,863 | 27.0 | −4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,107 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |