# Mossley (UK Parliament constituency)

Mossley was a parliamentary constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament.
It was created at the 1918 general election as a county division of Lancashire, taking areas formerly in the Gorton and Prestwich constituencies. The area consisted of small towns which were increasingly suburban to Manchester, such as Droylsden and Failsworth (now part of Oldham borough), together with some towns then further out such as Denton, and stretching out to the edge of Saddleworth Moor to take in Mossley.
This created a mixed area which declined in social status during its existence as Manchester expanded to the east and its industrial area expanded. The electorate also increased over time, and in a boundary change in 1950 the seat was divided with the areas adjacent to Manchester forming the new Droylsden constituency while the remainder including Mossley itself formed part of Ashton-under-Lyne.

## Boundaries

The Borough of Mossley, the Rural District of Limehurst, and the Urban Districts of Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Failsworth, and Lees.

## Members of Parliament

* Constituency created (1918)
| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Austin Hopkinson | Coalition Liberal |
| | 1922 | Austin Hopkinson | Independent |
| | 1929 | Herbert Gibson | Labour |
| | 1931 | Austin Hopkinson | National Independent |
| | 1945 | George Woods | Labour Co-op |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### 1910s election results

General election 1918: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | National Liberal | *Austin Hopkinson | 16,158 | 75.6 | |
| | Co-operative Party | William Brown | 5,227 | 24.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,931 | 51.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,385 | 52.8 | |
| | National Liberal win (new seat) | National Liberal win (new seat) | National Liberal win (new seat) | National Liberal win (new seat) | National Liberal win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
* Hopkinson was not a member of any political party but was adopted by both the local Conservative and Liberal Associations, received the Coalition Coupon and saw himself as a Liberal. However, he said this did not bind him to support the coalition government or to vote with it, and that he had accepted the coupon for the good of the country.

### 1920s election results

General election 1922: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Austin Hopkinson | 15,953 | 58.4 | −17.2 |
| | Liberal | Miles Ewart Mitchell | 11,376 | 41.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,577 | 16.8 | −34.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,329 | 67.5 | +14.7 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1923: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Austin Hopkinson | 11,426 | 50.8 | −7.6 |
| | Liberal | George Jennison | 11,051 | 49.2 | +7.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 375 | 1.6 | −15.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,477 | 54.5 | −13.0 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | -7.6 | |
General election 1924: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Austin Hopkinson | 15,435 | 49.2 | −1.6 |
| | Labour Co-op | Thomas Mercer | 10,769 | 34.3 | New |
| | Liberal | George Jennison | 5,162 | 16.5 | −32.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,666 | 14.9 | +13.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,366 | 75.3 | +20.8 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1929: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Herbert Gibson | 19,296 | 46.0 | +11.7 |
| | Independent | Austin Hopkinson | 14,267 | 33.9 | −15.3 |
| | Liberal | Harold Housley | 8,467 | 20.1 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,029 | 12.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,030 | 76.8 | +1.5 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Independent | Labour Co-op gain from Independent | Swing | +13.5 | |

### 1930s election results

General election 1931: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | Austin Hopkinson | 17,017 | 36.7 | +2.8 |
| | Labour Co-op | Herbert Gibson | 15,587 | 33.5 | −12.5 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Barlow | 13,873 | 29.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,430 | 3.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,477 | 84.2 | +7.4 |
| | National gain from Labour Co-op | National gain from Labour Co-op | Swing | +7.6 | |
General election 1935: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | Austin Hopkinson | 24,569 | 52.3 | +15.6 |
| | Labour Co-op | Herbert Gibson | 22,399 | 47.7 | +14.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,170 | 4.6 | +1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,968 | 75.3 | −8.9 |
| | National hold | National hold | Swing | +0.7 | |

### 1940s election results

General election 1945: Mossley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | George Woods | 27,435 | 47.5 | −0.2 |
| | Conservative | G.E. Rush | 18,452 | 32.0 | New |
| | Liberal | Marjorie Jalland | 7,128 | 12.4 | New |
| | National | Austin Hopkinson | 4,671 | 8.1 | −44.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,983 | 15.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,669 | 76.2 | +0.9 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Independent | Labour Co-op gain from Independent | Swing | +22.0 | |