# Stretford (UK Parliament constituency)

Stretford was a parliamentary constituency in North West England, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election. The constituency was centred on the town of Stretford and originally included an area to the south west of the city of Manchester. The boundaries changed considerably over its existence, at times extending east to include parts of the city itself and at other times including the towns of Irlam and Urmston to the west.

## Boundaries
### 1885–1918

The Stretford Division of the County of Lancashire was formed by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. The constituency consisted of a number of civil parishes and townships to the south and south-east of the city of Manchester and north-east of the borough of Stockport:
* Burnage
* Chorlton-cum-Hardy
* Didsbury
* The portion of Heaton Norris outside the Borough of Stockport
* Levenshulme
* Reddish
* Rusholme
* Stretford
* Withington
An extension of the boundaries of Manchester meant that Rusholme became part of the city later in 1885. A further enlargement saw Burnage, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Didsbury and Withington included in Manchester in 1904. Similarly, the County Borough of Stockport was enlarged to include Reddish in 1901 and Heaton Norris in 1913. These local government boundary changes did not affect the constituency until the next parliamentary redistribution in 1918.

### 1918–1950

The Representation of the People Act 1918 reorganised constituencies throughout the United Kingdom. A new Stretford Division of Lancashire was formed. The areas in Manchester and Stockport passed to the Manchester Rusholme, Manchester Withington and Stockport constituencies. The new Stretford constituency included areas further to the west and was defined as consisting of the following local government units of the administrative county of Lancashire:
* The urban districts of Irlam, Stretford and Urmston
* The civil parish of Astley in Leigh Rural District
* The civil parish of Clifton in Barton upon Irwell Rural District

### 1950–1983

For the 1950 general election, a new Stretford borough constituency was created. The constituency comprised the Municipal Borough of Stretford (successor to the urban district) and the urban district of Urmston. The Astley area passed to the Leigh borough constituency and Clifton to the Farnworth county constituency.

### 1983–1997

Constituencies were redrawn for the 1983 general election to reflect the changes in local government in 1974. A new Stretford borough constituency, part of the Greater Manchester parliamentary county, was formed. The new constituency consisted of two wards of the City of Manchester, and five wards from the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. The Manchester wards were Moss Side and Whalley Range, and the Trafford wards were Clifford, Longford, Park, Stretford and Talbot. Urmston became part of the new constituency of Davyhulme.

### Abolition

The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, which came into effect for the 1997 general election, abolished the Stretford constituency. The area was redistributed, with Moss Side and Whalley Range added to an enlarged Manchester Central seat. The remainder became part of the new Stretford and Urmston constituency. The last MP for Stretford, Tony Lloyd, was subsequently elected as the Member of Parliament for Manchester Central.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | William Agnew | Liberal |
| 1886 | Sir John Maclure | Unionist |
| 1901 by-election | Charles Cripps | Unionist |
| 1906 | Harry Nuttall | Liberal |
| 1918 | Thomas Robinson | Coalition Liberal |
| 1922 | Thomas Robinson | National Liberal |
| 1923 | Thomas Robinson | Liberal |
| 1924 | Thomas Robinson | Constitutionalist |
| | Thomas Robinson | Liberal |
| | Thomas Robinson | Independent |
| 1931 | Gustav Renwick | Conservative |
| 1935 | Anthony Crossley | Conservative |
| 1939 by-election | Ralph Etherton | Conservative |
| 1945 | Herschel Austin | Labour |
| 1950 | Sir Samuel Storey | Conservative |
| 1966 | Ernest Davies | Labour |
| 1970 | Winston Churchill | Conservative |
| 1983 | Tony Lloyd | Labour |
| 1997 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Lancashire South East, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Agnew | 4,866 | 51.0 | |
| | Conservative | John MacClure | 4,676 | 49.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 190 | 2.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,542 | 85.7 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,140 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Lancashire South East, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John MacClure | 4,750 | 54.2 | +5.2 |
| | Liberal | William Agnew | 4,011 | 45.8 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 739 | 8.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,761 | 78.6 | −7.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,140 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.2 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Lancashire South East, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John MacClure | 6,623 | 55.7 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal | William Agnew | 5,278 | 44.3 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,345 | 11.4 | +3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,901 | 77.2 | −1.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,425 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.5 | |
General election 1895: Lancashire South East, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John MacClure | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Stretford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John MacClure | 7,519 | 60.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Harry Nuttall | 4,938 | 39.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,581 | 20.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,457 | 65.9 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 18,909 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
Maclure died 28 January 1901.
1901 Stretford by-election: Stretford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Cripps | 7,088 | 55.0 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal | Franklin Thomasson | 5,791 | 45.0 | +5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,297 | 10.0 | −10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,879 | 65.4 | −0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 19,706 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −5.4 | |
General election 1906: Stretford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harry Nuttall | 11,131 | 57.3 | +17.7 |
| | Conservative | Charles Cripps | 8,307 | 42.7 | −17.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,824 | 14.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,438 | 79.9 | +14.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24,326 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.3 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election, January 1910: Lancashire South East, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harry Nuttall | 12,917 | 54.9 | −2.4 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Samuel | 10,626 | 45.1 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,921 | 9.8 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,543 | 85.2 | +5.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,629 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.4 | |
General election, December 1910: Lancashire South East, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harry Nuttall | 11,343 | 52.0 | −2.9 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Samuel | 10,467 | 48.0 | +2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 876 | 4.0 | −5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,810 | 78.9 | −6.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,629 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.9 | |
General election, 1918: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | Thomas Robinson* | 17,161 | 76.7 | +24.7 |
| | Labour | Joseph Hallsworth | 5,216 | 23.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,945 | 53.4 | +49.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,377 | 61.4 | −17.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,459 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
       * Robinson stood as an 'Independent Free Trade and Anti-Socialist' candidate, but he was claimed as a Liberal candidate and has thus been denoted as such.

### Elections in the 1920s

General election, 1922: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Thomas Robinson | 19,185 | 68.7 | −8.0 |
| | Labour | Alfred Hartley Turner | 8,733 | 31.3 | +8.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,452 | 37.4 | −16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,918 | | |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election, 1923: Stretford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Robinson | 15,971 | 58.2 | −10.5 |
| | Labour | John Corlett | 11,451 | 41.8 | +10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,520 | 16.4 | −21.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,422 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -10.5 | |
General election, 1924: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Constitutionalist | Thomas Robinson | 20,826 | 64.4 | +6.2 |
| | Labour | Joseph Robinson | 11,520 | 35.6 | −6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,306 | 28.8 | +12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,346 | | |
| | Constitutionalist hold | Constitutionalist hold | Swing | | |
General election, 1929: Stretford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Thomas Robinson | 25,799 | 58.6 | −5.8 |
| | Labour | Frank Anderson | 18,199 | 41.4 | +5.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,600 | 16.8 | −12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,998 | | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | -5.8 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election, 1931: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gustav Renwick | 39,002 | 75.3 | New |
| | Labour | Frank Anderson | 12,796 | 24.7 | −16.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 26,206 | 50.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,798 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Independent | Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Crossley | 34,874 | 64.4 | −10.9 |
| | Labour | Tom Myers | 19,278 | 35.6 | +10.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,596 | 28.8 | −21.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,152 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Crossley died in an aeroplane crash off the coast of Denmark on 15 August 1939.
By-election 1939: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ralph Etherton | 23,408 | 79.8 | +15.4 |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Bob Edwards | 4,424 | 15.1 | N/A |
| | Communist | Eric Gower | 1,514 | 5.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,984 | 64.7 | +35.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,346 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Lancashire, Stretford Division :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Herschel Austin | 35,715 | 54.8 | +19.2 |
| | Conservative | Ralph Etherton | 29,421 | 45.2 | −19.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,294 | 9.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,136 | 78.5 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Samuel Storey | 30,678 | 48.6 | +3.4 |
| | Labour | Herschel Austin | 25,075 | 39.7 | −15.1 |
| | Liberal | Stephen Cawley | 7,464 | 11.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,603 | 8.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,217 | 86.9 | +8.4 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Samuel Storey | 35,419 | 58.0 | +9.4 |
| | Labour | Charles Mapp | 25,694 | 42.0 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,725 | 16.0 | +7.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,113 | 83.4 | −3.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Samuel Storey | 33,101 | 60.9 | +2.9 |
| | Labour | Fred Barton | 21,267 | 39.1 | −2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,834 | 21.8 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,368 | 76.1 | −7.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1959: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Samuel Storey | 32,888 | 58.3 | −2.6 |
| | Labour | Edward Reid | 23,538 | 41.7 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,350 | 16.6 | −5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,426 | 79.1 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Samuel Storey | 22,004 | 40.0 | −18.3 |
| | Labour | Edward Cavanagh | 20,080 | 36.5 | −5.2 |
| | Liberal | Michael Winstanley | 12,884 | 23.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,924 | 3.5 | −11.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,968 | 79.2 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ernest Davies | 24,739 | 47.1 | +10.6 |
| | Conservative | Samuel Storey | 21,374 | 40.7 | +0.7 |
| | Liberal | Clifford L. Jones | 6,382 | 12.2 | −11.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,365 | 6.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,495 | 77.1 | −2.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Winston Churchill | 28,629 | 53.8 | +13.1 |
| | Labour | Ernest Davies | 24,614 | 46.2 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,015 | 7.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,243 | 74.9 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Winston Churchill | 23,630 | 42.3 | −11.5 |
| | Labour | Kenneth Anthony | 19,641 | 35.2 | −11.0 |
| | Liberal | Dennis Wrigley | 12,558 | 22.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,989 | 7.1 | −0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,829 | 82.0 | +7.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Winston Churchill | 22,114 | 42.0 | −0.3 |
| | Labour | Peter N. Scott | 20,877 | 39.7 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal | Dennis Wrigley | 9,629 | 18.3 | −4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,237 | 2.3 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,620 | 76.5 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Winston Churchill | 25,972 | 48.3 | +6.3 |
| | Labour | Peter N. Scott | 21,466 | 39.9 | +0.2 |
| | Liberal | Dennis Wrigley | 6,369 | 11.8 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,506 | 8.4 | +6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,807 | 77.7 | +1.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tony Lloyd | 18,028 | 44.8 | |
| | Conservative | Walter Sweeney | 13,686 | 34.1 | |
| | SDP | David Wilks | 8,141 | 20.3 | |
| | Independent Labour | Syad Ud-Din | 336 | 0.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,342 | 10.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,191 | 70.0 | +2.3 |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
Boundary changes meant that the seat would notionally have been won by Labour in 1979 with a majority of 3,607. The sitting MP, Winston Churchill, moved to the newly created Davyhulme constituency which included part of the pre-1983 Stretford seat
General election 1987: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tony Lloyd | 22,831 | 55.2 | +10.4 |
| | Conservative | Daniel Dougherty | 13,429 | 32.4 | −1.7 |
| | SDP | Dennis Lee | 5,125 | 12.4 | −7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,402 | 22.8 | +12.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,385 | 71.9 | +1.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Stretford Borough Constituency :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tony Lloyd | 22,300 | 59.6 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | John C.B. Rae | 11,163 | 29.8 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Francis C. Beswick | 3,722 | 9.9 | −2.5 |
| | Natural Law | Andrew Boyton | 268 | 0.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,137 | 29.8 | +7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,453 | 68.8 | −3.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.6 | |