# Altrincham and Sale (UK Parliament constituency)

Altrincham and Sale was a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, and existed between 1945 and 1997.

## History and boundaries

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 set up Boundary Commissions to carry out periodic reviews of the distribution of parliamentary constituencies. It also authorised an initial review to subdivide abnormally large constituencies (those exceeding an electorate of 100,000) in time for the 1945 election. This was implemented by the Redistribution of Seats Order 1945 under which Cheshire was allocated one additional seat, by splitting the constituency of Altrincham into two seats:
* Altrincham and Sale, comprising the two respective municipal boroughs; and
* Bucklow, comprising the bulk of the remainder of the constituency
The constituency remained unchanged until 1 April 1974 when, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, the boroughs of Altrincham and Sale were absorbed into the new metropolitan borough of Trafford within the county of Greater Manchester. However, the boundaries were not revised until the Third Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies came into effect for the 1983 general election. The revised constituency consisted of the south-eastern area of Trafford, with the main town being Altrincham, and comprised:
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford wards of Altrincham, Bowdon, Broadheath, Brooklands, Hale, Sale Moor, Timperley, and Village.
Hale and Bowdon were transferred from the abolished Cheshire constituency of Knutsford, while parts of the former municipal borough of Sale, including Ashton upon Mersey, were included in the new constituency of Davyhulme.
The constituency was abolished for the 1997 general election, when it was split in a roughly three to one ratio between the new constituencies of Altrincham and Sale West and Wythenshawe and Sale East.

## Political history

The constituency always elected a Conservative member with a comfortable majority and only had three MPs during its 52 years in existence. From 1945, it was represented by Frederick Erroll, a cabinet minister in Harold Macmillan's government, who was raised to the peerage in 1964. The ensuing by-election (held in 1965) was won by Anthony Barber, who served as Edward Heath's Chancellor of the Exchequer. Barber also entered the House of Lords, and at the October 1974 general election was succeeded by Fergus Montgomery, later Sir Fergus Montgomery, who served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Margaret Thatcher, during her tenure as Secretary of State for Education, and then as Leader of the Opposition. Montgomery held the seat until he retired in 1997.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1945 | Fred Erroll | Conservative | Disqualified December 1964 on being raised to the peerage |
| 1965 by-election | Anthony Barber | Conservative | Previously MP for Doncaster 1951–64; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1970-74 |
| Oct 1974 | Sir Fergus Montgomery | Conservative |
| 1997 | Constituency abolished: see Altrincham and Sale West & Wythenshawe and Sale East | Constituency abolished: see Altrincham and Sale West & Wythenshawe and Sale East | Constituency abolished: see Altrincham and Sale West & Wythenshawe and Sale East |

## Elections
### Election in the 1940s

1945 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Erroll | 26,656 | 55.61 | |
| | Labour | M.C. Joseph | 21,275 | 44.39 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,381 | 11.22 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,931 | 80.3 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1950s

1950 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Erroll | 30,843 | 57.41 | +1.8 |
| | Labour | Frank Bibby | 16,544 | 30.79 | −13.6 |
| | Liberal | Lawrence Gordon Bayley | 6,340 | 11.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,299 | 26.6 | +15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,727 | 88.4 | +8.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.7 | |
1951 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Erroll | 33,987 | 66.1 | +8.7 |
| | Labour | James Brian O'Hara | 17,465 | 33.9 | +3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,522 | 32.2 | +5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,452 | 84.0 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.8 | |
1955 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Erroll | 30,586 | 62.2 | −3.9 |
| | Labour | Trevor Park | 12,174 | 24.8 | −9.1 |
| | Liberal | Donald Fletcher Burden | 6,436 | 13.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,412 | 37.4 | +5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,196 | 80.0 | −4.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.7 | |
1959 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Erroll | 29,992 | 56.0 | −6.2 |
| | Labour | Norman Atkinson | 14,141 | 26.4 | +1.6 |
| | Liberal | Donald Fletcher Burden | 9,415 | 17.6 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,851 | 29.6 | −7.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,548 | 82.6 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.9 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1964 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Erroll | 24,982 | 46.8 | −9.2 |
| | Labour | Roy Roebuck | 14,945 | 28.0 | +1.6 |
| | Liberal | Donald Fletcher Burden | 13,429 | 25.2 | +7.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,037 | 18.8 | −10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,356 | 81.9 | −0.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −5.4 | |
By-election 1965: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Barber | 20,380 | 50.0 | +3.2 |
| | Labour | Roy Roebuck | 11,837 | 29.0 | +1.0 |
| | Liberal | Donald Fletcher Burden | 7,898 | 19.4 | −5.8 |
| | Independent | G.O. Symes | 634 | 1.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,543 | 21.0 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,749 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.1 | |
1966 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Barber | 24,736 | 48.0 | +1.2 |
| | Labour | Joyce Cope | 17,899 | 34.7 | +6.7 |
| | Liberal | Alan Cooper | 8,891 | 17.3 | −7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,837 | 13.3 | −5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,526 | 78.0 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −5.5 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

1970 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Barber | 27,904 | 53.2 | +5.2 |
| | Labour | Barry E. Jones | 16,671 | 31.8 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal | Lawrence Gordon Bayley | 7,875 | 15.0 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,233 | 21.4 | +8.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,450 | 74.1 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.1 | |
February 1974 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Barber | 26,434 | 44.3 | −8.9 |
| | Liberal | Desmond Blackburn | 17,738 | 29.7 | +14.7 |
| | Labour | Derek Rutherford | 15,550 | 26.0 | −5.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,696 | 14.6 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,722 | 82.2 | +8.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −11.82 | |
October 1974 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 23,910 | 42.8 | −1.5 |
| | Labour | Eric Wood | 16,998 | 30.4 | +4.4 |
| | Liberal | Desmond Blackburn | 14,980 | 26.8 | −2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,912 | 12.4 | −2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,888 | 76.3 | −5.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.9 | |
1979 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 29,873 | 51.6 | +8.8 |
| | Labour Co-op | Garth Pratt | 14,643 | 25.3 | −5.1 |
| | Liberal | John Campbell | 12,603 | 21.8 | −5.0 |
| | Ecology | C. Marsh | 796 | 1.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,230 | 26.3 | +13.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,915 | 77.7 | +1.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.1 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

1983 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 25,321 | 52.5 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal | Brian Clancy | 14,410 | 29.9 | +8.1 |
| | Labour | Alexander Erwin | 7,684 | 15.9 | −9.4 |
| | Ecology | C. Marsh | 629 | 1.3 | −0.1 |
| | Independent | Lee J. Wolstenholme | 152 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,911 | 22.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,196 | 73.0 | −4.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
1987 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 27,746 | 53.5 | +1.0 |
| | Liberal | John Mulholland | 13,518 | 26.1 | −3.8 |
| | Labour | David Hinder | 10,617 | 20.5 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,228 | 27.4 | +4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,881 | 76.7 | +3.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.4 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

1992 general election: Altrincham and Sale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fergus Montgomery | 29,066 | 54.7 | +1.2 |
| | Labour | Mary E. Atherton | 12,275 | 23.1 | +2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Mulholland | 11,601 | 21.8 | −4.3 |
| | Natural Law | John C. Renwick | 212 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,791 | 31.6 | +4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,154 | 80.2 | +3.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |