Wigan was incorporated as a borough on 26 August 1246, after the issue of a charter by Henry III.[2] In 1295 and January 1307 Wigan was one of the significant places called upon to send a representative, then known as a 'burgess', to the Model Parliament. However, for the remainder of the medieval period the seat was not summoned to send an official despite being one of only four boroughs in Lancashire possessing Royal Charters; the others were Lancaster, Liverpool and Preston. This changed in the Tudor period with Henry VIII's grant of two Members of Parliament to the town.
Following the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, single-member constituencies were imposed nationwide,[n 3] meaning the seat saw a reduction of the number of its members.
The death of Roger Stott in office in 1999 made him the fourth Wigan MP in the twentieth century to die in office (uniquely for a constituency in the United Kingdom); the others were John Parkinson, Ronald Williams and William Foster.
Political history
Wigan is considered a safe seat given that it has been held by the Labour Party since 1918, with solid majorities ranging from 1,018 votes (2.2%) in 1931 to 22,643 votes (51.7%) in 1997.
Prominent frontbenchers
Member of Parliament
Notability
William Ewart
Carried the Hanging in Chains Act of 1834, abolishing hanging in chains
Carried a bill in 1837 to abolish capital punishment for cattle-stealing and similar offences
2020 Labour Party leadership election contender who placed third.
Boundaries
Map of current boundaries
1832–1918: The Township of Wigan.[3]
In 1835 Wigan became a Municipal borough, using the then current Parliamentary boundaries of the Township.[4][5]
In 1888 Wigan Municipal Borough became the County Borough of Wigan on the same boundaries.[6][7]
In 1904 Pemberton Urban District was dissolved, with the area covered by it becoming part of the County Borough of Wigan.[8] However, for Parliamentary purposes, that area remained part of South-West Lancashire, Ince Division[9] until the Parliamentary boundaries were redefined in 1918.[10][11][12]
1918–1983: The County Borough of Wigan[10][13][14][15]
In 1974 the Country Borough of Wigan was abolished and superseded by the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, covering a far greater area.[16] However, the boundary of the Parliamentary Constituency of Wigan remained unchanged until 1983, when it was expanded to cover the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough.[17]
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Aspull-Standish, Beech Hill, Ince, Langtree, Newtown, Norley, Swinley, Whelley.[17]
1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Aspull-Standish, Beech Hill, Langtree, Newtown, Norley, Swinley, Whelley.[18]
In 2004, new ward boundaries in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan came in to effect. However, the Parliamentary boundaries remained unchanged until they were reviewed and adjusted to line up with the new ward boundaries in 2010.[19]
2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan wards of Aspull, New Springs and Whelley; Douglas; Ince; Pemberton; Shevington with Lower Ground; Standish with Langtree; Wigan Central; Wigan West as existed from the 2004 local elections until new ward boundaries were created for the 2023 local elections.[19]
The seat is productive and has excellent links to Manchester, as well as close links to the M6, which lies just within its western border. However, over the past century, Wigan has witnessed a fall in manufacturing, particularly in the production of textiles, which have been unable to compete with the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. Another industry which has suffered is coal mining, which had been a large employer in this part of Lancashire up until the mid-20th century. There are some industrial areas remaining in and around the town centre. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal flows through the town, including the famous Wigan Pier area.
As of May 2018, the rate of JSA and Universal Credit claimants was 3.9%, higher than the national average of 2.8% and regional average of 3.7%, based on a statistical compilation by the House of Commons Library.[21] The constituency also includes more desirable semi-rural residential villages to the north of Wigan town centre, such as Standish, which are relatively more affluent.
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
^A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
^Exceptions were the twenty-three borough constituencies, the City of London and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin
^Nominee of the Lancashire and Cheshire Women's Textile and Other Workers Representation Committee
References
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
^"View: Lancashire XCIII.SE (includes: Ashton in Makerfield; Ince in Makerfield; Wigan.) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952". maps.nls.uk.
^Local Administrative Units: Northern England, Frederic A. Youngs, Jr, Royal Historical Society, 1991
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
^McGuinness, Feargal; Powell, Andy (12 June 2018). People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency, May 2018 (Report).
^ abcde"History of Parliament". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
^ abc"Gerard, Sir Gilbert (d.1593), of Ince, Lancs. and Gerrard's Bromley, Staffs". History of Parliament.
^ abcdefghij"Wigan". History of Parliament.
^"Gerard, Sir Gilbert, 1st Bt. (1587–1670), of Flambards, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Mdx". History of Parliament.
^ abcLeigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxStooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 188–190. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
^ abcChurton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. pp. 186, 212.
^Donnelly, Sue (22 January 2015). "Beatrice Webb – the early years". LSE History. The London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
^Farrell, S. M. (9 January 2014) [2004]. "Ewart, William (1798–1869)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9011.
^"Dumfries Burghs". Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. 10 July 1841. p. 7. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"The General Election". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 31 July 1847. pp. 2, 3, 6, 7. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"The Late Elections". Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. 14 August 1847. pp. 3, 7, 8. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Wigan Election". Coventry Standard. 6 October 1854. p. 2. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"UK General Election - Results 4th July 2024". Wigan Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
^"The BNP Announces Candidates for Makerfield, Leigh and Wigan".
^"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^"Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"UK". Politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
^"Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"UK". Politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
^"UK". Politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
^"UK". Politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
^"UK". Politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
^ abcdefghCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 209. ISBN 9781349022984.
^ abDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
^ abcdefThe Liberal Year Book, 1907
^ abDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
^Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrsCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 331–332. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^"Wigan Election". Todmorden & District News. 8 December 1882. p. 9. Retrieved 15 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Election Intelligence." Times [London, England] 27 March 1866: 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 29 September 2013.
^ abcdBairstow, Stephen; Fisher, David R. "Wigan". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
Sources
Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) A Chronological Register of Both Houses of the British Parliament, from the Union in 1708, to the Third Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in 1807
D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) titles A-Z
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
External links
Wigan UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
Wigan UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
Wigan UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK