Worsley and Eccles South

[bsjmcr]

Coming soon, unless anyone else is up for it!

[bsjmcr]

Anyone living in the North West or indeed anyone who knows of Worsley would automatically think that this seat is a Tory bastion, for the eponymous town, along with Boothstown and Ellenbrook, are the pinnacle of affluence in the City of Salford. This is very much true for those wards in themselves, locally they have always been represented by Conservatives. They were of the select handful of Salford wards that voted Remain (the others are Eccles and Ordsall (Salford Quays) both in the Salford & Eccles seat nextdoor). The Bridgewater Canal flows through Worsley, the water being a famous orange colour due to iron in the rocks, and many old Tudor style mansions such as Worsley Old Hall can be seen around the village centre, which is a conservation area. Ironically, Worsley New Hall does not exist any more, but the 156 acre site and gardens are undergoing an ambitious renovation project - RHS Garden Bridgewater, which is to open next year and aims to be Salford’s answer to Tatton.
Housing in Worsley and Boothstown/Ellenbrook is mostly leafy and detached - some fit for footballers as David Beckham and Ryan Giggs once lived in Worsley, and the latter owns a local restaurant. The area was probably formerly home to the factory and landowners during the Industrial Revolution when the area boomed, not only from cotton but also coal which was mined locally.

Based on the seat’s principal namesake then, one would be surprised to see that the constituency is a Labour stronghold. This is because the rest of it is made up of swathes of more down to earth Salford suburbs. The largest population centre in the constituency is actually Walkden, where the office of the Labour MP is based. It is another former industrial town that also thrived on the local coal and textile industry. Now generally a mixed area, with Walkden South leaning towards Boothstown and so is marginal, having had a mix of Conservative/Labour representation (though is now fully Labour), while Walkden North is more working class and deprived, so is safely Labour, as it leans towards the Little Hulton estate. Little Hulton is Salford’s 1950s-60s overspill estate, located on the northern border with Bolton and run by City West housing trust and is the centre of deprivation in this constituency. It is monumentally Labour and Leave, but turnouts are amongst the lowest in the city. Regeneration in Walkden has attempted to bring some life to the town centre at the rebuilt Ellesmere Shopping Centre and Gateway Centre, and it is home to the largest Tesco Extra superstore in the country. There is also the 50-acre Blackleach Nature Reserve.

Harrop Fold School in the area made it on to our national screens as the subject of one of Channel 4’s famous fly-on-the-wall ‘Educating’ series, namely ‘Educating Greater Manchester’ - interestingly not named ‘Educating Salford’ - who knows why, could it be due to locals’ animosity and disconnect from Salford proper, or just the greater national recognition ‘Manchester’ has? The gritty school was in special measures until the inspirational new Headteacher and his deputy brother turned it around, becoming nationally-famous in the process, though he himself was reprimanded by the Council for issues over record-keeping and later resigned, putting paid to future series of the show here.

The ‘Eccles South’ part arises from the ‘Barton’ ward, which is as the name suggests, the southern half of the town, lying along the ship canal. It is also the less salubrious half of the town, ranking higher in deprivation and lower in professionals and qualifications, and so unlike Eccles proper, would have voted heavily for Leave. The same goes for the neighbouring Winton area.

Major roads including the A580, M62 and A57 flow through the area, across swathes of farmland and greenbelt land once you leave the aforementioned settlements and head westwards. Salford City Council’s website boasts that the city as whole has a lot of green space, which at 60%, is a fact which may have helped lead it to recently be listed the Greenest city in the country. Who would have thought? The majority of that green space is in this constituency, between the A580 and M62. This is mostly made up of Chat Moss, ancient fertile peat bog land which in itself forms 30% of the area of the entire city. Peat extraction once occurred here, but it is now protected wetlands and farming is now minimal. A former constituent named Worsley Man, dating from the Iron Age, was found preserved in the peat bogs and can now be seen at the Manchester Museum. Cadishead and Little Woolden Moss is one of the pioneering examples of peatland restoration in the North West, achieved through much Lottery funding and is run by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Keep heading down the A57 and you will arrive at the most isolated settlements of Salford you could think of, Irlam and Cadishead, awkwardly hanging off the south-western edge of the city along the ship canal and bordering Warrington to the west. Although Irlam has a railway station, the two settlements, now pretty much contiguous with each other, still feel somewhat disconnected from Salford and indeed Manchester by all that green space and the Ship Canal to the south. Irlam has an industrial park and the towns are otherwise residential and mostly made up of skilled working class residents, with little extreme deprivation or affluence save for the odd farm house. Both voted leave and are generally Labour, but in their bad years Cadishead has elected Conservatives in the past, and Irlam has elected Independents, including last year - perhaps indicating dissent with the powers that be all the way over at Swinton Civic Centre.

The constituency as a whole therefore is near if not slightly below average in terms of earnings, occupations and qualifications. Formed in 2010 from the old Worsley seat (which had Worsley, Boothstown and Walkden joined with parts of Wigan borough which are now in Leigh), and half of ‘Eccles’, which was a long snake of a seat stretching from Cadishead all the way into Swinton. Both were safely Labour, and Barbara Keeley held on for the new seat in 2010 with a majority of over 4,000 - she was first elected in 2005 for the old Worsley with a majority of 9,000. Originally from Leeds, her local links stem from her University of Salford education and election as Councillor in nearby Trafford. She built up the majority to just under 6,000 in 2015, but a hefty UKIP vote (well over 7,000 votes) meant it was at risk in 2017; of course Tory hopes at that election were almost universally dashed, and she achieved 57% of the vote and an 8,000 majority. The 2019 exit poll had this down as a Tory gain, and why not, seeing as neighbouring Leigh (Lab majority almost 10,000) switched, in the event, Ms Keeley held on by a comfortable (by Labour standards on that night) 3,219 votes. 3,224 votes went to the Brexit Party, and interestingly for a leave area the Conservative vote decreased slightly for Arnie Saunders, a Councillor from Kersal on the other side of the city, who was standing for the first time - the Tory candidate for the previous three elections was Iain Lindley of Walkden South, who resigned earlier that year from the party. The Lib Dems held their deposit (most likely made up of disaffected Tory remain voters from Worsley). Although this seat is now a marginal, it would have to take yet another pro-Tory swing like 2019 to occur in 2024 to take this one over the line, which surely can’t happen after 14 years of Government. The Labour vote has proved to be too stubborn as with next-door Salford and Eccles, which is also leave-leaning yet also saw a decreased Conservative vote. Disaffected voters simply split off into other parties in this area.

[Deleted]

I have a very very distant memory of tonygreaves saying on this forum that "Worsley and Eccles South" was a silly name for this constituency although this was an awfully long time ago.

[bsjmcr]

May 17, 2020 16:01:01 GMT @pr1berske said:

I have a very very distant memory of tonygreaves saying on this forum that "Worsley and Eccles South" was a silly name for this constituency although this was an awfully long time ago.

It certainly is, because there is no Salford and Eccles North! Having said that, there must be a way to acknowledge the swathes of Labour-land in the district, so Worsley alone to me wouldn't be sufficient. Worsley and Walkden (or possibly Irlam) would make more sense, but the best thing to do at the next review is simply to unite Eccles in one seat - but this seems to be easier said than done. Perhaps Little Hulton might have to go and join with Bolton SE?

[andrewteale]

May 17, 2020 15:53:44 GMT bsjmcr said:

Based on the seat’s principal namesake then, one would be surprised to see that the constituency is a Labour stronghold. This is because the rest of it is made up of swathes of more working class Salford suburbs. The largest population centre in the constituency is actually Walkden, where the office of the Labour MP is based. It is another former industrial town that also thrived on the local coal and textile industry. Now generally a mixed area, with Walkden South leaning towards Boothstown and so is marginal, with a mix of Conservative/Labour representation, while Walkden North is more working class and deprived, so is safely Labour, as it leans towards the Little Hulton estate. Little Hulton is Salford’s 1950s-60s overspill estate, located on the northern border with Bolton and run by City West housing trust and is the centre of deprivation in this constituency. It is monumentally Labour and Leave, but turnouts are amongst the lowest in the city. Regeneration in Walkden has attempted to bring some life to the town centre at the rebuilt Ellesmere Shopping Centre and Gateway Centre, and it is home to the largest Tesco Extra superstore in the country. There is also the 50-acre Blackleach Nature Reserve.

Walkden South isn't split any more: it's had a full slate of Labour councillors since linders retired last year.

The thing about Walkden is that it's one of those towns that the Post Office likes to pretend doesn't exist. Every address in M28 is "Worsley, Manchester" even though Walkden is far bigger than Worsley.

[manchesterman]

Excellent review bsjmcr

Agree about the name too, even though its my current seat. Would make slightly more sense if the current Salford & Eccles seat were called Salford & Eccles North. Only reasoning I can think of is that, way back when, the town of Eccles was the hub of what was called something like Eccles District or some such, which I think compromised Eccles (in Salf & Ecc) and Winton and Barton wards (in this seat).

Should have either stuck with Worsley or could have gone for Worsley and Irlam (as the largish settlement at the 'other end' of the constituency.

[bsjmcr]

May 20, 2020 21:54:55 GMT manchesterman said:

Excellent review bsjmcr

Agree about the name too, even though its my current seat. Would make slightly more sense if the current Salford & Eccles seat were called Salford & Eccles North. Only reasoning I can think of is that, way back when, the town of Eccles was the hub of what was called something like Eccles District or some such, which I think compromised Eccles (in Salf & Ecc) and Winton and Barton wards (in this seat).

Should have either stuck with Worsley or could have gone for Worsley and Irlam (as the largish settlement at the 'other end' of the constituency.

Thanks!

How about Salford West? And the other being either East or even Central, as it has the eponymous train station and the hub of Salford proper. I'm sure it would go down very well in Worsley 

Oh and how is the Ellesmere shopping centre these days? (as in pre-lockdown of course ) It's been ages since I last went, but it seemed quite smart, shiny and new, but some online gave it less praise and said there were a lot of empty shops about, which if so is a shame really (maybe due to relative proximity to Trafford?). The Salford Precinct by contrast might be less salubrious but seems to be thriving in its own way with few empty shops.

The Lowry 'Outlet' is definitely a tumbleweed shopping centre now, but they brought it on themselves by charging for parking, and the range of shops and even eateries in the foodcourt wasn't that great anyway. Again, Trafford is nearby and if you want a proper 'Outlet', go to Cheshire!

[manchesterman]

Ellesmere centre is quite deserted when I last visited briefly - about a year ago. Lots of vacant outlets. Salford precinct "fulfils a function" - I try to scurry through it as quick as I can [its on the route of my work commute, before i was working from home!]

[Devil Wincarnate]

Salford Shopping City is Greater Manchester's version of the Thunderdome.

[owainsutton]

May 20, 2020 21:54:55 GMT manchesterman said:

Excellent review bsjmcr

Agree about the name too, even though its my current seat. Would make slightly more sense if the current Salford & Eccles seat were called Salford & Eccles North. Only reasoning I can think of is that, way back when, the town of Eccles was the hub of what was called something like Eccles District or some such, which I think compromised Eccles (in Salf & Ecc) and Winton and Barton wards (in this seat).

Should have either stuck with Worsley or could have gone for Worsley and Irlam (as the largish settlement at the 'other end' of the constituency.

Eccles Municipal Borough. I'd figure that there was some local objection to an "...and Eccles North" description for the constituency which included the very centre of the town? The boundary cutting through just to the west, Corporation Street (the name indicating its connection to local governance changes) now in 'Eccles South'. (And happens to be home to the bandroom of Eccles Borough Band, which once upon a time was one of the best brass bands in the country.)

[bsjmcr]

May 21, 2020 17:52:00 GMT owainsutton said:

May 20, 2020 21:54:55 GMT manchesterman said:

Excellent review bsjmcr

Agree about the name too, even though its my current seat. Would make slightly more sense if the current Salford & Eccles seat were called Salford & Eccles North. Only reasoning I can think of is that, way back when, the town of Eccles was the hub of what was called something like Eccles District or some such, which I think compromised Eccles (in Salf & Ecc) and Winton and Barton wards (in this seat).

Should have either stuck with Worsley or could have gone for Worsley and Irlam (as the largish settlement at the 'other end' of the constituency.

Eccles Municipal Borough. I'd figure that there was some local objection to an "...and Eccles North" description for the constituency which included the very centre of the town? The boundary cutting through just to the west, Corporation Street (the name indicating its connection to local governance changes) now in 'Eccles South'. (And happens to be home to the bandroom of Eccles Borough Band, which once upon a time was one of the best brass bands in the country.)

At least it's not as bad as Basildon which manages to create two sets of missing compass points... there being a Basildon, Thurrock, and a South Basildon and East Thurrock?! 
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (there's no M'brough North or West Cleveland!). Not to mention the contradictory placement of the compass point - one after, then before!
Brent Central, Brent North - what happened to South? On that basis Bury North should be Bury Central... many would advocate for this, but the reality is if it's split in half, then north and south it should be.
Wyre and Preston North, and Preston...
The list goes on...

[owainsutton]

May 24, 2020 14:28:13 GMT bsjmcr said:

May 21, 2020 17:52:00 GMT owainsutton said:

Eccles Municipal Borough. I'd figure that there was some local objection to an "...and Eccles North" description for the constituency which included the very centre of the town? The boundary cutting through just to the west, Corporation Street (the name indicating its connection to local governance changes) now in 'Eccles South'. (And happens to be home to the bandroom of Eccles Borough Band, which once upon a time was one of the best brass bands in the country.)

At least it's not as bad as Basildon which manages to create two sets of missing compass points... there being a Basildon, Thurrock, and a South Basildon and East Thurrock?! 
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (there's no M'brough North or West Cleveland!). Not to mention the contradictory placement of the compass point - one after, then before!
Brent Central, Brent North - what happened to South? On that basis Bury North should be Bury Central... many would advocate for this, but the reality is if it's split in half, then north and south it should be.
Wyre and Preston North, and Preston...
The list goes on...

"Central Suffolk and North Ipswich" makes me twitchy.

[bsjmcr]

May 25, 2020 9:16:19 GMT owainsutton said:

May 24, 2020 14:28:13 GMT bsjmcr said:

At least it's not as bad as Basildon which manages to create two sets of missing compass points... there being a Basildon, Thurrock, and a South Basildon and East Thurrock?! 
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (there's no M'brough North or West Cleveland!). Not to mention the contradictory placement of the compass point - one after, then before!
Brent Central, Brent North - what happened to South? On that basis Bury North should be Bury Central... many would advocate for this, but the reality is if it's split in half, then north and south it should be.
Wyre and Preston North, and Preston...
The list goes on...

"Central Suffolk and North Ipswich" makes me twitchy.

Yeah, they need to be more bold in subsuming sloughed off wards into named places where the residents would identify with anyway, last time I checked Ipswich was in Suffolk, so surely they wouldn't object to being in just 'Central Suffolk' as I'd assume they are the outer suburbs, and in any case, well and truly in the county of Suffolk. 
'Hereford and South Herefordshire' - pick one or the other, but we don't need both! As for Paisley...
Mid Dorset and North Poole - same problem as CS&NI
Blackley and Broughton, Garston and Halewood - two particularly ugly examples of the well-known (Manchester and Liverpool) disappearing into the unknown, simply because of a couple of wards not in either city boundary, yet with M and L postcodes, commuting, etc... It is criminal that they are not preceded with the city name. Manchester North and Liverpool South would do just fine, adding 'and Broughton/Halewood' if you must... 

They do get it right sometimes, such as Norwich North, where most of the wards of which aren't Norwich City Council. Makes a lot of sense though.
Mid Derbyshire might be ugly on paper but consider it could have been 'Derby North West and Belper' or something. I wouldn't mind 'Wyre and Preston North' becoming Mid Lancashire, personally. What on earth is a Wyre anyway, I'm from Manchester and have never heard of it, and isn't there another one in Worcestershire?

[jamie]

bsjmcr Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Carmarthenshire East) and Barrow and Furness (Barrow OR Furness) come to mind as well.

[owainsutton]

May 25, 2020 11:59:47 GMT bsjmcr said:

May 25, 2020 9:16:19 GMT owainsutton said:

"Central Suffolk and North Ipswich" makes me twitchy.

Yeah, they need to be more bold in subsuming sloughed off wards into named places where the residents would identify with anyway, last time I checked Ipswich was in Suffolk, so surely they wouldn't object to being in just 'Central Suffolk' as I'd assume they are the outer suburbs, and in any case, well and truly in the county of Suffolk. 

Mid Derbyshire might be ugly on paper but consider it could have been 'Derby North West and Belper' or something. I wouldn't mind 'Wyre and Preston North' becoming Mid Lancashire, personally. What on earth is a Wyre anyway, I'm from Manchester and have never heard of it, and isn't there another one in Worcestershire?

"Mid Suffolk" would make perfect sense, especially as a bulk of the constituency is in that district.

To be fair, Wyre & Preston North does at least include the majority of Wyre borough.

[Robert Waller]

2011 Census

Age 65+ 15.5% 423/650
Owner-occupied 60.4% 467/650
Private rented 11.9% 469 /650
Social rented 25.8% 97/650
White 94.1% 345/650
Black 1.3% 228/650
Asian 2.5% 331/650
Managerial & professional 26.6%
Routine & Semi-routine 29.9%
Degree level 20.3% 500/650
No qualifications 26.8% 185/650
Students 6.7% 339/650


2021 Census

Owner occupied 58.5% 420/573
Private rented 16.7% 359/573
Social rented 24.9% 72/573
White 88.1%
Black 3.9%
Asian 3.8%
Managerial & professional 30.0% 341/573
Routine & Semi-routine 26.5% 195/573
Degree level 29.3% 359/573
No qualifications 20.2% 187/573





General Election 2019: Worsley and Eccles South

Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Barbara Keeley 20,446 45.7 -11.4
Conservative Arnie Saunders 17,227 38.5 -0.2
Brexit Party Seamus Martin 3,224 7.2 New
Liberal Democrats Joe Johnson-Tod 2,510 5.6 +3.2
Green Daniel Towers 1,300 2.9 +1.1

Lab Majority 3,219 7.2 -11.2

Turnout 44,707 59.4 -2.5

Labour hold

Swing 5.6 Lab to C

[bsjmcr]

The boundary change proposals here are significant but probably won't result in any change of party. The name will be less unwieldy as it will just be Worsley and Eccles as it brings in the Eccles ward proper, Swinton and Wardley (thereby splitting the town of Swinton as the 'Swinton Park' ward will be in Salford constituency), and Astley 'Mosley Common' from Wigan borough (currently in Leigh constituency) to the west which believe it or not is not unprecedented as Astley was in the old 'Worsley' constituency. Little Hulton and Walkden join parts of Bolton South East to become Bolton South and Walkden, again, not unprecedented as they were part of an old 'Farnworth' constituency and the links there are quite good. I know people in Little Hulton who go shopping in Bolton regularly rather than Salford.

[Pete Whitehead]

Notional results on new boundaries 2019 - Worsley & Eccles

Lab	22013	46.4%
Con	18023	38.0%
BxP	3284	6.9%
LD	2717	5.7%
Grn	1288	2.7%
Oth	134	0.3%
Majority	3990	8.4%