Leigh and Atherton

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Leigh and Atherton
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Location within North West England
CountyGreater Manchester
Electorate76,363 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsLeigh, Atherton, Golborne, Lowton
Current constituency
Created2024
Member of ParliamentJo Platt (Labour Co-op)
SeatsOne
Created fromLeigh & Bolton West

Leigh and Atherton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament.[2] It was created by the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies and was first contested at the 2024 general election.[3] Since 2024, it has been represented by Jo Platt of the Labour Party, who had been MP for the predecessor seat of Leigh from 2017 to 2019.

Constituency profile

Leigh and Atherton is a constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester and traditionally part of Lancashire. It is centred on the town of Leigh, which has a population of around 49,000,[4] and also includes the nearby towns of Atherton, Tyldesley and Golborne and the villages of Lowton and Higher Folds. This area has an industrial heritage with a history of textile manufacturing, metalworking and coal mining.[5] Leigh has high levels of deprivation whilst the rest of the constituency is average in terms of wealth.[6] House prices are low compared to the rest of North West England and considerably lower than the national average.[7]

In general, residents of Leigh and Atherton have low levels of income and education and are more religious than the rest of the country.[7] Rates of child poverty and unemployment benefits are around average for the United Kingdom.[8] Few residents work in professional occupations and a high proportion work in the retail and construction sectors.[9] White people made up 94% of residents in the 2021 census.[7] Almost all seats in the constituency at the local borough council are represented by the Labour Party, except Atherton which elected independent councillors. Voters in the constituency strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 65% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the nationwide figure of 52%.[7]

Boundaries

The seat covers the bulk of, and replaces, the Leigh constituency, with the town of Atherton being added from Bolton West.[10]

The constituency is composed of the following electoral wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan:

  • Astley (part), Atherton North, Atherton South & Lilford, Golborne & Lowton West, Leigh Central & Higher Folds, Leigh South, Leigh West (part), Lowton East, Tyldesley & Mosley Common (part), and Hindley Green (part).[10]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
2024 Jo Platt Labour Co-op

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Leigh and Atherton[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Jo Platt 19,971 48.5 +5.3
Reform George Woodward 11,090 26.9 +21.1
Conservative Michael Winstanley 6,483 15.7 −28.1
Green Amelia Jones 1,653 4.0 +3.7
Liberal Democrats Stuart Thomas 1,597 3.9 −0.7
English Democrat Craig Buckley 376 0.9 N/A
Majority 8,881 21.6 N/A
Turnout 41,170 51.6 −6.4
Registered electors 79,978
Labour Co-op gain from Conservative Swing −7.9

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[12]
Party Vote %
Conservative19,41043.8
Labour19,11743.2
Brexit Party2,5725.8
Liberal Democrats2,0314.6
Others9992.2
Green1540.3
Turnout 44,283 58.0
Electorate 76,363

References

  1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  2. "Boundaries review: The ancient city of Chester being split in two". BBC News. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  3. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. "Leigh". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  5. LeighTownTrailPart1 (PDF), Government of the United Kingdom, archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2013, retrieved 14 August 2009
  6. "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  7. "Seat Details - Leigh and Atherton". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  8. "Constituency dashboard". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  9. "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  10. "Leigh and Atherton: New Boundaries 2023 Calculation". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  11. "UK General Election – Results 4th July 2024". Wigan Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  12. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.