The constituency was first used at the
February 1974 general election, having previously formed part of the
Cheadle constituency. It covers the south-eastern edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation and an area of countryside to the east bordering the
Peak District. Residents are wealthier than average for the North West and the UK as a whole.[2]
1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport wards of Bredbury, Great Moor, Hazel Grove, Marple North, Marple South and Romiley.[4][5]
Bramhall was transferred back to Cheadle. The Great Moor ward, incorporating the community of
Offerton, was transferred from the abolished
Stockport South constituency.
2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport wards of Bredbury and Woodley, Bredbury Green and Romiley, Hazel Grove, Marple North, Marple South and High Lane, and Offerton.[6]
Boundaries adjusted to take account of revision of local authority wards.
Proposed
Further to the
2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the
next general election, due by January 2025, will be expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range. This will be achieved by adding the Stockport Borough ward of Manor, to be transferred from the
Stockport constituency.[7]
Political history
At its first election in February 1974, the seat was won by
Michael Winstanley of the
Liberal Party, who had been the MP for Cheadle between 1966 and 1970. Winstanley only held it for a few months because, at the general election in
October 1974, he lost to the
Conservatives'
Tom Arnold.
The Conservative share of the vote fell in Hazel Grove in both the 2001 and 2005 general elections, from a (winning) peak under Tom Arnold of 44.8% in 1992 to a low of 29.7% in 2005. Following three failed attempts to increase the share of the vote (1997, 2001 and 2005), this decline was reversed in the 2010 election by Annesley Abercorn, who achieved a 33.6% share of the vote (+3.9%) and a 2.4%
swing from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives.