Ince (UK Parliament constituency)

Ince
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Lancashire
Major settlements	Ince-in-Makerfield, Abram
1885–1970
Created from	South West Lancashire
1970–1983
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Makerfield

Ince was a parliamentary constituency in England which elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Ince-in-Makerfield and other towns south of Wigan.

It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of Lancashire. The boundaries were altered in 1918 and 1950, and in 1970 it was redesignated as a borough constituency.^[1]

The constituency ceased to exist with the implementation of the 1983 boundary changes and was largely replaced by the Makerfield Parliamentary constituency.

Boundaries

1885–1918

The constituency, officially designated as South-West Lancashire, Ince Division consisted of parishes surrounding, but not including, the town of Wigan, namely:

• Abram
• Haigh
• Hindley
• Ince-in-Makerfield
• Orrell
• Pemberton

The electorate also included the freeholders of the municipal borough of Wigan who were entitled to vote in the county.^[2]

1918–1950

The Representation of the People Act 1918 reorganised constituencies throughout the United Kingdom. Boundaries were adjusted and seats were defined in terms of the districts created by the Local Government Act 1894. According to the schedules of the Act, the Lancashire, Ince Division comprised:^[3]

• Abram Urban District
• Ashton in Makerfield Urban District
• Billinge Urban District
• Ince-in-Makerfield Urban District
• Orrell Urban District
• Standish with Langtree Urban District
• The civil parish of Shevington from Wigan Rural District

1950–1983

The Representation of the People Act 1948 redistributed parliamentary seats, with the constituencies first being used in the general election of 1950. The term "county constituency" was introduced in place of "division". Ince County Constituency was redefined as consisting of seven urban districts:^[4]

• Abram
• Ashton in Makerfield
• Billinge & Winstanley
• Ince-in-Makerfield
• Orrell
• Skelmersdale
• Upholland

The changes reflected local government boundary changes that had taken place, and the renaming of Billinge UD as "Billinge and Winstanley" in 1924. Standish with Langtree and Shevington were transferred to the Westhoughton county constituency. Skelmersdale and Upholland had previously formed part of the Ormskirk division.^[1]

The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 altered the seat's name to Ince Borough Constituency. The constituency was defined as consisting of six urban districts: Abram, Ashton in Makerfield, Billinge & Winstanley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Orrell, and Skelmersdale & Holland. Skelmersdale and Upholland urban districts had been amalgamated in 1968, and the 1970 boundaries were the same as those of 1950.^[1][5]

Abolition

The constituency was abolished by the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983, which redrew constituencies based on the new counties and districts created in 1974. Most of the area (Abram, Orrell and Winstanley) was included in the Makerfield County Constituency, in the parliamentary county of Greater Manchester. Ashton in Makerfield and Billinge was divided between Makerfield Constituency, in Greater Manchester, and St Helens North Borough Constituency in Merseyside; Skelmersdale & Upholland formed part of West Lancashire County Constituency.^[6]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell	Conservative
	1892	Samuel Woods	Lib-Lab
	1895	Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell	Conservative
	1906	Stephen Walsh	Labour
	1929	Gordon Macdonald	Labour
	1942 by-election	Thomas James Brown	Labour
	1964	Michael McGuire	Labour
	1983	constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Ince[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Macdonald	26,334	72.6
	Conservative	H Ryan	9,928	27.4
Majority			16,406	45.2
Turnout			36,262	77.3

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Ince[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas James Brown	28,702	74.4
	Conservative	Captain Robert Edward Peter Cecil	9,875	25.6
Majority			18,827	48.8
Turnout				79.0

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Ince[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas James Brown	32,145	71.8
	Conservative	JG Scott	12,612	28.2
Majority			19,533	28.2
Turnout				88.7

General Election 1951: Ince[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas James Brown	32,148	72.3
	Conservative	JA Porter	12,305	27.7
Majority			19,843	44.6
Turnout				87.0

General Election 1955: Ince[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas James Brown	29,830	72.7
	Conservative	GL Beaman	11,183	27.3
Majority			18,647	45.5
Turnout				81.0

General Election 1959: Ince[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas James Brown	30,752	72.3
	Conservative	W Clegg	11,795	72.3
Majority			18,957	44.6
Turnout				83.0

Election in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Ince[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	31,042	72.0
	Conservative	FH Goodhart	12,077	28.0
Majority			18,965	44.0
Turnout				79.6

General Election 1966: Ince[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	30,915	73.6
	Conservative	J Birch	11,075	26.4
Majority			19,840	47.3
Turnout				75.4

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Ince[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	32,295	68.5
	Conservative	A Coupe	14,877	31.5
Majority			17,418	31.5
Turnout				70.7

General Election February 1974: Ince[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	39,822	70.0
	Conservative	J Dyson	17,063	30.0
Majority			22,759	40.0
Turnout				74.4

General Election October 1974: Ince[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	35,453	63.5
	Conservative	J Dyson	11,923	21.4
	Liberal	J Gibb	8,436	15.1
Majority			23,530	42.2
Turnout				72.4

General Election May 1979: Ince[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael McGuire	34,599	56.2
	Conservative	P. Brown	20,263	32,9
	Liberal	J. Gibb	6,294	10.2
	Workers Revolutionary	J. Simons	442	0.7
Majority			14,336	23.3
Turnout				74.2
	Labour hold		Swing

See also

• Makerfield Parliamentary constituency.

References

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "I"
• Election results, 1950–1979