Manchester Moss Side (UK Parliament constituency)
# Manchester Moss Side (UK Parliament constituency)

Manchester Moss Side was a parliamentary constituency in the Moss Side area of the city of Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

The constituency was created for the 1918 general election and abolished for the 1983 general election.

## Boundaries

1918–1950: The County Borough of Manchester wards of All Saints, Moss Side East, and St. Luke's.

1950–1974: The County Borough of Manchester wards of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Moss Side East, and Moss Side West.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Manchester wards of Alexandra, Chorlton, Hulme, Lloyd Street, and Moss Side.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1918 | Gerald Hurst | Conservative |
| | 1923 | Thomas Ackroyd | Liberal |
| | 1924 | Sir Gerald Hurst | Conservative |
| | 1935 | William Duckworth | Conservative |
| | 1945 | William Griffiths | Labour |
| | 1950 | Florence Horsbrugh | Conservative |
| | 1959 | James Watts | Conservative |
| | 1961 by-election | Frank Taylor | Conservative |
| | Feb 1974 | Frank Hatton | Labour |
| | 1978 by-election | George Morton | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Gerald Hurst | 10,621 | 65.0 | |
| | Liberal | Tom Stott | 5,708 | 35.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,913 | 30.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,329 | | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Gerald Hurst | 11,932 | 51.2 | −13.8 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Ackroyd | 6,743 | 28.9 | −6.1 |
| | Labour Co-op | Thomas William Mercer | 4,641 | 19.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,189 | 22.3 | -7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,316 | 70.4 | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |

General election 1923: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Thomas Ackroyd | 12,210 | 54.9 | +26.0 |
| | Unionist | Gerald Hurst | 9,097 | 40.9 | −10.3 |
| | Independent | James Charles Daniel Bustard | 949 | 4.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,113 | 14.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,256 | 66.4 | -4.0 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +18.1 | |

General election 1924: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Gerald Hurst | 14,035 | 58.3 | +17.4 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Ackroyd | 10,026 | 41.7 | −13.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,009 | 16.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,061 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +15.3 | |

General election 1929: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Gerald Hurst | 11,625 | 39.6 | −18.7 |
| | Labour | A. A. Purcell | 9,522 | 32.5 | New |
| | Liberal | Thomas Ackroyd | 8,191 | 27.9 | −13.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,103 | 7.1 | -9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,338 | 68.3 | -1.0 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Gerald Hurst | 23,274 | 74.4 | +34.8 |
| | Labour | Albert Emil Davies | 8,012 | 25.6 | −6.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,262 | 48.8 | +41.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,286 | 68.2 | -0.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +20.9 | |

General election 1935: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | William Duckworth | 15,199 | 58.7 | −15.7 |
| | Labour | Leslie Lever | 10,694 | 41.3 | +15.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,505 | 17.4 | -31.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,893 | 63.2 | −5.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −15.7 | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939–40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

* Conservative: William Duckworth
* Labour: William Griffiths

General election 1945: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | William Griffiths | 10,201 | 49.5 | +8.2 |
| | Conservative | William Duckworth | 7,423 | 36.0 | −22.7 |
| | Liberal | Henry Donald Moore | 2,525 | 12.3 | New |
| | Independent | A.R. Edwards | 446 | 2.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,778 | 13.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,595 | 59.4 | −3.8 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.5 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Florence Horsbrugh | 25,347 | 56.7 | +20.7 |
| | Labour | Roland Casasola | 16,769 | 37.5 | −12.0 |
| | Liberal | Eric Percy Atkin | 2,607 | 5.8 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,578 | 19.2 | +5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,723 | 78.7 | +19.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +16.4 | |

General election 1951: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Florence Horsbrugh | 27,697 | 62.2 | +5.5 |
| | Labour | Frank Allaun | 16,819 | 37.8 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,878 | 24.4 | +5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,516 | 77.6 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.6 | |

General election 1955: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Florence Horsbrugh | 23,631 | 64.3 | +2.1 |
| | Labour | Kenneth Marks | 13,103 | 35.7 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,042 | 19.6 | -4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,734 | 69.1 | −8.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.1 | |

General election 1959: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | James Watts | 22,090 | 62.3 | −2.0 |
| | Labour | Norman Morris | 13,371 | 37.7 | +2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,719 | 24.6 | +5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,461 | 69.2 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.0 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1961 Manchester Moss Side by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frank Taylor | 9,533 | 41.1 | −21.2 |
| | Liberal | Ruslyn Hargreaves | 6,447 | 27.8 | New |
| | Labour | Gordon Oakes | 5,980 | 25.8 | −11.9 |
| | Union Movement | Walter Hesketh | 1,212 | 5.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,086 | 13.3 | -11.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,172 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

General election 1964: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frank Taylor | 14,875 | 45.3 | −17.0 |
| | Labour | Peter W. Michelson | 10,647 | 32.4 | −5.3 |
| | Liberal | Ruslyn Hargreaves | 7,297 | 22.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,228 | 12.9 | -11.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,819 | 65.5 | −4.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

General election 1966: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frank Taylor | 13,436 | 45.4 | +0.1 |
| | Labour | Rex Church | 12,353 | 41.8 | +9.4 |
| | Liberal | David F. Prusmann | 3,801 | 12.9 | −9.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,083 | 3.6 | -9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,590 | 65.4 | −0.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frank Taylor | 15,546 | 52.9 | +7.5 |
| | Labour | Frank Hatton | 13,833 | 47.1 | +5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,713 | 5.8 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,379 | 64.4 | −1.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

Note: This constituency underwent boundary changes after the 1970 election, so was notionally a Labour seat.

General election February 1974: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Frank Hatton | 14,715 | 41.8 | −8.5 |
| | Conservative | Frank Taylor | 12,323 | 35.0 | −14.7 |
| | Liberal | William Wallace | 7,979 | 22.7 | New |
| | Marxist-Leninist (England) | Ruth Pushkin | 206 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,392 | 6.8 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,223 | 69.1 | +4.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +11.6 | |

General election October 1974: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Frank Hatton | 15,212 | 47.1 | +5.3 |
| | Conservative | John Lee | 11,101 | 34.3 | −0.7 |
| | Liberal | William Wallace | 5,686 | 17.6 | −5.1 |
| | Irish Civil Rights | Neil Boyle | 238 | 0.7 | New |
| | More Prosperous Britain | Harold Smith | 96 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,111 | 12.8 | +6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,333 | 62.9 | −6.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.9 | |

1978 Manchester Moss Side by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | George Morton | 12,556 | 46.38 | −0.7 |
| | Conservative | Thomas E. Murphy | 10,998 | 40.6 | +6.3 |
| | Liberal | Peter Thomson | 2,502 | 9.2 | −8.4 |
| | National Front | Herbert Andrew | 623 | 2.3 | New |
| | Workers Revolutionary | Vanessa Redgrave | 394 | 1.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,558 | 5.8 | -6.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,073 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

General election 1979: Manchester Moss Side :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | George Morton | 17,765 | 51.9 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | Thomas E. Murphy | 13,234 | 38.7 | +4.3 |
| | Liberal | John Commons | 2,981 | 8.7 | −8.9 |
| | Workers Revolutionary | Vanessa Redgrave | 225 | 0.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,531 | 13.2 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,205 | 71.5 | +8.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
