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UK Parliament - Manchester Gorton

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > North West > North West > Manchester Gorton

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 19, 2005 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

May 05, 2005 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 05, 2005 - 05:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2005 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2010 - 11:00am

Contributor

Wishful Thinking

Last Modified

Wishful Thinking June 16, 2005 11:32pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

The present Gorton was created in 1983 but, confusingly, most of this seat used to be part of the now defunct Manchester Ardwick. Gerald Kaufman held this seat from 1970-83 and has sat for Gorton ever since. An adviser to Harold Wilson in the 1960s, he coined the famous description of Labour's 1983 election manifesto as 'the longest suicide note in history'. Since 1997 he has been chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and was knighted in the 2004 Birthday Honours list. The constituency stretches from Fallowfield and Rusholme (known as Manchester's 'curry mile') in the west, via Belle Vue dog track to Gorton itself and Debdale Park bordering on Tameside. Situated to the south east of Manchester city centre, this is a mainly residential area, mixed ethnically and religiously and also in terms of housing tenure. Just over 40% are owner-occupiers, while 23% live in council and 25% private rented property. More than 50% do not have access to a car. Unemployment is well above the national average; the proportion of managerial and professional workers is low. There is a sizeable student population no doubt because of the availability of relatively cheap accommodation and the proximity of the area to the city's universities. Gerald Kaufman has a 41.5% majority over nearest rivals the Liberal Democrats.