Hazel Grove (UK Parliament Constituency) - History

History

The constituency was established in time for the February 1974 general election, having previously formed part of the Cheadle constituency. At that election, the seat was won by Michael Winstanley of the Liberal Party. Winstanley only held it for a few months, because at the general election October 1974 he lost to the Conservatives' Tom Arnold.

Arnold held the seat until 1997, although (with the exception of the 1979 election) this was with small majorities over the Liberals/SDP-Liberal Alliance/Liberal Democrats. At the 1997 general election, Arnold stood down, and the seat was taken by Andrew Stunell of the Liberal Democrats. Stunell has held the seat since then, although with reduced majorities.

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 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 Conservatives.