Salford forms part of Manchester's urban area and lies immediately to the west of Manchester city centre across the River Irwell, although it legally retains its own separate city status. Like much of Greater Manchester and Lancashire, Salford was an important centre for textile manufacturing during the industrial era, especially silk and cotton spinning. Coal mining was also present in the Pendlebury area. These industries have mostly disappeared and Salford experienced economic decline in the late 20th century due to deindustrialisation. The city was also a major inland port; the dockyards have now been redeveloped and contain MediaCityUK, a significant centre for media and television production.
There are high levels of deprivation in Salford city centre where many residents live in dense, socially rented terraces and flats. The redeveloped dockyards and the Blackfriars area close to Manchester city centre are wealthier, with many expensive high-rise apartments. The west of the constituency around Little Bolton is more affluent and suburban in character with larger, semi-detached homes.[2][3] House prices across the constituency are similar to the rest of North West England and lower than the UK average.[4]
Salford has a very large population of students and young adults and a very low proportion of retirees; the constituency contains the University of Salford which has around 26,000 students.[5][6] Residents have low levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is high.[4][7] They are generally well-educated and a high proportion work in the health, technology and public sectors.[4][8] The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is high.[7]White people made up 77% of the population at the 2021 census. Black people were 9% of the population and Asians were 7%.[9] There is also a significant Jewish community concentrated in Broughton.[10]
From the Northernmost Point at which the Boundary of the Township of Salford meets the Boundary of the Township of Broughton, Northward, along the Boundary of the Township of Broughton, to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the Township of Pendleton; thence, Westward, along the Boundary of the Township of Pendleton to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the detached Portion of the Township of Pendlebury; thence, Southward, along the Boundary of the detached Portion of the Township of Pendlebury to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the Township of Salford; thence, Westward, along the Boundary of the Township of Salford to the Point first described.
In 1883 the detached portion of Pendlebury was absorbed by Pendleton.[11]
1997–2010
The constituency was re-created for the 1997 election. It boundaries were defined by the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995, and consisted of eight wards of the City of Salford: Blackfriars, Broughton, Claremont, Kersal, Langworthy, Ordsall, Pendleton, and Weaste & Seedley.[14]
From 1997-2010 this was a very safe Labour seat which had some of the UK's most deprived areas, typified by council estates like Ordsall, Pendleton and Langworthy, which were due for apparent redevelopment. Higher Broughton has a considerable Jewish population and has some very decent residential housing, but during this period Labour were usually in the lead at local level; the Conservatives, like all the other neighbouring Manchester seats, tended to be in third place in General Elections before the decline of the Liberal Democrats in 2015.
2010 boundary review
Following its review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester the Boundary Commission for England recommended that Salford be split into three new constituencies and this was enacted in 2010:
The constituency now comprises the majority of, and replaces, the constituency of Salford and Eccles - excluding the town of Eccles and Swinton town centre, which formed part of the new constituency of Worsley and Eccles. The town of Swinton was split, with residential areas in the Swinton Park ward instead joining this constituency.
The new constituency varies from its 1997 version by inclusion of the Salford suburbs of Swinton and Pendlebury (which were in the now-defunct Eccles constituency), and exclusion of Kersal and Broughton Park which was annexed to Bury South for the first time.
An economically diverse area that has seen much regeneration over the past 25 years through slum clearance and flagship developments such as MediaCityUK, home of BBC and ITV in the north, and The Lowry at Salford Quays, though some areas are relatively deprived. The constituency stretches from the Blackfriars and Trinity areas, on the border of Manchester City Centre, featuring new high-rise apartments with high levels of graduates and professional workers, similarly Salford Quays, along with relatively working class areas of inner-city Salford such as Weaste and Seedley with higher proportions of social housing, through to the residential suburbs of Swinton, Clifton and Pendlebury in the Irwell Valley. The presence of the University of Salford also means there is a sizeable proportion of students in the constituency. In addition to the MediaCityUK and The Lowry development which attracts millions of visitors annually, other points of interest in the area include Clifton Country Park, Peel Park, and Ordsall Hall.
12Youngs, Frederic A Jr. (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.2: Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN0-86193-127-0.
