in a usually strong Labour voting area. Atherton is part of the Bolton West Parliamentary constituency. It is the only ward in the borough of Wigan to be represented outside of the boroughs 3 constituencies (the remainder of the borough is represented by Leigh, Makerfield or Wigan). Atherton's MP is Chris Green of the Conservative Party who won the parliamentary seat for Bolton West in the 2015 general election. Howe Bridge is in the Leigh constituency represented by James Grundy (Conservative Party (UK)). Geography At (53.5231°, −2.4955°), and northwest of central London, Atherton is situated east of Wigan and west-northwest of the city of Manchester, at the eastern end of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. Atherton, which includes Hindsford to the southeast, Howe Bridge in the southwest, and Hag Fold in the north, is generally low lying. The soil is clay in much of the township. The southwest of the town is above sea level, rising to in the north. Atherton is built around seven brooks: the Shakerley Brook forms the western boundary with Tyldesley; Chanters Brook flows through the area known as "The Valley"; Knight's Brook (Bag Lane); Colliers Brook; Small Brook is the boundary with Westleigh; Westhoughton Brook forms the boundary with Daisy Hill; and Red Waters Brook. The underlying rocks are the coal measures of the Manchester Coalfield. Atherton's climate is generally temperate, like the rest of Greater Manchester. The mean highest and lowest temperatures ( and ) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall () and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages. The town is situated on the old high road, now the A579 from Bolton to Leigh. The A577 runs from the town to Tyldesley in one direction and to Wigan in the other. Demography At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, according to the Office for National Statistics, the Urban Subdivision of Atherton was part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area and had a total resident population of 20,302, of which 9,908 (48.8%) were male and 10,394 (51.2%) were female, living in 8,745 households. The settlement occupied , compared with in the 1991 census. Its population density was compared with an average of across the Greater Manchester Urban Area. The median age of the population was 40, compared with 36 within the Greater Manchester Urban Area and 37 across England and