Wirral West (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wirral West County constituency |
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|---|---|
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| Wirral West shown within Merseyside, and Merseyside shown within England | |
| Created: | 1983 |
| MP: | Stephen Hesford |
| Party: | Labour |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Merseyside |
| EP constituency: | North West England |
Wirral West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
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[edit] Boundaries
The constituency is one of four covering the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. It is comprised of mostly affluent, prosperous middle-class areas. It contains the towns of Hoylake and West Kirby, as well as areas such as Greasby, Irby, Meols, Prenton, Upton and Woodchurch.
In the 2005 Boundary Commission report, Wirral West is set to lose part of the Prenton ward to the Birkenhead constituency, and gain part of Barnston from Wirral South.
[edit] History
The present Wirral West constituency was formed in 1983, from the northern part of the former Wirral constituency. Its predecessor had traditionally been held by the Conservative Party. William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme, founder of Lever Brothers and Port Sunlight), served as MP between 1906 and 1909.
From 1945 until 1976, the MP was Selwyn Lloyd, who served as Foreign Secretary under Anthony Eden and Chancellor of the Exchequer under Harold Macmillan, later becoming Speaker of the House of Commons in 1971 before being raised to the peerage in 1976. The ensuing by-election was won by David Hunt, who became the first MP for Wirral West in 1983. Hunt was a member of John Major's cabinet, serving twice as Secretary of State for Wales and also as Secretary of State for Employment.
Hunt held the seat until 1997, when he lost to Stephen Hesford of the Labour Party. Labour held on narrowly in 2005, despite a challenge from former TV presenter Esther McVey, standing for the Conservatives. He caused some controversy during the 2005 election after The Daily Telegraph reported that he had allegedly labelled his Conservative opponent, a "blonde bimbo", and that her going into politics was merely a way in which to "get back on television", whilst warning that she is "38, single and unmarried".
Upton and Woodchurch, a former council estate, are seen as the base of the Labour vote.
[edit] Members of Parliament
- 1983-1997: David Hunt, Conservative
- 1997-present: Stephen Hesford, Labour
[edit] Election results
| General Election 2005: Wirral West | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Stephen Hesford | 17,543 | 42.5 | -4.7 | |
| Conservative | Esther McVey | 16,446 | 39.9 | +2.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jeff Clarke | 6,652 | 16.1 | +0.5 | |
| UK Independence | John Moore | 429 | 1.0 | +1.0 | |
| Alternative Party | Roger Taylor | 163 | 0.4 | +0.4 | |
| Majority | 1,097 | 2.7 | |||
| Turnout | 41,233 | 67.5 | +2.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -3.7 | |||
| General Election 2001: Wirral West | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Stephen Hesford | 19,105 | 47.2 | +2.3 | |
| Conservative | Chris Lynch | 15,070 | 37.2 | -1.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon Holbrook | 6,300 | 15.6 | +2.9 | |
| Majority | 4,035 | 10.0 | |||
| Turnout | 40,475 | 65.0 | -12.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
[edit] See also
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