Blackpool South (UK Parliament constituency)

Blackpool South
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Blackpool South in Lancashire.

Location of Lancashire within England.
County Lancashire
Electorate 64,081 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1945 (1945)
Member of Parliament Gordon Marsden (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Blackpool
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency North West England

Blackpool South is a borough constituency in Lancashire, 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, and was created in 1945.

Contents

History

This marginal constituency has been represented by both the Conservative and Labour parties since the Second World War. It was held by the Conservatives until 1997 when the current MP Gordon Marsden gained it for Labour.

Boundaries

The Tower, the Pleasure Beach and the piers all come together in this southern seat, including in the east the suburb of Layton. In the southern end of the seat, near to the Fylde border, Squires Gate is the site of Blackpool Airport.

Following the review of parliamentary representation by the Boundary Commission for England in Lancashire, including the Unitary Authority of Blackpool during the run-up to the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the seat of Blackpool South passed with only minor changes to its composition.

The electoral wards used to create Blackpool South constituency are entirely within the boundaries of the borough of Blackpool.

Proposed changes

As part of the nation-wide Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which began in 2011, the Boundary Commission of England has proposed expanding the existing Blackpool South seat by adding the Warbreck electoral ward. This would bring the whole of North Shore into the same seat[2].

Members of Parliament

Election Member[3] Party
1945 Roland Robinson Conservative
1964 Sir Peter Blaker Conservative
1992 Nick Hawkins Conservative
1997 Gordon Marsden Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Blackpool South[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Marsden 14,449 41.1 −7.5
Conservative Ron Bell 12,597 35.8 +4.9
Liberal Democrat Doreen Holt 5,082 14.4 −0.7
BNP Roy Goodwin 1,482 4.2 +0.9
UKIP Hamish Howitt 1,352 3.8 +1.7
Integrity UK Si Thu Tun 230 0.7 N/A
Majority 1,852 5.3 -15.4
Turnout 35,192 55.8 +3.5
Labour hold Swing −6.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Blackpool South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Marsden 19,375 50.5 −3.8
Conservative Michael Winstanley 11,453 29.9 −3.1
Liberal Democrat Doreen Holt 5,552 14.5 +3.9
BNP Roy Goodwin 1,113 2.9 +2.9
UKIP John Porter 849 2.2 +0.1
Majority 7,922 20.7 −0.6
Turnout 38,342 52.1 −0.1
Labour hold Swing −0.3
General Election 2001: Blackpool South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Marsden 21,060 54.3 −2.7
Conservative David Morris 12,798 33.0 −1.4
Liberal Democrat Doreen Holt 4,115 10.6 +2.1
UKIP Val Cowell 819 2.1 N/A
Majority 8,262 21.3 −1.3
Turnout 38,792 52.2 −15.5
Labour hold Swing −0.7

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Blackpool South[5][6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Marsden 29,282 57.0 +12.9
Conservative Richard Booth 17,666 34.4 −9.0
Liberal Democrat Doreen Holt 4,392 8.6 −3.5
Majority 11,616 22.6 −21.9
Turnout 51,340 67.8
Labour gain from Conservative Swing −11.0
General Election 1992: Blackpool South[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Hawkins 19,880 45.2 −2.8
Labour Gordon Marsden 18,213 41.5 +9.4
Liberal Democrat RE Wynne 5,673 12.9 −7.0
Natural Law D Henning 173 0.4 N/A
Majority 1,667 3.8 −12.2
Turnout 43,939 77.3 +3.9
Conservative hold Swing −6.1

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Lancashire provisional recommendations Boundary Commission for England
  3. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
  4. ^ Blackpool South BBC Election 20`0
  5. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/095.htm. Retrieved 7 Jan 2011. 
  6. ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.35 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
  7. ^ The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
  8. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010. 
Constituencies in North West England (75)
Labour (47)
Conservative (22)
Liberal Democrats (6)