West Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)

West Lancashire
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of West Lancashire in Lancashire.

Location of Lancashire within England.
County Lancashire
Electorate 73,028 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament Rosie Cooper (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Ormskirk and Ince
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency North West England

West Lancashire is a County 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.

Contents

Boundaries

The constituency covers most of the West Lancashire borough, except for the northern parishes, which are in the South Ribble constituency. The main towns in the constituency are the historic market town of Ormskirk and the new town of Skelmersdale.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire in the run-up to the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the Boundary Commission for England created a new seat in Central Lancashire resulting in consequential changes across the county.

Only minor changes were made to the existing seat of West Lancashire with the modified seat constructed from the following electoral wards:

The seat retains the main population areas of Ormskirk and Skelmersdale, with the more rural townships heading northwest towards Southport. The district council's northern parishes of Tarleton, Rufford, Hesketh Bank and North Meols are in the South Ribble constituency.

As part of the nation-wide Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which commenced in 2011, the Boundary Commission for England recommends no change to the West Lancashire seat, which would retain its current boundaries[2].

Members of Parliament

Election Member[3] Party
1983 Ken Hind Conservative
1992 Colin Pickthall Labour
2005 Rosie Cooper Labour

History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Ormskirk and Ince. Past members of Parliament for the Ormskirk seat had included Harold Wilson (1945–1950) and Robert Kilroy-Silk (1974–1983). Both were Labour MPs, although Ormskirk was held by the Conservative Party between 1950 and 1974.

Following the boundary changes of 1983, Kilroy-Silk moved to the new Knowsley North seat, and at the 1983 general election West Lancashire was taken by Ken Hind of the Conservatives. Hind held it until the 1992 election, when it was won by Colin Pickthall of Labour. Labour have held the seat since then, and after Pickthall stood down at the 2005 election he was replaced by Rosie Cooper.

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: West Lancashire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rosie Cooper 21,883 45.1 -2.9
Conservative Adrian Owens 17,540 36.2 +2.2
Liberal Democrat John Gibson 6,573 13.6 -0.5
UKIP Damon Noone 1,775 3.7 +1.6
Green Peter Cranie 485 1.0
Clause 28 David Braid 217 0.4 -0.3
Majority 4,343 8.9
Turnout 48,473 63.8 +5.7
Labour hold Swing -2.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: West Lancashire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rosie Cooper 20,746 48.1 -6.4
Conservative Alf Doran 14,662 34.0 +2.0
Liberal Democrat Richard Kemp 6,059 14.0 +2.4
UKIP Alan Freeman 871 2.0
English Democrats Stephen Garrett 525 1.2
Clause 28 David Braid 292 0.7 0.0
Majority 6,084 14.1
Turnout 43,155 57.7 -1.1
Labour hold Swing -4.2
General Election 2001: West Lancashire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Pickthall 23,404 54.5 -5.8
Conservative Jeremy Myers 13,761 32.0 +2.9
Liberal Democrat John Thornton 4,966 11.6 +4.4
Independent David Hill 523 1.2 +0.5
Independent David Braid 317 0.7
Majority 9,643 22.5
Turnout 59.0
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: West Lancashire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Pickthall 33,022 60.3 +13.2
Conservative Chris Varley 15,903 29.1 −14.8
Liberal Democrat Arthur Wood 3,938 7.2 −0.4
Referendum Party Michael Carter 1,025 1.9 N/A
Natural Law John Collins 449 0.8 +0.3
Independent David Hill 392 0.7 N/A
Majority 17,119 31.1
Turnout 54,729 76.6
Labour hold Swing +12.1
General Election 1992: West Lancashire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Pickthall 30,128 47.1 +5.6
Conservative Ken Hind 28,051 43.9 +0.2
Liberal Democrat Peter Reilly 4,884 7.6 −7.2
Green Philip Pawley 546 0.9 N/A
Natural Law Bevin Morris 336 0.5 N/A
Majority 2,077 3.2 +1.0
Turnout 63,945 82.6 +2.9
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +2.7

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: West Lancashire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ken Hind 26,500 43.7 -2.5
Labour Colin Pickthall 25,147 41.5 +7.7
SDP–Liberal Alliance Robert Jermyn 8,972 14.8 -5.2
Majority 1,353 2.2 -10.3
Turnout 60,619 79.7 +5.3
Conservative hold Swing -5.1
General Election 1983: West Lancashire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ken Hind 25,458 46.3
Labour Josie Farrington 18,600 33.8
SDP–Liberal Alliance Andrew Sackville 10,983 20.0
Majority 6,858 12.5
Turnout 55,041 74.4

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 "L" (part 1)
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/f09.stm
  5. ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/i12.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 

Sources

Constituencies in North West England (75)
Labour (47)
Conservative (22)
Liberal Democrats (6)