Wirral South (UK Parliament constituency)

Wirral South is a constituency[n 1] in Merseyside represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Alison McGovern of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Wirral South
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wirral South in Merseyside
Location of Merseyside within England
CountyMerseyside
Electorate56,238 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsHeswall, Bebington
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentAlison McGovern (Labour)
Number of membersOne
Created fromWirral
Bebington & Ellesmere Port

History

In 1983 Wirral South arose for election following the national boundary review by taking over parts of two seats that were abolished to create it: Wirral and Bebington and Ellesmere Port, held by the Conservative Party since 1923 and 1979 respectively.

Political history

Barry Porter (Con) won the seat the first time when it was fought and at the next two general elections. He had ousted the Labour party candidate from Bebington and Ellesmere Port in 1979 which he held until the election in 1983. Following the death of Porter in late 1996, a by-election was held in February 1997, the last by-election of that Parliament, held a matter of weeks before the general election was called. It was won by Ben Chapman (Lab), who held the seat until retiring following controversy over his expenses.[2] Labour narrowly managed to hold on in the 2010 general election, electing Alison McGovern. Since then it has consitently sifted towards Labour, she increased her majority to 4,599 in the 2015 election.[3] She was re-elected in 2017 with a majority of 8,323, an increase of 7% over 2015, the biggest majority Labour has ever held in the seat and the biggest majority for any party in Wirral South since 1987.[4] In 2019 she won realection by a slightly narrower 14% margine.

Boundaries

Since its creation in 1983, the constituency has consisted of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral wards of Bebington, Bromborough, Clatterbridge, Eastham, and Heswall. The constituency is one of four covering the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral,.

Constituency profile

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers, which is a proportion of total unemployed claimants, were in November 2012 much lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.3% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. This was also lower than the regional average.[5]

2015 general election

The terms of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that the election was held on 7 May 2015. Alison McGovern was the sitting Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. The Conservative Party selected John Bell. Bell had previously stood for election in Clwyd South (2010)[6] and Delyn (2005).[7] He had also stood twice to be a Welsh Assembly Member.[8][9] He stood in a local council by-election in 2011, for Wrexham County Council.[10]

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[11]PartyNotes
1983 Barry Porter Conservative Died in office November 1996
1997 by-election Ben Chapman Labour
2010 Alison McGovern Labour

Elections
General election 2019 general election: Wirral South[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 22,284 51.2 6.1
Conservative Stewart Gardiner 16,179 37.2 1.7
Liberal Democrats Christopher Carubia 2,917 6.7 3.8
Brexit Party Martin Waring 1,219 2.8 New
Green Harry Gorman 948 2.2 1.2
Majority 6,105 14.0 4.4
Turnout 43,547 76.0 2.3
Labour hold Swing 2.2
2017 general election: Wirral South[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 25,871 57.2 9.0
Conservative Adam Sykes 17,548 38.8 1.6
Liberal Democrats Christopher Carubia 1,322 2.9 0.6
Green Mandi Roberts 454 1.0 1.1
Majority 8,323 18.4 7.4
Turnout 45,195 78.4 4.9
Labour hold Swing 3.7
2015 general election: Wirral South[14][15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 20,165 48.2 7.4
Conservative John Bell 15,566 37.2 2.2
UKIP David Scott 3,737 8.9 5.7
Liberal Democrats Elizabeth Jewkes 1,474 3.5 13.0
Green Paul Cartlidge 895 2.1 New
Majority 4,599 11.0 8.7
Turnout 41,837 73.5 2.4
Labour hold Swing 4.9
2010 general election: Wirral South[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 16,276 40.8 1.7
Conservative Jeff Clarke 15,745 39.5 6.3
Liberal Democrats Jamie Saddler 6,611 16.6 5.0
UKIP David Scott 1,274 3.2 1.6
Majority 531 1.3 8.1
Turnout 39,906 71.1 3.4
Labour hold Swing 4.0

Elections in the 2000s
2005 general election: Wirral South[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Chapman 16,892 42.5 4.9
Conservative Carl Cross 13,168 33.2 1.6
Liberal Democrats Simon Holbrook 8,568 21.6 3.8
UKIP David Scott 616 1.6 N/A
Independent Laurence Jones 460 1.2 N/A
Majority 3,724 9.4 3.2
Turnout 39,704 67.5 1.9
Labour hold Swing
2001 general election: Wirral South[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Chapman 18,890 47.4 3.5
Conservative Tony Millard 13,841 34.8 1.6
Liberal Democrats Philip Gilchrist 7,087 17.8 7.4
Majority 5,049 12.6 2.0
Turnout 39,818 65.6 15.4
Labour hold Swing 1.0

Elections in the 1990s
1997 general election: Wirral South[20][21][22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Chapman 24,499 50.9 2.6
Conservative Les Byrom 17,495 36.4 2.0
Liberal Democrats Philip Gilchrist 5,018 10.4 0.3
Referendum Donald Wilcox 768 1.6 N/A
People's Labour Jane Nielsen 264 0.5 N/A
Natural Law Geoffrey Mead 51 0.1 N/A
Majority 7,004 14.6 3.6
Turnout 48,095 81.0 9.6
Labour hold Swing 3.6
By-election 1997: Wirral South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Chapman 22,767 52.6 18.0
Conservative Leslie Byrom 14,879 34.4 16.5
Liberal Democrats Helen Clucas 4,357 10.1 3.0
UKIP Richard North 410 0.9 N/A
Independent Harold Bence 184 0.4 N/A
Socialist Labour Michael Cullen 156 0.4 N/A
Disillusioned Conservative Phillip Gott 148 0.3 N/A
Independent Roger Taylor 132 0.3 N/A
Independent – anti tobacco donation Anthony Samuelson 124 0.3 N/A
Natural Law Geoffery Mead 52 0.1 0.2
21st Century Foresters Colin Palmer 44 0.1 N/A
Independent – Thalidomide Action Group Frederick Astbury 40 0.1 N/A
Majority 7,888 18.2 N/A
Turnout 60,512 71.5 10.8
Labour gain from Conservative Swing 17.2
1992 general election: Wirral South[24][25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Barry Porter 25,590 50.8 0.6
Labour Helen Southworth 17,407 34.6 6.6
Liberal Democrats Edward T. Cunniffe 6,581 13.1 8.7
Green Nigel Birchenough 584 1.2 N/A
Natural Law George Griffiths 182 0.4 N/A
Majority 8,183 16.3 5.9
Turnout 50,344 82.3 2.9
Conservative hold Swing 3.0

Elections in the 1980s
1987 general election: Wirral South[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Barry Porter 24,821 50.2 3.5
Labour John Swarbrooke 13,858 28.0 5.4
Liberal Philip Gilchrist 10,779 21.8 1.9
Majority 10,963 22.2 7.8
Turnout 62,251 79.4 3.6
Conservative hold Swing 3.9
1983 general election: Wirral South[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Barry Porter 24,766 53.7
SDP Peter Hollingworth 10,928 23.7
Labour Keith Rimmer 10,411 22.6
Majority 13,838 30.0
Turnout 60,864 75.8
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes and references
Notes
  1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
  1. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. "Ben Chapman becomes first Labour MP to stand down over expenses". Chapman Resigns. London: The Guardian. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  3. Osborn, Matt; Straumann, Ralph; Franklin, Will; Clarke, Seán. "UK 2015 general election results in full". Guardian. Guardian Media News Group. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  4. "Wirral South parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  5. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  6. "Election 2005: Result: Delyn". BBC News.
  7. "Election 2010: Result: Clwyd South". BBC News.
  8. "Election results for Alyn and Deeside, 5 May 2011". 2011-05-05.
  9. "BBC NEWS, Welsh Assembly Election 2007, Clwyd South". BBC News.
  10. http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/assets/pdfs/electoral/declaration_result_marchwiel_june11.pdf
  11. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
  12. "Wigan Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  13. "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
  14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. "Wirral South". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  16. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  17. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Wirral South". BBC News.
  18. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  22. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.177 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
  23. Swings are calculated relative to the 1992 election result, not the by-election result.
  24. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  26. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  27. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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