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Wirral South (UK Parliament constituency)

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Wirral South was a constituency[n 1] in Merseyside in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented from 1997 until 2024 by members of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Wirral South
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Wirral South in Merseyside
Outline map
Location of Merseyside within England
CountyMerseyside
Electorate56,238 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsHeswall, Bebington
1983–2024
SeatsOne
Created fromWirral
Bebington & Ellesmere Port
Replaced byEllesmere Port & Bromborough, Wirral West, Birkenhead

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished and its area split between three other constituencies, which were first contested at the 2024 general election.[2]

Constituency profile

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Wirral South covered the central part of the Wirral peninsula including most of Heswall, Bebington and Bromborough. Wages and house prices are higher than the averages for the North West. Electoral Calculus describes the demographic as "Centrist", reflecting average views on the left-right and liberal-conservative scales.[3]

History

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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.[4] Labour narrowly managed to hold on in the 2010 general election, electing Alison McGovern. Since then it has consistently shifted towards Labour, she increased her majority to 4,599 in the 2015 election.[5] 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.[6] In 2019 she won Re-Election by a slightly narrower 14% margin.

2015 general election

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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)[7] and Delyn (2005).[8] He had also stood twice to be a Welsh Assembly Member.[9][10] He stood in a local council by-election in 2011, for Wrexham County Council.[11]

Boundaries

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Map of boundaries 1983-2024

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 in Merseyside.

Abolition

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Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished prior to the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed to three neighbouring constituencies:[2]

Members of Parliament

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Election Member[12] Party Notes
1983 Barry Porter Conservative MP for Bebington and Ellesmere Port (1979–83).

Died in office in November 1996.

1997 by-election Ben Chapman Labour
2010 Alison McGovern Labour

Elections

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Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1983: Wirral South[13]
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 46,105 75.8
Registered electors 60,864
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1987: Wirral South[14]
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 49,458 79.4  3.6
Registered electors 62,251  2.3
Conservative hold Swing  4.5

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1992: Wirral South[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Barry Porter 25,590 50.8  0.6
Labour Helen Southworth 17,407 34.6  6.6
Liberal Democrats Edward Cunniffe 6,581 13.1  8.7
Green Nigel Birchenough 584 1.2 New
Natural Law George Griffiths 182 0.4 New
Majority 8,183 16.2  6.0
Turnout 50,344 82.4  3.0
Registered electors 61,116  1.8
Conservative hold Swing  3.0
By-election 1997: Wirral South[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Chapman 22,767 52.6  18.0
Conservative Leslie Byrom 14,879 34.4  16.4
Liberal Democrats Helen Clucas 4,357 10.1  3.0
UKIP Richard North 410 0.9 New
Independent Harold Bence 184 0.4 New
Socialist Labour Michael Cullen 156 0.4 New
Ind. Conservative Phillip Gott[17] 148 0.3 New
Independent Roger Taylor 132 0.3 New
Independent S. Anthony[18] 124 0.3 New
Natural Law Geoffery Mead 52 0.1  0.3
21st Century Conservatives Colin Palmer 44 0.1 New
Independent Frederick Astbury[19] 40 0.1 New
Majority 7,888 18.2 N/A
Turnout 43,293 71.5  10.9
Registered electors 60,512  1.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing  17.2
General election 1997: Wirral South[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Chapman 24,499 50.9   16.3
Conservative Les Byrom 17,495 36.4   14.4
Liberal Democrats Philip Gilchrist 5,018 10.4   2.7
Referendum Donald Wilcox 768 1.6 New
People's Labour Jane Nielsen 264 0.5 New
Natural Law Geoffrey Mead 51 0.1   0.3
Majority 7,004 14.5 N/A
Turnout 48,095 81.0  1.4
Registered electors 59,372  2.9
Labour gain from Conservative Swing  15.4

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2001: Wirral South[22][23]
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  1.9
Turnout 39,818 65.6  15.4
Registered electors 60,653  2.2
Labour hold Swing  1.0
General election 2005: Wirral South[24]
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 New
Independent Laurence Jones 460 1.2 New
Majority 3,724 9.4  3.2
Turnout 39,704 67.5  1.9
Registered electors 58,834  3.0
Labour hold Swing  1.7

Elections in the 2010s

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General election 2010: Wirral South[25][26]
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  3.6
Registered electors 56,099  4.6
Labour hold Swing  4.0
General election 2015: Wirral South[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 20,165 48.2  7.4
Conservative John Bell 15,566 37.2  2.3
UKIP David Scott 3,737 8.9  5.7
Liberal Democrats Elizabeth Jewkes 1,474 3.5  13.1
Green Paul Cartlidge 895 2.1 New
Majority 4,599 11.0  9.7
Turnout 41,837 73.5  2.4
Registered electors 56,956  1.5
Labour hold Swing  4.9
General election 2017: Wirral South[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 25,871 57.2  9.0
Conservative Adam Sykes 17,548 38.8  1.6
Liberal Democrats Chris 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 78.5  5.0
Registered electors 57,670  1.3
Labour hold Swing  3.7
General election 2019: Wirral South[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alison McGovern 22,284 51.2  6.0
Conservative Stewart Gardiner 16,179 37.1  1.6
Liberal Democrats Chris 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 14.1   4.3
Turnout 43,547 76.2   2.2
Registered electors 57,280  0.7
Labour hold Swing   2.2

See also

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Notes

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  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

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  1. ^ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Wirral South
  4. ^ "Ben Chapman becomes first Labour MP to stand down over expenses". Chapman Resigns. London: The Guardian. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  5. ^ Osborn, Matt; Straumann, Ralph; Franklin, Will; Clarke, Seán. "UK 2015 general election results in full". Guardian. Guardian Media News Group. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Wirral South parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Election 2005: Result: Delyn". BBC News.
  8. ^ "Election 2010: Result: Clwyd South". BBC News.
  9. ^ "Election results for Alyn and Deeside, 5 May 2011". 5 May 2011.
  10. ^ "BBC NEWS, Welsh Assembly Election 2007, Clwyd South". BBC News.
  11. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
  13. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Byelections in the 1992-97 Parliament". 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  17. ^ Stood as a 'Disillusioned Conservative'.
  18. ^ Stood on a platform opposing political donations from tobacco companies.
  19. ^ Sponsored by the 'Thalidomide Action Group UK'.
  20. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. ^ Swings are calculated relative to the 1992 election result, not the by-election result.
  22. ^ "BBC NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Wirral South". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Parliamentary Election results 2005 |". ww3.wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Election Result for Wirral South constituency on 6 May 2010". ww3.wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  26. ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Wirral South". BBC News.
  27. ^ "Election Result for Wirral South Constituency on 7 May 2015 | WIRRAL Borough Council". www.wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  28. ^ "Election results for WIRRAL SOUTH, 8 June 2017". democracy.wirral.gov.uk. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Election results for WIRRAL SOUTH, 12 December 2019". democracy.wirral.gov.uk. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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53°20′03″N 3°02′00″W / 53.3342°N 3.0334°W / 53.3342; -3.0334

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