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Wirral West (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 53°22′48″N 3°09′32″W / 53.3801°N 3.1590°W / 53.3801; -3.1590
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Wirral West
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Map of constituency
Boundary of Wirral West in North West England
CountyMerseyside
Electorate72,126 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsHoylake, West Kirby
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentMatthew Patrick (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromWirral

Wirral West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Matthew Patrick of the Labour Party since 2024.

Constituency profile

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The constituency is one of four covering the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. It includes Hoylake, West Kirby, Woodchurch and the north edge of Heswall. This is one of the more affluent areas within Merseyside,[2] reflected in higher house prices and wages than the wider North West region.[3]

History

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Wirral West was created in 1983 from the northern part of the former Wirral constituency, which had traditionally elected Conservative MPs. Selwyn Lloyd was the predecessor constituency's MP from 1945 to 1976, serving as Foreign Secretary during the Eden ministry, Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Macmillan ministry and becoming Speaker of the Commons in 1971. Raised to the peerage in 1976, Lloyd resigned his seat and the ensuing by-election was won by David Hunt, who became the first MP for Wirral West in 1983. Hunt was a Cabinet member under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, serving as Secretary of State for Employment and twice as Secretary of State for Wales.

Hunt held the seat until 1997, when he lost to barrister Stephen Hesford of the Labour Party, but remained in Parliament as a member of the House of Lords. Hesford increased his majority in 2001 and narrowly retained the seat in 2005, despite a challenge at the latter election from former TV presenter and Conservative Esther McVey. On 22 January 2010, he announced his intention to step down at the next general election for family reasons.

New boundary changes implemented, McVey stood again and won the seat for the Conservatives at the 2010 general election, serving in the coalition government as a Work and Pensions minister during her tenure. If implemented in 2005, the 2010 boundary changes would have seen the Conservatives win the seat by 569 votes.

Wirral West had been described as a bellwether since its establishment,[4][5] but bucked the trend at the 2015 general election when Labour's Margaret Greenwood narrowly defeated McVey, despite the Conservatives winning a parliamentary majority. McVey would successfully contest the Tatton constituency in 2017. Like the nearby City of Chester, the seat was one of the few Conservative-held marginals outside of London to be gained by Labour, who benefited from the constituency's collapse in Liberal Democrat support.

Sixth on the Conservative target list in 2017, Greenwood was comfortably re-elected to Wirral West with the highest winning vote share since the seat was first up for election in 1983. She was promoted to Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet as the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary in 2018, shadowing McVey who had returned to Parliament as the MP for Tatton. Greenwood was re-elected with a reduced vote share in 2019, and departed from the shadow cabinet upon Keir Starmer's election as Labour leader. She did not stand at the 2024 election and was succeeded by Matthew Patrick who increased Labour's majority to 20%.

Boundaries

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Historic

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1983–2010: Metropolitan Borough of Wirral wards of Hoylake, Prenton, Royden, Thurstaston, and Upton.

2010–2024: Metropolitan Borough of Wirral wards of Greasby, Frankby and Irby, Hoylake and Meols, Pensby and Thingwall, Upton, and West Kirby and Thurstaston.

In the 2005 Boundary Commission report, which came into effect for the 2010 election, Wirral West lost Prenton to the Birkenhead constituency, and gained a small area from Wirral South, including the village of Barnston.

Current

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Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

  • Clatterbridge; Greasby, Frankby and Irby; Heswall; Hoylake and Meols; Pensby and Thingwall; Upton (polling districts MC, MD and ME); West Kirby and Thurstaston.[6]

To bring the electorate within the permitted range, the Clatterbridge and Heswall wards were added from the abolished constituency of Wirral South. The northern part of the Upton ward was transferred to Wallasey.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member[7] Party
1983 David Hunt Conservative
1997 Stephen Hesford Labour
2010 Esther McVey Conservative
2015 Margaret Greenwood Labour
2024 Matthew Patrick Labour

Elections

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Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Wirral West[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Matthew Patrick 23,156 46.4 +1.2
Conservative Jenny Johnson 13,158 26.3 –18.1
Reform UK Ken Ferguson 6,422 12.9 +10.7
Green Gail Jenkinson 4,160 8.3 +5.8
Liberal Democrats Peter Reisdorf 3,055 6.1 +0.4
Rejected ballots 187
Majority 9,998 20.0 +19.2
Turnout 49,951 68.6 –9.1
Registered electors 72,838
Labour hold Swing Increase9.6

Changes are from the notional 2019 results on the 2024 boundaries.[10]

Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[11]
Party Vote %
Labour 25,318 45.2
Conservative 24,863 44.4
Liberal Democrats 3,204 5.7
Green 1,416 2.5
Brexit Party 1,245 2.2
Turnout 56,046 77.7
Electorate 72,126
General election 2019: Wirral West[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Margaret Greenwood 20,695 48.2 –6.1
Conservative Laura Evans 17,692 41.2 –0.9
Liberal Democrats Andy Corkhill 2,706 6.3 +3.7
Green John Coyne 965 2.2 +1.2
Brexit Party John Kelly 860 2.0 N/A
Majority 3,003 7.0 –5.2
Turnout 42,918 77.5 –1.1
Registered electors 55,550 –0.8
Labour hold Swing –2.6
General election 2017: Wirral West[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Margaret Greenwood 23,866 54.3 +9.2
Conservative Tony Caldeira 18,501 42.1 –2.1
Liberal Democrats Peter Reisdorf 1,155 2.6 –0.8
Green John Coyne 429 1.0 N/A
Majority 5,365 12.2 +11.3
Turnout 42,951 78.6 +3.0
Registered electors 55,995 +1.1
Labour hold Swing +5.7
General election 2015: Wirral West[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Margaret Greenwood 18,898 45.1 +8.8
Conservative Esther McVey 18,481 44.2 +1.7
UKIP Hilary Jones 2,772 6.6 +4.3
Liberal Democrats Peter Reisdorf 1,433 3.4 –13.4
Independent David James 274 0.7 –0.1
Majority 417 0.9 N/A
Turnout 41,858 75.6 +4.1
Registered electors 55,377 +0.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +3.6
General election 2010: Wirral West[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Esther McVey 16,726 42.5
Labour Phil Davies 14,290 36.3
Liberal Democrats Peter Reisdorf 6,630 16.8
UKIP Philip Griffiths 899 2.3
Independent David Kirwan 506 1.3
Common Sense David James 321 0.8
Majority 2,436 6.2
Turnout 39,372 71.5
Registered electors 55,050
Conservative win (new boundaries)
See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Wirral West

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2005: Wirral West[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Hesford 17,543 42.5 –4.7
Conservative Esther McVey 16,446 39.9 +2.7
Liberal Democrats Jeffrey Clarke 6,652 16.1 +0.5
UKIP John Moore 429 1.0 N/A
Alternative Roger Taylor 163 0.4 N/A
Majority 1,097 2.6 –7.4
Turnout 41,233 67.5 +2.5
Registered electors 61,050 –2.0
Labour hold Swing –3.7
General election 2001: Wirral West[17][18]
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 +4.1
Turnout 40,475 65.0 –12.0
Registered electors 62,294 +2.3
Labour hold Swing +2.1

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1997: Wirral West[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Hesford 21,035 44.9 +13.9
Conservative David Hunt 18,297 39.0 –13.7
Liberal Democrats John Thornton 5,945 12.7 –1.9
Referendum Derek Wharton 1,613 3.4 N/A
Majority 2,738 5.9 N/A
Turnout 46,890 77.0 –4.6
Registered electors 60,908 –2.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +13.8
General election 1992: Wirral West[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Hunt 26,852 52.7 +0.8
Labour Helen Stephenson 15,788 31.0 +4.7
Liberal Democrats John Thornton 7,420 14.6 –5.6
Green Garnette Bowler 700 1.4 –0.2
Natural Law Nigel Broome 188 0.4 N/A
Majority 11,064 21.7 –3.9
Turnout 50,948 81.6 +3.7
Registered electors 62,453 –1.8
Conservative hold Swing –2.0

Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1987: Wirral West[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Hunt 25,736 51.9 –4.0
Labour Alexander Dunn 13,013 26.3 +4.5
Liberal Allan Brame 10,015 20.2 –2.2
Green David Burton 806 1.6 N/A
Majority 12,723 25.6 –7.9
Turnout 49,570 77.9 +4.5
Registered electors 63,597 +3.2
Conservative hold Swing –4.3
General election 1983: Wirral West[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative David Hunt 25,276 55.9
Liberal Stephen Mulholland 10,125 22.4
Labour John McCabe 9,855 21.8
Majority 15,151 33.5
Turnout 45,256 73.4
Registered electors 61,646
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  2. ^ UK Polling Report http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/wirralwest/
  3. ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Wirral+West
  4. ^ Joe Thomas (22 April 2015). "General election 2015: 'Kingmaker' Wirral West voters hold keys to Downing Street". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. ^ Harry Lambert (20 April 2015). "What are the top seats to watch in the election?". New Statesman. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  6. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
  7. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
  8. ^ "Election results for Wirral West". Wirral Council. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Wirral West - General Election Results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Notional election for the constituency of Wirral West". UK Parliament.
  11. ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Election results for WIRRAL WEST, 12 December 2019". democracy.wirral.gov.uk. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Election results for WIRRAL WEST, 8 June 2017". democracy.wirral.gov.uk. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Election Result for Wirral West Constituency on 7 May 2015 | WIRRAL Borough Council". www.wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Election Result for Wirral West constituency on 6 May 2010". ww3.wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Parliamentary Election results 2005 |". ww3.wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. ^ "BBC NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Wirral West". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  22. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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53°22′48″N 3°09′32″W / 53.3801°N 3.1590°W / 53.3801; -3.1590

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