West Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
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.
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
.
Only minor changes have been 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.
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
.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
by the first past the post system of election.
Boundaries
The constituency covers most of the West LancashireWest Lancashire
West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....
borough, except for the northern parishes, which are in the South Ribble
South Ribble (UK Parliament constituency)
South Ribble is a county constituency in Lancashire, England represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
constituency. The main towns in the constituency are the historic market town of Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
and the new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
of Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...
.
Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire, the Boundary Commission for England has created a new seat in Central Lancashire, resulting in consequential changes across the county.Only minor changes have been made to the existing seat of West Lancashire with the modified seat constructed from the following electoral wards:
- Ashurst, Aughton and Downholland, Aughton Park, Bickerstaffe, Birch Green, BurscoughBurscoughBurscough is a village and civil parish within West Lancashire in North West England, to the north of both Ormskirk and Skelmersdale.-Growth:...
East, Burscough West, Derby, Digmoor, Halsall, Knowsley, Moorside, Newburgh, ParboldParboldParbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire, England.-Local government:The 83 hectares of the 'urban settlement' of Parbold has a population of 2,700. This settlement forms part of the larger Parbold ward Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in...
, ScarisbrickScarisbrickScarisbrick is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England. It is spread out along the A570 so there is no real village centre, though the junction with the A5147 is close to the geographic centre...
, Scott, SkelmersdaleSkelmersdaleSkelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...
North, Skelmersdale South, Tanhouse, UphollandUphollandUpholland is a civil parish and village in West Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately 3 miles east of Skelmersdale, also in West Lancashire, and 4½ miles west of Wigan in Greater Manchester.-Geography:...
, and Wrightington.
The seat retains the main population areas of Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
and Skelmersdale, with the more rural townships heading northwest towards Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
. The district council's northern parishes of Tarleton
Tarleton
-Population :-Economy:As a result of soil on the former mossland, a major economic activity in Tarleton is market gardening, particularly growing salad crops....
, Rufford, Hesketh Bank
Hesketh Bank
-Economy:Due to the village's position on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain it has a rich soil, suitable for the farming of flowers and vegetables - this is still the main economic activity in the area.A Booths supermarket opened on 11 November 2010.-Transport:...
and North Meols
North Meols
North Meols is a civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers the village of Banks and the hamlet of Hundred End...
are in the South Ribble
South Ribble (UK Parliament constituency)
South Ribble is a county constituency in Lancashire, England represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
constituency.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
Ken Hind Ken Hind Kenneth Harvand Hind, known as Ken Hind, CBE, was the Conservative Member of Parliament for West Lancashire from 1983 until 1992, when he was defeated by Labour's Colin Pickthall... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil... |
Colin Pickthall Colin Pickthall Colin Pickthall in Dalton-in-Furness is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Labour Member of Parliament for West Lancashire. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1992, and retired at the 2005 general election.Pickthall's father was a shipyard fitter... |
Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... |
|
| 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
Rosie Cooper Rosie Cooper Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for West Lancashire since 2005.- Early years :Cooper was born in Liverpool, the daughter of deaf parents... |
Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... |
|
History
The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of OrmskirkOrmskirk (UK Parliament constituency)
Ormskirk was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of...
and Ince
Ince (UK Parliament constituency)
Ince was a parliamentary constituency in England which elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Ince-in-Makerfield and other towns south of Wigan....
. Past members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the Ormskirk seat had included Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
(1945–1950) and Robert Kilroy-Silk
Robert Kilroy-Silk
Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk is an English former politician, former independent Member of the European Parliament, and former television presenter, best known for his daytime talk show Kilroy. He has been a university lecturer and Labour Party Member of Parliament...
(1974–1983). Both were Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MPs, although Ormskirk was held by the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
between 1950 and 1974.
Following the boundary changes of 1983, Kilroy-Silk moved to the new Knowsley North
Knowsley North (UK Parliament constituency)
Knowsley North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
seat, and at the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
West Lancashire was taken by Ken Hind
Ken Hind
Kenneth Harvand Hind, known as Ken Hind, CBE, was the Conservative Member of Parliament for West Lancashire from 1983 until 1992, when he was defeated by Labour's Colin Pickthall...
of the Conservatives. Hind held it until the 1992 election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, when it was won by Colin Pickthall
Colin Pickthall
Colin Pickthall in Dalton-in-Furness is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Labour Member of Parliament for West Lancashire. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1992, and retired at the 2005 general election.Pickthall's father was a shipyard fitter...
of Labour. Labour have held the seat since then, and after Pickthall stood down at the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
he was replaced by Rosie Cooper
Rosie Cooper
Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for West Lancashire since 2005.- Early years :Cooper was born in Liverpool, the daughter of deaf parents...
.
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
See also
- Ormskirk (UK Parliament constituency)Ormskirk (UK Parliament constituency)Ormskirk was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of...
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire