Sefton Central is a constituency represented by Bill Esterson of the Labour Party since 2010.[n 1] [n 2]
| Sefton Central | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Sefton Central in Merseyside | |
 Location of Merseyside within England | |
| County | Merseyside |
| Electorate | 67,696 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Crosby and Formby |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Bill Esterson (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Crosby Knowsley North & Sefton East |
Boundaries edit
- History of boundaries
The constituency was created for the 2010 general election, replacing much of Crosby along with part of Knowsley North and Sefton East. The new constituency covers Merseyside northern residential suburban areas of Crosby, Blundellsands, Brighton-Le-Sands, Little Crosby, Thornton, and Hightown, Formby and Maghull and the villages and localities of Aintree, Carr Houses, Freshfield, Ince Blundell, Kennessee Green, Lady Green, Little Altcar, Lunt, Lydiate, Melling, Sefton, and Waddicar, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. The constituency has electoral wards:[2]
Proposed edit
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- Ainsdale; Blundellsands; Harington; Manor; Molyneux (polling districts C1, C2 and C3); Park; Ravenmeols; Sudell.[3]
The Ainsdale ward will transferred from Southport, offset by the loss of the Aintree district in the Molyneux ward to Liverpool Walton.
History edit
This seat was fought for the first time at the 2010 general election.[4]
At the time, eleven of the constituency's twenty-one councillors were Conservatives followed by the Liberal Democrats who had ten,[n 3] whereas analysis by Rallings and Thrasher indicated that had the Sefton Central constituency existed in 2005, the result would have been: Labour 45.6%, Conservative 33.6%, LibDem 19.2%, giving a Labour majority of 4,950. The Labour Party candidate's majority was 3,862 suggesting a moderate two-party swing.[4]
The area covered by this seat and its immediate predecessor Crosby was historically a strong area for the Conservatives. However, since Labour gained that seat in the 1997 election, they have held it with fairly comfortable margins for 20 years. In 2015, an 8.1% swing to Labour saw them take the area with their biggest ever majority of 11,846 votes (24.2%),[4] in accordance with the significant swing to Labour in Merseyside compared to 2010; this margin was surpassed in 2017, as Labour won more than 60% of the vote in the seat and a majority of over 30% for the first time. This suggests that since 2010, Sefton Central has changed from a key marginal between the major parties to a Labour safe seat.
Constituency profile edit
The constituency has a working population whose income is close to the national average, and close to average reliance on social housing.[5] At the end of 2012, the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 2.4% of the population claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, compared to the regional average of 4.2%.[6] The borough contributing to the seat has a medium 28.5% of its population without a car, 25.1% of the population without any qualifications and a 24.1% with Level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure, 70.5% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 UK Census across the district.[7]
Members of Parliament edit
| Election | Member[8] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bill Esterson | Labour | |
Elections edit
Elections in the 2020s edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Gareth Lloyd-Johnson[9] | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Elections in the 2010s edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Bill Esterson | 29,254 | 57.5 | –5.5 | |
| Conservative | Wazz Mughal | 14,132 | 27.8 | –5.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Keith Cawdron | 3,386 | 6.7 | +4.0 | |
| Brexit Party | Paul Lomas | 2,425 | 4.8 | New | |
| Green | Alison Gibbon | 1,261 | 2.5 | +1.2 | |
| Liberal | Angela Preston | 285 | 0.6 | New | |
| Renew | Carla Burns | 137 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 15,122 | 29.7 | –0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 50,880 | 72.9 | –2.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –0.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Bill Esterson | 32,830 | 63.0 | +9.2 | |
| Conservative | Jade Marsden | 17,212 | 33.0 | +3.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Daniel Lewis | 1,381 | 2.7 | –1.6 | |
| Green | Mike Carter | 656 | 1.3 | –1.1 | |
| Majority | 15,618 | 30.0 | +5.8 | ||
| Turnout | 52,079 | 75.5 | +3.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +2.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Bill Esterson | 26,359 | 53.8 | +11.9 | |
| Conservative | Valerie Allen | 14,513 | 29.6 | –4.3 | |
| UKIP | Tim Power | 4,879 | 10.0 | +5.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paula Keaveney | 2,086 | 4.3 | –15.6 | |
| Green | Lindsay Melia | 1,184 | 2.4 | New | |
| Majority | 11,846 | 24.2 | +16.2 | ||
| Turnout | 49,021 | 72.4 | +0.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +8.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Bill Esterson | 20,307 | 41.9 | –3.7 | |
| Conservative | Debi Jones | 16,445 | 33.9 | +0.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Richard Clein | 9,656 | 19.9 | +0.7 | |
| UKIP | Peter Harper | 2,055 | 4.2 | +3.5 | |
| Majority | 3,862 | 8.0 | -4.1 | ||
| Turnout | 48,463 | 71.8 | +11.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +2.0 | |||
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ 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.
- ^ A share of the vote based on the 2008 local election in these seven wards gave Conservative 42.3% Liberal Democrat 34.2% Labour 18.1%.
References edit
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, Office of Public Sector Information
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
- ^ a b c Election history for Sefton Central, UK Parliament, n.d., retrieved 19 August 2020
- ^ "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
- ^ "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated 2019".
- ^ "Sefton Central parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Sefton Central". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.