Wyre and Preston North is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in the most recent fifth periodic review of constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
| Wyre and Preston North | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Wyre and Preston North in Lancashire | |
 Location of Lancashire within England | |
| County | Lancashire |
| Electorate | 71,612 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Garstang, St Michael's On Wyre, Catterall, Fulwood |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Ben Wallace (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Ribble Valley, Lancaster and Wyre |
It was formed from parts of the Ribble Valley, Fylde, and Lancaster and Wyre constituencies.
The seat is due to be abolished for the next general election.[2][3]
The current MP is Ben Wallace of the Conservative Party, former Secretary of State for Defence. On 15 July 2023, Wallace announced that he intended to step down as Defence Secretary at the next Cabinet reshuffle, and that he would not be seeking re-election as an MP at the next general election.[4]
Boundaries edit
It was created as the sixteenth seat of the county of Lancashire by the Boundary Commission for England prior to the 2010 general election. It contains the Fulwood and rural areas of Preston and many small towns and villages of Wyre.
The seat of Wyre and Preston North contains the Wyre towns of Poulton-le-Fylde, Garstang, St Michael's On Wyre, Catterall and parts of Thornton. From Preston are added the suburban Fulwood area and the rural parishes such as Woodplumpton, Barton, Broughton, Goosnargh and Grimsargh. The electoral wards used in the creation are:
- From Preston: Cadley, College, Garrison, Greyfriars, Preston Rural East, Preston Rural North, Sharoe Green
- From Wyre: Breck, Brock, Cabus, Calder, Carleton, Catterall, Garstang, Great Eccleston, Hambleton and Stalmine-with-Staynall, Hardhorn, High Cross, Norcross, Staina, Tithebarn.
Proposed abolition edit
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be abolished for the next general election, with parts distributed between five neighbouring constituencies:[2]
- Garstang and surrounding rural areas to Lancaster and Fleetwood (to be renamed Lancaster and Wyre)
- The area comprising parts of the community of Thornton to Blackpool North and Cleveleys (to be renamed Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
- Poulton-le-Fylde to the constituency of Fylde
- Rural areas to the north of Preston and central areas of Fulwood to Ribble Valley
- Outer areas of Fulwood to Preston
Members of Parliament edit
| Election | Member[5] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Ben Wallace | Conservative | |
Elections edit
Elections in the 2010s edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ben Wallace | 31,589 | 59.7 | +1.4 | |
| Labour | Joanne Ainscough | 14,808 | 28.0 | ―7.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Potter | 4,463 | 8.4 | +3.6 | |
| Green | Ruth Norbury | 1,729 | 3.3 | +1.5 | |
| Independent | David Ragozzino | 335 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 16,781 | 31.7 | +8.4 | ||
| Turnout | 52,924 | 70.4 | ―2.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ben Wallace | 30,684 | 58.3 | +5.1 | |
| Labour | Michelle Heaton-Bentley | 18,438 | 35.0 | +10.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Potter | 2,551 | 4.8 | ―0.6 | |
| Green | Ruth Norbury | 973 | 1.8 | ―1.6 | |
| Majority | 12,246 | 23.3 | ―5.1 | ||
| Turnout | 52,646 | 72.8 | +2.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ben Wallace | 26,528 | 53.2 | +0.8 | |
| Labour | Ben Whittingham | 12,377 | 24.8 | +3.5 | |
| UKIP | Kate Walsh | 6,577 | 13.2 | +8.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Potter | 2,712 | 5.4 | ―16.1 | |
| Green | Anne Power | 1,699 | 3.4 | New | |
| Majority | 14,151 | 28.4 | ―2.5 | ||
| Turnout | 49,893 | 70.6 | ―1.5 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ben Wallace | 26,877 | 52.4 | +10.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Danny Gallagher | 11,033 | 21.5 | +5.4 | |
| Labour | Cat Smith | 10,932 | 21.3 | ―5.9 | |
| UKIP | Nigel Cecil | 2,466 | 4.8 | +2.7 | |
| Majority | 15,844 | 30.9 | |||
| Turnout | 51,308 | 72.1 | +8.8 | ||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also edit
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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to lose seat in Commons boundary changes". BBC News. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Ben Wallace to quit as defence secretary at next cabinet reshuffle". BBC News. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 5)
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated 2019" (PDF).
- ^ UK Parliamentary elections June 2017 Wyre Borough Council
- ^ "Wyre & Preston North parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Wyre & Preston North". BBC News Online. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Wyre & Preston North". BBC News Online. Retrieved 7 May 2010.