Wirral West (UK Parliament constituency)

UK constituency infobox
Name = Wirral West
Map1 = WirralWest
Map2 = Merseyside
Entity = Merseyside
Type = County
County = Merseyside
Year = 1983
MP = Stephen Hesford
Party = Labour
EP = North West England

Wirral West is a 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.

Boundaries

The constituency is one of four covering the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. It is comprised of mostly affluent, prosperous middle-class areas. It contains the towns of Hoylake and West Kirby, as well as areas such as Greasby, Irby, Meols, Prenton, Upton and Woodchurch.

In the 2005 Boundary Commission report, Wirral West is set to lose part of the Prenton ward to the Birkenhead constituency, and gain part of Barnston from Wirral South.

History

The present Wirral West constituency was formed in 1983, from the northern part of the former Wirral constituency. Its predecessor had traditionally been held by the Conservative Party. William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme, founder of Lever Brothers and Port Sunlight), served as MP between 1906 and 1909.

From 1945 until 1976, the MP was Selwyn Lloyd, who served as Foreign Secretary under Anthony Eden and Chancellor of the Exchequer under Harold Macmillan, later becoming Speaker of the House of Commons in 1971 before being raised to the peerage in 1976. The ensuing by-election was won by David Hunt, who became the first MP for Wirral West in 1983. Hunt was a member of John Major's cabinet, serving twice as Secretary of State for Wales and also as Secretary of State for Employment.

Hunt held the seat until 1997, when he lost to Stephen Hesford of the Labour Party. Labour held on narrowly in 2005, despite a challenge from former TV presenter Esther McVey, standing for the Conservatives.

Members of Parliament

* 1983-1997: David Hunt, Conservative
* 1997-"present": Stephen Hesford, Labour

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Stephen Hesford
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Esther McVey
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Peter Reisdorf
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Phil Griffiths
votes =
percentage =
change =

Election box begin
title=General Election 2005: Wirral WestElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Stephen Hesford
votes = 17,543
percentage = 42.5
change = -4.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Esther McVey
votes = 16,446
percentage = 39.9
change = +2.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Jeff Clarke
votes = 6,652
percentage = 16.1
change = +0.5Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = John Moore
votes = 429
percentage = 1.0
change = +1.0Election box candidate
party = Alternative Party
candidate = Roger Taylor
votes = 163
percentage = 0.4
change = +0.4Election box majority
votes = 1,097
percentage = 2.7
change = Election box turnout
votes = 41,233
percentage = 67.5
change = +2.5Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = -3.7

Election box begin
title=General Election 2001: Wirral WestElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Stephen Hesford
votes = 19,105
percentage = 47.2
change = +2.3Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Chris Lynch
votes = 15,070
percentage = 37.2
change = -1.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Simon Holbrook
votes = 6,300
percentage = 15.6
change = +2.9Election box majority
votes = 4,035
percentage = 10.0
change = Election box turnout
votes = 40,475
percentage = 65.0
change = -12.2Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

See also

* List of Parliamentary constituencies on Merseyside

References