Sefton Central (UK Parliament constituency)

(Redirected from Sefton Central)

Sefton Central is a constituency represented since its creation in 2010 by Bill Esterson of the Labour Party.[n 1][n 2]

Sefton Central
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Map of constituency
Boundary of Sefton Central in North West England
CountyMerseyside
Electorate74,746 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsCrosby and Formby
Current constituency
Created2010
Member of ParliamentBill Esterson (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromCrosby
Knowsley North & Sefton East

Boundaries

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Map of 2010–2024 boundaries

2010-2024

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The constituency was created for the 2010 general election, replacing much of Crosby along with part of Knowsley North and Sefton East.The constituency comprised the following electoral wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton:[2]

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 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 was transferred from Southport, offset by the loss of the Aintree district in the Molyneux ward to Liverpool Walton.

The constituency covers Merseyside northern residential suburban areas of Crosby, Blundellsands, Brighton-Le-Sands, Little Crosby, Thornton, and Hightown, Formby, Ainsdale, Maghull and the villages and localities of Carr Houses, Freshfield, Ince Blundell, Kennessee Green, Lady Green, Little Altcar, Lunt, Lydiate, Melling, Sefton, and Waddicar, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.

History

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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

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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

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Election Member[8] Party
2010 Bill Esterson Labour

Elections

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Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Sefton Central [9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bill Esterson 26,772 56.4 +3.8
Conservative Marcus Bleasdale 8,490 17.9 −16.4
Reform UK Nagender Chindam 5,767 12.2 +8.6
Green Kieran Dams 3,294 6.9 +4.8
Liberal Democrats Gareth Lloyd-Johnson 2,630 5.5 −1.1
Independent Ralph James 496 1.0 N/A
Majority 18,282 38.5 +20.3
Turnout 47,449 63.9 −12.5
Labour hold Swing +10.1

Changes are from the notional 2019 results on the 2024 boundaries.[11]

Elections in the 2010s

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General election 2019: Sefton Central[12][13]
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
General election 2017: Sefton Central[14]
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
General election 2015: Sefton Central[15][16]
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
General election 2010: Sefton Central[17]
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

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Notes

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  1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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

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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 21 July 2024.
  2. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, Office of Public Sector Information
  3. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
  4. ^ a b c Election history for Sefton Central, UK Parliament, n.d., retrieved 19 August 2020
  5. ^ "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
  6. ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  7. ^ "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
  8. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
  9. ^ "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL" (PDF). Sefton Council. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Sefton Central - General Election Results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Notional election for the constituency of Sefton Central". UK Parliament.
  12. ^ "Statement of persons nominated 2019".
  13. ^ "Sefton Central parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  14. ^ "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Sefton Central". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
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53°31′23″N 2°59′06″W / 53.523°N 2.985°W / 53.523; -2.985