Warrington South (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Warrington South Borough constituency |
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| Warrington South shown within Cheshire, and Cheshire shown within England | |
| Created: | 1983 |
| MP: | Helen Southworth |
| Party: | Labour |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Cheshire |
| EP constituency: | North West England |
Warrington South 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.
The constituency has the Press Association (PA) number 612.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
The constituency is one of two covering the unitary authority of Warrington, Cheshire, the other being Warrington North. It covers the parts of the town lying south of the River Mersey, including Appleton, Grappenhall and Stockton Heath, the town centre and the Penketh and Sankey areas in the west of the town. It also includes the village of Lymm.
[edit] History
The constituency was created in 1983. Prior to then, the Warrington constituency covered the central part of the town and surrounding area, while the southern fringes were in the Runcorn constituency and the surrounding area to the north was covered by the Newton constituency. The current boundaries were introduced at the 1997 general election, when the number of constituencies in Cheshire were increased and the new Weaver Vale seat was created.
Politically, Warrington South is considered the more interesting of the two Warrington seats. While Warrington North is a safe seat for the Labour Party, Warrington South is regarded as a bellwether constituency, reflecting the fate of the major parties at the national level. As such it was held by the Conservatives from 1983 until 1992 (until 1987 by the former Runcorn MP Mark Carlisle, then by Chris Butler), when it was taken by Labour's Mike Hall. Hall moved to the new Weaver Vale seat in 1997, and Helen Southworth (also of the Labour Party) has represented the seat since then.
Most of the borough council seats in the constituency are held by the Liberal Democrats, who nevertheless have come third in recent general elections, behind the Conservatives.
[edit] Members of Parliament
| Year | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Mark Carlisle | Conservative | |
| 1987 | Chris Butler | Conservative | |
| 1992 | Mike Hall | Labour | |
| 1997 | Helen Southworth | Labour | |
[edit] Election results
| General Election 2005: Warrington South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Helen Southworth | 18,972 | 40.5 | -8.8 | |
| Conservative | Fiona Bruce | 15,457 | 33.0 | 0.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ian Marks | 11,111 | 23.7 | +7.4 | |
| UK Independence | Gerry Kelley | 804 | 1.7 | +0.3 | |
| Independent (politician) | Paul Kennedy | 453 | 1.0 | +1.0 | |
| Majority | 3,515 | 7.5 | |||
| Turnout | 46,797 | 61.8 | 0.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -4.4 | |||
| General Election 2001: Warrington South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Helen Southworth | 22,419 | 49.3 | -2.9 | |
| Conservative | Caroline Mosley | 15,022 | 33.0 | +0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Barlow, R.J. | 7,419 | 16.3 | +3.2 | |
| UK Independence | Kelley, J. | 637 | 1.4 | ||
| Majority | 7,397 | 16.3 | |||
| Turnout | 45,497 | 61.2 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | -1.7 | |||
| General Election 1997: Warrington South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Helen Southworth | 28,721 | 52.1 | +11.31 | |
| Conservative | Chris Grayling | 17,914 | 32.5 | -13.19 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Walker | 7,199 | 13.1 | +0.09 | |
| Referendum Party | Gerald Kelly | 1,082 | 2.0 | +2.0 | |
| Natural Law | Steve Ross | 166 | 0.3 | -0.22 | |
| Majority | 10,807 | 19.6 | |||
| Turnout | 55,082 | 76.0 | |||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.3 | |||
Based on the 1992 notional results the Conservative party gained Warrington South.
| General Election 1992: Warrington South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Mike Hall | 27,819 | 43.64 | ||
| Conservative | Chris Butler | 27,628 | 43.34 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Walker | 7,978 | 12.52 | ||
| Natural Law | S Benson | 321 | 0.5 | ||
| Majority | 191 | 0.3 | |||
| Turnout | 63,880 | 82.05 | |||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| General Election 1987: Warrington South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Chris Butler | 24,809 | 48.21 | ||
| Labour | A Booth | 21,200 | 35.86 | ||
| Liberal | Ian Marks | 13,112 | 22.18 | ||
| Majority | 3,609 | 6.10 | |||
| Turnout | 59,121 | 75.21 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| General Election 1983: Warrington South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Mark Carlisle | 22,740 | 41.92 | ||
| Labour | D Colin-Thome | 16,275 | 30.00 | ||
| Liberal | Ian Marks | 14,827 | 27.33 | ||
| Ecology | Paul Kennedy | 403 | 0.74 | ||
| Majority | 6,465 | 11.92 | |||
| Turnout | 54,245 | 74,51 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
