Knowsley South (UK Parliament constituency)

53°25′30″N 2°49′26″W / 53.425°N 2.824°W / 53.425; -2.824

Knowsley South
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Knowsley South in Merseyside for the 2005 general election
Outline map
Location of Merseyside within England
CountyMerseyside
19832010
SeatsOne
Created fromHuyton and Widnes[1]
Replaced byKnowsley, Garston and Halewood, St Helens South and Whiston

Knowsley South was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

It existed from 1983 to 2010.

History

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Sean Hughes of the Labour Party held the seat from its creation at the 1983 election until his death in June 1990. The resulting by-election that September was won by Eddie O'Hara, also of the Labour Party. O'Hara then held the seat until its abolition in 2010.

This was a safe Labour seat for the entire period of its existence, with the party's share of the vote exceeding 68% at all six elections in that time.

Boundaries

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1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley wards of Halewood East, Halewood South, Halewood West, Longview, Page Moss, Princess, Roby, St Gabriel's, St Michael's, Swanside, Whiston North, and Whiston South.

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley wards of Halewood East, Halewood South, Halewood West, Longview, Page Moss, Prescot East, Prescot West, Princess, Roby, St Gabriel's, St Michael's, Swanside, Whiston North, and Whiston South.

Knowsley South was created in 1983, replacing the former Huyton seat. The constituency covered the southern part of the metropolitan borough of Knowsley, including Halewood, Huyton, Prescot, Roby and Whiston.

This seat and its neighbour Knowsley North and Sefton East were abolished at the 2010 general election, following the decisions of the Boundary Commission for England. Most of Knowsley South has formed the larger part of a new Knowsley constituency, except for the area around Halewood, which has become part of the new Garston and Halewood seat, and parts of Prescot and Whiston which have become part of St Helens South and Whiston.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member[2] Party Notes
1983 Sean Hughes Labour Died in office June 1990
1990 by-election Eddie O'Hara Labour Elected in September 1990 by-election
2010 constituency abolished: see Knowsley,
Garston and Halewood & St Helens South and Whiston

Elections

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Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1983: Knowsley South[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sean Hughes 25,727 53.7
Conservative Elizabeth Lamont 13,958 29.2
Liberal Ian Smith 8,173 17.1
Majority 11,769 24.5
Turnout 47,858 70.3
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1987: Knowsley South[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sean Hughes 31,378 64.5 +10.8
Conservative Anthony Hall 10,532 21.6 ―7.6
SDP Ruth Watmough 6,760 13.9 ―3.2
Majority 20,846 42.9 +18.4
Turnout 48,670 74.1 +3.8
Labour hold Swing +9.2

Elections in the 1990s

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By-election 1990: Knowsley South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eddie O'Hara 14,581 68.8 +4.3
Conservative Leslie T. Byrom 3,241 15.2 ―6.4
Liberal Democrats Catherine V. Hancox 1,809 8.5 ―5.4
Green Raymond L. Georgeson 656 3.1 New
Liberal Ian Smith 628 3.0 New
Monster Raving Loony Screaming Lord Sutch 197 0.9 New
Corrective Party Lady Whiplash 99 0.5 New
Majority 11,367 53.6 +10.7
Turnout 21,184 33.4 ―40.7
Labour hold Swing ―5.4
General election 1992: Knowsley South[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eddie O'Hara 31,933 68.6 +4.1
Conservative Leslie T. Byrom 9,922 21.3 ―0.3
Liberal Democrats Ian Smith 4,480 9.6 ―4.3
Natural Law Michelangelo Raiano 217 0.5 New
Majority 22,011 47.3 +4.4
Turnout 46,552 74.7 +0.6
Labour hold Swing +2.2
General election 1997: Knowsley South[7][8][9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eddie O'Hara 36,695 77.1 +7.6
Conservative Gary R. Robertson 5,987 12.6 ―7.9
Liberal Democrats Clifford A. Mainey 3,954 8.3 ―0.7
Referendum Andrew Wright 954 2.0 New
Majority 30,708 64.5 +15.5
Turnout 47,590 67.5 ―7.2
Labour hold Swing +7.8

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2001: Knowsley South[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eddie O'Hara 26,071 71.3 ―5.8
Liberal Democrats David J.G. Smithson 4,755 13.0 +4.7
Conservative Paul L. Jemetta 4,250 11.6 ―1.0
Socialist Labour Alan D. Fogg 1,068 2.9 New
Independent Mona M. McNee 446 1.2 New
Majority 21,316 58.3 ―6.2
Turnout 36,590 51.8 ―15.7
Labour hold Swing
General election 2005: Knowsley South[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eddie O'Hara 24,820 68.1 ―3.2
Liberal Democrats David J.G. Smithson 7,132 19.6 +6.6
Conservative Andrea Leadsom 4,492 12.3 +0.7
Majority 17,688 48.5 ―9.8
Turnout 36,444 51.5 ―0.3
Labour hold Swing ―4.9

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ "'Knowsley South', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)
  3. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  9. ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.138 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
  10. ^ The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
  11. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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