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West Lancashire constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 31.4% ( 40.7pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of West Lancashire was held on 9 February 2023, [1] following the resignation of incumbent member of Parliament Rosie Cooper. She announced her resignation in order to take up the job as chair of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. [2] Ashley Dalton held the seat for Labour. [3]
West Lancashire covers the southern part of the borough of the same name, with the major settlements being the towns of Burscough, Ormskirk and Skelmersdale. The rest of the population live in the surrounding villages. The seat is considered part of the red wall, and voted 55% in favour of Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum. [4]
The constituency was created as the successor to Ormskirk for the 1983 United Kingdom general election and was held by Conservative Ken Hind until 1992 when it was taken for Labour by Colin Pickthall. Pickthall retired in 2005, and was succeeded by former Liberal Democrat candidate Rosie Cooper who was re-elected at each subsequent election. West Lancashire is considered a strong Labour seat. [5]
Cooper had served as MP since the 2005 general election. She announced her resignation in September 2022. [6] In November, The Times reported that Cooper was delaying her resignation in an attempt to secure a peerage, meaning that the writ of election could not be moved until January 2023 at the earliest. [7] Cooper resigned her seat on 30 November, by means of being appointed as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. [8] The by-election was the first scheduled in 2023 and was the first by-election held in the West Lancashire constituency.
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, declined to run for Labour amid speculation that he may want to enter Parliament again in the future, [9] and football broadcaster Gary Neville also declined to stand for the Labour Party's nomination. [10]
In October 2022, Ashley Dalton, a candidate for Rochford and Southend East in 2017 and 2019, was confirmed as Labour's candidate for the by-election. [11] Labour had shortlisted three women to be their candidate: Dalton; Emma Fox, former shortlisted candidate for Warrington South and daughter of Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle; and Louise Harbour, former deputy leader of Knowsley Council until she lost her seat in the 2022 local elections. [11] Other candidates on the longlist had included councillor for Knowsley ward Adam Yates; county councillor for Skelmersdale West Julie Gibson; Michael Denoual; and Nikki Hennessy. [12]
The Conservative Party confirmed in October 2022 that Mike Prendergast, an Ormskirk-based solicitor and councillor for Dukes ward on Sefton Council, would be their candidate in the by-election. [13]
The Liberal Democrats announced that Jo Barton, former councillor for Meols ward (also on Sefton Council) and candidate for the same constituency in the 2017 general election, would be their candidate. [14]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ashley Dalton | 14,068 | 62.3 | +10.2 | |
| Conservative | Mike Prendergast | 5,742 | 25.4 | –10.9 | |
| Reform UK | Jonathan Kay | 997 | 4.4 | +0.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jo Barton | 918 | 4.1 | –0.8 | |
| Green | Peter Cranie | 646 | 2.9 | +0.5 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 210 | 0.9 | New | |
| Majority | 8,326 | 36.9 | +21.1 | ||
| Total valid votes | 22,581 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 58 | ||||
| Turnout | 22,639 | 31.4 | –40.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 72,199 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +10.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rosie Cooper | 27,458 | 52.1 | –6.8 | |
| Conservative | Jack Gilmore | 19,122 | 36.3 | –1.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon Thomson | 2,560 | 4.9 | +2.9 | |
| Brexit Party | Marc Stanton | 2,275 | 4.3 | New | |
| Green | John Puddifer | 1,248 | 2.4 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 8,336 | 15.8 | –5.7 | ||
| Turnout | 52,663 | 72.0 | –2.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –2.9 | |||
Colin Pickthall is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for West Lancashire. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1992, and retired at the general election of 2005.
West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town is Skelmersdale. The district borders Fylde to the north, over the Ribble Estuary; South Ribble, Chorley, and Wigan to the east; St Helens and Knowsley to the south; and Sefton to the south and west.
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West Lancashire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Following the resignation of Labour MP Rosie Cooper on 30 November 2022, the seat was won by the party's candidate Ashley Dalton in the by-election held on 9 February 2023, who would again win this seat in the general election in July 2024.
Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper is a British health official and former politician. Cooper was a Liberal and later Liberal Democrat member of the Liverpool City Council from 1973 until 1999, when she joined the Labour Party. After leaving the council the following year, she was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for West Lancashire from 2005 until her resignation in 2022, when she was named chair of the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Ormskirk was a county constituency 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 was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as a division of the parliamentary county of Lancashire. The constituency boundaries were changed in 1918, 1950, 1955 and 1974.
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The 2002 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of West Lancashire District Council in Lancashire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by 1. The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from Labour.
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Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874 and carried passengers from 1858 to 1956.
The 1986 Knowsley North by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 November 1986 for the British House of Commons constituency of Knowsley North.
Skelmersdale is a town in the West Lancashire district, in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, 6 miles (10 km) west of Wigan, 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Liverpool and 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem.
The 2010 West Lancashire Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of West Lancashire Borough Council in Lancashire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
Julie Elizabeth Cooper is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Burnley from 2015 to 2019.
Our West Lancashire (OWL) is a localist political party in West Lancashire, United Kingdom. As of May 2021 it held 7 seats on West Lancashire Borough Council. The party also unsuccessfully contested seats in West Lancashire on Lancashire County Council, as well. The group claims to have drawn members from all of the major parties in West Lancashire, and claims to "put residents before the party whip". It is one of two localist parties in West Lancashire, alongside Skelmersdale Independent Party.
Roby Mill is a village in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The estimated population is 405.
Ruth Ashley Charman Dalton is a British Labour Party politician and former community worker who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Lancashire since the 2023 West Lancashire by-election, succeeding Rosie Cooper.
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS trust that provides services throughout Merseyside and West Lancashire. It began operations on 1 July 2023, following the merger of Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
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