Halton (UK Parliament constituency)

For the Canadian constituency, see Halton (federal electoral district).

Halton
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Halton in Cheshire
Location of Cheshire within England
County	Cheshire
Electorate	72,668 (2018) [1]
Major settlements	Runcorn and Widnes
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Derek Twigg (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Widnes and Runcorn [2]

Halton is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in Cheshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Derek Twigg of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be abolished, with the majority, comprising the areas to the north of the River Mersey (Widnes), being included in the new constituency of Widnes and Halewood, to be first contested at the next general election. Areas to the south of the river (Runcorn) will be included in the new constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. ^[3]

Creation

Halton was created for the 1983 general election following the major reorganisation of local authorities under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974. The constituency name refers to the Halton barony and covers the majority of the borough of the same name. It sits on either side of the River Mersey and comprises Widnes, the original town of Runcorn (with a small part of the new town) and Hale village.

The larger, northern part of the constituency comprised the former municipal borough of Widnes and the parish of Hale, which were part of the abolished Widnes constituency. The smaller, southern part comprised the majority of the former urban district of Runcorn (excluding Daresbury and Norton), which had been part of the abolished constituency of Runcorn. ^[4]

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Halton wards of Appleton, Broadheath, Castlefields, Ditton, Farnworth, Grange, Hale, Halton, Halton Brook, Heath, Hough Green, Kingsway, Mersey, Victoria, and Weston. ^[5]

1997–2010: The Borough of Halton wards of Appleton, Broadheath, Ditton, Farnworth, Grange, Hale, Halton, Halton Brook, Heath, Hough Green, Kingsway, Mersey, and Riverside. ^[6]

Eastern part, including Castlefields ward transferred to the new constituency of Weaver Vale.

2010–present: The Borough of Halton wards of Appleton, Birchfield, Broadheath, Castlefields, Ditton, Farnworth, Grange, Hale, Halton Brook, Halton View, Heath, Hough Green, Kingsway, Mersey, and Riverside. ^[7]

Castlefields ward transferred back from Weaver Vale.

Political history

Halton is considered a safe seat for the Labour Party. Its most marginal election result, a 12.8% majority, was the earliest in 1983, the year of Margaret Thatcher's first landslide victory, — three elections later that majority had risen to 53.2% of the vote. It has otherwise, to date, proven a statistical safe seat for the Labour Party's incumbent MPs, of which there have thus far been two. The 2015 result made the seat the 22nd safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. ^[8]

Of the two forerunner seats, Widnes was last won by another party in 1935, whilst Runcorn had Conservative representation from its creation in 1950 to 1983, when it was abolished.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [9]	Party	Notes
	1983	Gordon Oakes	Labour	Junior minister 1974–1976. Retired 1997, died 2005
	1997	Derek Twigg	Labour	Junior minister 2004—2008

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Halton ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	29,333	63.5	―9.5
	Conservative	Charles Rowley	10,358	22.4	+0.6
	Brexit Party	Janet Balfe	3,730	8.1	New
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Gribbon	1,800	3.1	+1.3
	Green	David O'Keefe	982	2.1	New
Majority			18,975	41.1	―10.1
Turnout			46,203	64.2	―3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	―5.1

General election 2017: Halton ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	36,150	73.0	+10.2
	Conservative	Matthew Lloyd	10,710	21.8	+4.0
	UKIP	Glyn Redican	1,488	3.0	―11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ryan Bate	896	1.8	―0.6
	Independent	Vic Turton	309	0.6	±0.0
Majority			25,440	51.2	+6.2
Turnout			49,553	67.4	+5.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 2015: Halton ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	28,292	62.8	+5.1
	Conservative	Matthew Lloyd	8,007	17.8	―2.4
	UKIP	Glyn Redican	6,333	14.1	+11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ryan Bate	1,097	2.4	―11.4
	Green	David Melvin	1,017	2.3	+0.7
	Independent	Vic Turton	277	0.6	New
Majority			20,285	45.0	+7.5
Turnout			45,023	61.8	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

Halton general election results (click for larger version)

General election 2010: Halton ^{[14] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	23,843	57.7	―5.4
	Conservative	Ben Jones	8,339	20.2	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Frank Harasiwka	5,718	13.8	―3.2
	BNP	Andrew Taylor	1,563	3.8	New
	UKIP	John Moore	1,228	3.0	New
	Green	Jim Craig	647	1.6	New
Majority			15,504	37.5	―5.7
Turnout			41,338	60.0	+6.4
	Labour hold		Swing	―2.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Halton ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	21,460	62.8	―6.4
	Conservative	Colin Bloom	6,854	20.1	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Barlow	5,869	17.2	+5.0
Majority			14,606	42.7	―7.9
Turnout			34,183	53.1	―1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	―3.9

General election 2001: Halton ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	23,841	69.2	−1.7
	Conservative	Chris Davenport	6,413	18.6	+0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Walker	4,216	12.2	+4.9
Majority			17,428	50.6	-2.6
Turnout			34,470	54.1	−14.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Halton ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Twigg	31,497	70.9	+11.3
	Conservative	Philip Balmer	7,847	17.7	−12.6
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Jones	3,263	7.3	−1.5
	Referendum	Reginald Atkins	1,036	2.3	New
	Liberal	David Proffitt	600	1.4	New
	Republican	John Alley	196	0.4	New
Majority			23,650	53.2	+23.9
Turnout			44,439	68.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1992: Halton ^{[19] [20]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	35,005	59.7	+4.2
	Conservative	Grant Mercer	16,821	28.7	−1.5
	Liberal Democrats	David Reaper	6,104	10.4	−3.9
	Monster Raving Loony	Stephen Herley	398	0.7	New
	Natural Law	Nicola Collins	338	0.6	New
Majority			18,184	31.0	+5.7
Turnout			58,666	78.3	0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Halton ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	32,065	55.5	+9.1
	Conservative	John Hardman	17,487	30.2	−3.4
	SDP	Flo Clucas	8,272	14.3	−5.7
Majority			14,578	25.3	+12.5
Turnout			57,824	78.3	+5.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

General election 1983: Halton ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	24,752	46.4
	Conservative	Philip Pedley	17,923	33.6
	SDP	Thomas Tilling	10,649	20.0
Majority			6,829	12.8
Turnout			53,324	73.3
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• Cheshire portal

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire
• History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Cheshire

Notes

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.

References

1. "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
2. "'Halton', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
3. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
4. "Halton". 12 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
5. "Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF).
6. "Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995".
7. "Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007".
8. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
10. "General Election 2019: Statement of persons nominated" (PDF). 15 November 2019.
11. "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. "Halton". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
14. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "2010 general election Results: Halton". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
16. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
21. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

53°19′37″N2°42′22″W / 53.327°N 2.706°W / 53.327; -2.706