Knowsley (UK Parliament constituency)

Knowsley
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Knowsley in Merseyside
Location of Merseyside within England
County	Merseyside
Electorate	79,334 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Huyton, Kirkby, Knowsley, Roby
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	George Howarth (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Knowsley South, Knowsley North and Sefton East

Knowsley is a constituency ^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by George Howarth of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

History

Created for the 2010 general election (during the Boundary Commission for England's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies ^[2] ), the area returned the second highest share of the vote seen by a candidate for the Labour Party, of 70.9%, behind the 72.0% achieved in Liverpool Walton. The same ranking of results nationally occurred in 2015. ^[3] It ranked foremost by party majority in 2017, where it was followed directly by East Ham and 28 other seats won by Labour candidates, after which followed North East Hampshire. ^[4]

Boundaries

Map of present boundaries

The new constituency covers a large part of the metropolitan borough, main settlements being Huyton and Kirkby. It replaced most of the previous Knowsley South constituency, as well as the parts of Knowsley North and Sefton East in the Knowsley borough. Distant parts from the centre of the metropolitan borough are covered by the new St Helens South and Whiston and Garston and Halewood constituencies.

The seat has electoral wards:

• Cherryfield Kirkby Central; Longview; Northwood; Page Moss; Park; Prescot West; Roby; St Bartholomews; St Gabriels; St Michaels; Shevington; Stockbridge; Swanside; Whitefield in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• Cherryfield; Northwood; Prescot North; Roby; St. Gabriels; St. Michaels; Shevington; Stockbridge; Whitefield. ^[5]

After allowing for changes to ward names and boundaries, the constituency will be reduced in size to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring the Page Moss and Swanside wards to Liverpool West Derby.

Constituency profile

Before its first general election in 2010, it was believed to present the safest seat in the country, with an estimated Labour majority of 24,333 votes. ^[6] In 2015, it became the safest seat in the country in absolute votes (not percentage of majority), beating East Ham by 403 votes. Neighbouring Liverpool Walton has the highest percentage majority.

In 2017, it became the seat with the highest majority for any British Member of Parliament since the advent of universal suffrage, with Howarth winning a majority of 42,214 votes for Labour, surpassing the 36,230-vote majority held by then-Conservative Prime Minister John Major in his Huntingdon constituency in 1992.

The constituency mainly consists of low-income social housing and former social housing built to decant the residents displaced by post-war slum clearance in Liverpool. It includes Huyton to the south (once represented by Prime Minister Harold Wilson) and Kirkby to the north. Between them is the green space of Knowsley Hall and Park, the ancestral home of the Earls of Derby and the site of Knowsley Safari Park. In 2010, The Guardian summarised the area as "One of the most deprived areas in the country. The new parliamentary constituency folds in Knowsley North and Knowsley South." ^[7]

The constituency voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [8]	Party
	2010	George Howarth	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Knowsley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anneliese Midgley [9]
	Liberal Democrats	Kate Tipton [10]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Knowsley ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Howarth	44,374	80.8	–4.5
	Conservative	Rushi Millns	4,432	8.1	–1.2
	Brexit Party	Tim McCullough	3,348	6.1	New
	Green	Paul Woodruff	1,262	2.3	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Slupsky	1,117	2.0	–0.1
	Liberal	Ray Catesby	405	0.7	New
Majority			39,942	72.7	–3.3
Turnout			54,938	65.4	–2.4
	Labour hold		Swing	–4.6

This was the largest numerical Labour majority at the 2019 general election. ^[12]

General election 2017: Knowsley ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Howarth	47,351	85.3	+7.2
	Conservative	James Spencer	5,137	9.3	+2.7
	UKIP	Neil Miney	1,285	2.3	–7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Carl Cashman	1,189	2.1	–0.8
	Green	Steve Baines	521	0.9	–1.6
Majority			42,214	76.0	+7.7
Turnout			55,483	67.8	+3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.3

General election 2015: Knowsley ^{[14] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Howarth	39,628	78.1	+7.2
	UKIP	Louise Bours	4,973	9.8	+7.2
	Conservative	Alice Bramall	3,367	6.6	-2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Carl Cashman	1,490	2.9	-10.5
	Green	Vikki Gregorich	1,270	2.5	New
Majority			34,655	68.3	+10.8
Turnout			50,728	64.1	+8.0
	Labour hold		Swing	0.0

General election 2010: Knowsley ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Howarth*	31,650	70.9	-0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Flo Clucas	5,964	13.4	-0.4
	Conservative	David Dunne	4,004	9.0	-2.3
	BNP	Steven Greenhalgh	1,895	4.2	+2.2
	UKIP	Anthony Rundle	1,145	2.6	New
Majority			25,686	57.5	-0.5
Turnout			44,654	56.1	+2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.2

*Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside

Notes

1. A borough 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. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "Knowsley Boundary Commission for England". Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
3. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
4. Baker, Carl; Hawkins, Oliver; Audickas, Lukas; Bate, Alex; Cracknell, Richard; Apostolova, Vyara; Dempsey, Noel; McInnes, Roderick; Rutherford, Tom; Uberoi, Elise (29 January 2019). "General Election 2017: full results and analysis". parliament.uk.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
6. "Altered Constituencies Data". The Guardian. 22 January 2010.
7. "Knowsley". guardian.co.uk.
8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)
9. "It's the honour of my life to be Labour's candidate for Knowsley. Thank you to members. Thanks @LouHarbour & @ryan_wain for a comradely contest. Thanks to George Howarth MP for his service. Unions, I will fight for us in Parliament. Knowsley, I wont let you down". Anneliese Midgley. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
10. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack . Retrieved 3 February 2024.
11. "Statement of persons nominated 2019" (PDF).
12. http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8749/CBP-8749.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
13. "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "Knowsley". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
16. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

53°27′40″N2°49′41″W / 53.461°N 2.828°W / 53.461; -2.828