Halton (UK Parliament constituency)

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] The constituency name refers to the Halton barony and covers the borough of the same name. Halton is part of the red wall and is considered as a safe seat for the Labour Party.

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)
Number of members	One
Created from	Widnes and Runcorn[2]

History

The constituency was created in 1983, the year of the Margaret Thatcher landslide victory. It has to date otherwise proven a statistical safe seat for the Labour Party's incumbent MPs, of which there have been two. Its most marginal election result was the earliest, a 12.8% majority — three elections later that majority had risen to 53.2% of the vote. The 2015 result made the seat the 22nd safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[3]

As to the two forerunners, the northern and major contributor, Widnes, was last won by other party political representation in 1935, Runcorn was the minor and southern contributor to the Halton seat and had Conservative representation immediately before 1983 — since its creation in 1950. Most of the electorate of the expansive Runcorn seat was transferred into three other seats on its abolition.

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.

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

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.

Halton constituency 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.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[4]	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[5]

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	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Gribbon	1,800	3.1	+1.3
	Green	David O'Keefe	982	2.1	N/A
Majority			18,975	41.1	-10.1
Turnout			46,203	64.2	-3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.05

General election 2017: Halton[6]

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
Majority			25,440	51.2	+6.1
Turnout			49,553	67.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 2015: Halton[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Derek Twigg	28,292	62.8	+5.2
	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	+0.6
Majority			20,285	45.1
Turnout			45,023	61.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

Halton general election results (click for larger version)

General election 2010: Halton[9][10]

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	N/A
	UKIP	John Moore	1,228	3.0	N/A
	Green	Jim Craig	647	1.6	N/A
Majority			15,504	37.5
Turnout			41,338	60.0	+6.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Halton[11]

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
Turnout			34,183	53.1	−1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.9

General election 2001: Halton[12]

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
Turnout			34,470	54.1	−14.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Halton[13]

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	N/A
	Liberal	David Proffitt	600	1.4	N/A
	Republican	John Alley	196	0.4	N/A
Majority			23,650	53.2
Turnout			44,439	68.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1992: Halton[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Gordon Oakes	35,005	59.7	+4.2
	Conservative	Grant Mercer	16,821	28.7	−1.6
	Liberal Democrats	David Reaper	6,104	10.4	−3.9
	Monster Raving Loony	Stephen Herley	398	0.7	N/A
	Natural Law	Nicola Collins	338	0.6	N/A
Majority			18,184	31.0	+5.8
Turnout			58,666	78.3	+0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Halton[16]

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
Turnout			57,824	78.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

General election 1983: Halton[17]

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

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire

Notes and references

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. List of Labour MPs elected in 2015 by % majority UK Political.info. Retrieved 2017-01-29
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
5. "General Election 2019: Statement of persons nominated" (PDF). 15 November 2019.
6. "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. "Halton". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
9. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. "2010 general election Results: Halton". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
11. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
16. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.