Knowsley North (UK Parliament constituency)

Knowsley North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.

Knowsley North
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Merseyside
1983–1997
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Knowsley North and Sefton East, Knowsley South
Created from	Huyton, Ormskirk

History

The constituency was a safe seat for the Labour Party throughout its existence. Originally, it was represented by Robert Kilroy-Silk, who resigned in 1986 to pursue a media career. This resignation prompted a by-election, which was won by George Howarth.

Boundaries

The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley wards of Cantril Farm, Cherryfield, Kirkby Central, Knowsley Park, Northwood, Park, Prescot East, Prescot West, Tower Hill, and Whitefield.

The constituency covered the northern part of the metropolitan borough of Knowsley, principally the town of Kirkby. Following a review by the Boundary Commission in 1995, the constituency was expanded at the 1997 general election to form the new Knowsley North and Sefton East constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[1]	Party	Notes
	1983	Robert Kilroy-Silk	Labour	Previously MP for Ormskirk from 1974. Resigned October 1986
	1986 by-election	George Howarth	Labour	Elected in November 1986 by-election. Subsequently MP for Knowsley North and Sefton East from 1997
	1997	constituency abolished: see Knowsley North and Sefton East & Knowsley South

Elections

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Knowsley North[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Robert Kilroy-Silk	24,949	64.5	N/A
	Conservative	Albert Birch	7,758	20.1	N/A
	SDP	Barry McColgan	5,715	14.8	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	John Simons	246	0.6	N/A
Majority			17,191	44.46	N/A
Turnout				69.54	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

• Kilroy-Silk resigned on 1 October 1986, to pursue a media career.

13 November 1986 by-election: Knowsley North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	George Howarth	17,403	56.3	−8.2
	Liberal	Rosie Cooper	10,679	34.6	+19.8[3]
	Conservative	Roger Brown	1,960	6.3	−13.8
	Revolutionary Communist	David Hallsworth	664	2.1	N/A
	Independent	George Weiss	111	0.4	N/A
	Independent	Robert Cory	88	0.3	N/A
Majority			6,724	21.7	-22.7
Turnout			30,905	57.3	-12.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−14.0
Registered electors			53,921

General election 1987: Knowsley North[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	George Howarth	27,454	69.9	+5.4
	Liberal	Rosie Cooper	6,356	16.2	+1.4
	Conservative	Roger Brown	4,922	12.5	−7.6
	Red Front	David Hallsworth	538	1.4	N/A
Majority			21,098	53.7	+9.3
Turnout				74.2	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Knowsley North[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	George Howarth	27,517	77.5	+7.6
	Conservative	Simon Mabey	5,114	14.4	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Murray	1,515	4.3	−11.9
	Liberal	Kathleen Lappin	1,180	3.3	−12.9
	Natural Law	Veeva Ruben	179	0.5	N/A
Majority			22,403	63.1	+9.4
Turnout			35,505	72.8	−1.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

See also

• 1986 Knowsley North by-election

Notes and references

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)
2. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
3. Change is calculated from the SDP candidate who represented the SDP-Liberal Alliance at the 1983 general election.
4. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
5. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

Sources

• Britain Votes/Europe Votes By-Election Supplement 1983-, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1985)