Knowsley (UK Parliament constituency)

Knowsley
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Knowsley in North West England
County	Merseyside
Electorate	71,228 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Huyton, Kirkby, Knowsley, Roby
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Anneliese Midgley (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 2024 by Anneliese Midgley of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]} .

Constituency profile

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."^[2]

The constituency voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

History

Created for the 2010 general election (during the Boundary Commission for England's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies^[3]), it was believed to present the safest seat in the country, with an estimated Labour majority of 24,333 votes.^[4]. 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 by percentage majority occurred in 2015,^[5] when it became the safest seat in the country in absolute terms, beating East Ham by 403 votes.^[6]

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.^[6] It achieved the highest majority for any British Member of Parliament since the advent of universal suffrage, with Labour winning with a majority of 42,214 votes, surpassing the 36,230-vote majority held by then-Conservative Prime Minister John Major in his Huntingdon constituency in 1992.

On its creation, the seat was won by George Howarth, who had served as MP for the predecessor seats of Knowsley North (1986–1997) and Knowsley North and Sefton East (1997–2010). On his retirement for the 2024 general election, he was succeeded by Anneliese Midgley on a reduced majority over Reform UK of 50.9%.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

2010–2024

The new constituency covered 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 were covered by the new St Helens South and Whiston and Garston and Halewood constituencies.

The seat contained the following 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

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the constituency is 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.^[7]

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

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[8]	Party
	2010	George Howarth	Labour
	2024	Anneliese Midgley	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Knowsley^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anneliese Midgley[10]	24,243	67.3	−12.3
	Reform UK	Alexander Hitchmough	5,924	16.4	+10.1
	Green	Graham Wickens	2,772	7.7	+5.7
	Conservative	Sherrie McDaid	1,496	4.2	−4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Kate Tipton[11]	1,232	3.4	+0.9
	Workers Party	Graham Padden	245	0.7	N/A
	SDP	Patricia Jameson[12]	135	0.4	N/A
Majority			18,319	50.9	−21.8
Registered electors			71,964
Turnout			36,135	50.2	−15.2
Rejected ballots			88
	Labour hold		Swing	−13.5

^[13]

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Knowsley ^[14]

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.^[15]

General election 2017: Knowsley^[16]

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^[17]^[18]

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^[19]

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. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
2. "Knowsley". guardian.co.uk.
3. "Knowsley Boundary Commission for England". Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
4. "Altered Constituencies Data". The Guardian. 22 January 2010.
5. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
6. 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)
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)
9. Knowsley
10. "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.
11. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
12. "General Election Candidates". Retrieved 3 June 2024.
13. "Knowsley Constituency declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Knowsley Council. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
14. "Statement of persons nominated 2019" (PDF).
15. http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8749/CBP-8749.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
16. "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
17. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
18. "Knowsley". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
19. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

External links

• Knowsley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Knowsley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

53.461°N 2.828°W / 53.461; -2.828