Lancaster and Wyre (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 53°59′31″N 2°55′41″W / 53.992°N 2.928°W

Lancaster and Wyre
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Lancaster and Wyre in Lancashire for the 2005 general election.
Location of Lancashire within England.
County	Lancashire
1997–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Lancaster and Fleetwood, Wyre and Preston North
Created from	Lancaster and Wyre

Lancaster and Wyre was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1997 to 2010, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, but has now been replaced by Lancaster and Fleetwood.

History

This seat was created for the 1997 general election and was abolished at the 2010 general election. It was a marginal seat between the Labour and Conservative parties throughout its existence, and was the only seat gained by the Conservatives in the North West in the 2005 General Election.

Boundaries

The City of Lancaster wards of Bulk, Castle, Caton, Ellel, John O'Gaunt, Scotforth East, and Scotforth West, and the Borough of Wyre wards of Breck, Brock, Calder, Carleton, Catterall, Duchy, Garstang, Hambleton, Hardhorn, High Cross, Norcross, Pilling, Preesall, Staina, Tithebarn, and Wyresdale.

The Boundary Commission for England's proposals for parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire were completed in 2006. They proposed to split this seat into two.^[1] As a result Lancaster was attached to another part of Wyre borough, over the River Wyre to the fishing port of Fleetwood. The new seat of Lancaster and Fleetwood represents the first time the two places have been linked for parliamentary reasons for many years.

The other seat is the new Wyre and Preston North.^[1] This seat has never been created before, and the bringing together of Garstang, Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde and the Fulwood and northern rural areas of Preston is unprecedented.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1997	Hilton Dawson	Labour
	2005	Ben Wallace	Conservative
	2010	constituency abolished: see Lancaster and Fleetwood and Wyre and Preston North

There were only two Members of Parliament for this seat. Ben Wallace was selected to represent the Conservatives at the 2010 election in the successor seat of Wyre and Preston North.

Elections

General Election 2005: Lancaster and Wyre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ben Wallace	22,266	42.8	+0.6
	Labour	Anne Sacks	18,095	34.8	-8.3
	Liberal Democrat	Stuart Langhorn	8,453	16.2	+5.9
	Green	Jon Barry	2,278	4.4	+1.4
	UKIP	John Mander	969	1.9	+0.5
Majority			4,171	8.0
Turnout			52,061	64.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 2001: Lancaster and Wyre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hilton Dawson	22,556	43.1	+0.3
	Conservative	Steve Barclay	22,075	42.2	+1.6
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs. Elizabeth Scott	5,383	10.3	-1.3
	Green	John Whitelegg	1,595	3.0	+1.7
	UKIP	Dr. John Whittaker	741	1.4	+0.2
Majority			481	0.9
Turnout			52,350	65.9	-8.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1997: Lancaster and Wyre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hilton Dawson	25,173	42.8	+9.7
	Conservative	Keith Mans	23,878	40.6	-11.6
	Liberal Democrat	John C. Humberstone	6,802	11.5	-2.4
	Referendum	Mrs. Vivien Ivell	1,516	2.6
	Green	Jon Barry	795	1.3
	UKIP	Dr. John Whittaker	698	1.2
Majority			1,295	2.2
Turnout			58,862	74.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

Notes and references

1. "Boundary Commission For England: Fifth Periodical Report" (PDF). London: The Stationery Office.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)