Knowsley South (UK Parliament constituency)

Knowsley South
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Knowsley South in Merseyside for the 2005 general election.
Location of Merseyside within England.
County	Merseyside
1983 (1983)–2010 (2010)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Knowsley, Garston and Halewood, St Helens South and Whiston
Created from	Huyton

Knowsley South was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

It existed from 1983 to 2010.

History

Sean Hughes of the Labour Party held the seat from its creation at the 1983 election until his death in June 1990. The resulting by-election that September was won by Eddie O'Hara, also of the Labour Party. O'Hara then held the seat until its abolition in 2010.

This was a safe Labour seat for the entire period of its existence.

Boundaries

Knowsley South was formed in 1983, replacing the former Huyton seat. The constituency covered the southern part of the metropolitan borough of Knowsley, including Halewood, Huyton, Prescot, Roby and Whiston.

This seat and its neighbour Knowsley North and Sefton East were abolished at the 2010 general election, following the decisions of the Boundary Commission for England. Most of Knowsley South has formed the larger part of a new Knowsley constituency, except for the area around Halewood, which has become part of the new Garston and Halewood seat, and parts of Prescot and Whiston which have become part of St Helens South and Whiston.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Sean Hughes	Labour
	1990 by-election	Eddie O'Hara	Labour
	2010	constituency abolished: see Knowsley, Garston and Halewood & St Helens South and Whiston

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Knowsley South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward O'Hara	24,820	68.1	-3.2
	Liberal Democrat	David Smithson	7,132	19.6	+6.6
	Conservative	Andrea Leadsom	4,492	12.3	+0.7
Majority			17,688	48.5
Turnout			36,444	51.5	-0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.9

General Election 2001: Knowsley South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward O'Hara	26,071	71.3	-5.9
	Liberal Democrat	David Smithson	4,755	13.0	+4.7
	Conservative	Paul Jemetta	4,250	11.6	-1.0
	Socialist Labour	Alan Fogg	1,068	2.9	N/A
	Independent	Mona McNee	446	1.2	N/A
Majority			21,316	58.3
Turnout			36,590	51.8	-15.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Knowsley South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward O'Hara	36,695	77.1	+7.6
	Conservative	G Robertson	5,987	12.6	−7.9
	Liberal Democrat	C Mainey	3,954	8.3	−0.7
	Referendum Party	A Wright	954	2.0	N/A
Majority			30,708	64.5	+15.5
Turnout			47,590	67.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.8

General Election 1992: Knowsley South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward O'Hara	31,933	68.6	+4.1
	Conservative	LT Byrom	9,922	21.3	−0.3
	Liberal Democrat	I Smith	4,480	9.6	−4.3
	Natural Law	M Raiano	217	0.5	+0.5
Majority			22,011	47.3	+4.5
Turnout			46,552	74.7	+0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.2

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies on Merseyside