Birkenhead (UK Parliament constituency)


Birkenhead is a constituency recreated in 1950 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 United Kingdom general election by Mick Whitley. A former constituency of the same name existed from 1861 to 1918. In the intervening years, the area on the Liverpool-facing side of the Wirral Peninsula was split in two and joined with other land which had become more developed.

Profile

Birkenhead forms the relatively densely populated mid-east of four parliamentary constituencies within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, itself a major contributor to the Metropolitan County of Merseyside envisaged in 1958 and created in 1974, considered as any other county for the enacted purposes of the Boundary Commission in its periodic reports.
The urban parts of the town unite with Liverpool on the opposite side of the narrows of the estuary in having an early socially reformist movement in local measures and its choice of many elected representatives since the 1850s. The work was evidence in the building of large public buildings and institutions and the creation of supported workers' housing, creating Port Sunlight to the south among other such estates. The southern border of the Borough controversially avoids the near-circular suburbs of the cathedral city of Chester, thereby creating a jagged boundary in local and national government; nonetheless, the Wirral has scenic shores and large golf courses including to the west one which regularly hosts The Open. Transcending the dense 20th-century urban-semi-rural divide of Merseyside is the largely Victorian era-built town of Birkenhead, at the centre of which lies the archetype of city parks, Birkenhead Park, a social gift and early publicly subscribed community asset in the area.
The seat is almost square and bounded by its sole motorway to the west. Its homes were 53% owner-occupied compared to 60% in the region. The seat's entirely left-wing victories nationally since 1945 evidence commitment locally to public services and wealth redistribution instead of laissez-faire economics and low taxation. The 2015 general election result made the seat the fifteenth-safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.

History

;Creation, abolition and recreation
Birkenhead was enfranchised in 1861 by the Birkenhead Enfranchisement Act 1861 and was a single constituency until it was split under the terms of the Representation of the People Act 1918 which took effect for the 1918 general election.
Birkenhead East and West covered the former area between 1918-1950 and smaller neighbouring communities in The Wirral.
The single constituency on revised boundaries was re-established at the 1950 general election.

Political history

;1861–1918
The seat's elections were won by Conservatives with one exception, the 1906 landslide victory for the Liberal Party.
;During splitting
The two seats alternated frequently between the three largest parties in the 1920s, before the 1931 and 1935 general elections, which saw a major Conservative and Unionist Party victory in Birkenhead West, the latter election heralding a ten-year Parliament. However, the Liberal Graham White, of the more radical faction, won the eastern seat at both elections, echoing his victory in 1922. Having had predominantly marginal majorities, the seats were firmly won by the Labour Party in their nationwide landslide victory of 1945.
;Since 1950 re-creation
Since 1950, Birkenhead has returned Labour MPs each winning large majorities — apart from a 7% majority in 1955. Further to the left, two Communist candidates, including Barry Williams stood between 1950-1970 obtaining a high point of 1.5% of the votes cast during the Cold War.
Frank Field, who has represented the constituency since 1979, was immediately appointed as the Blair ministry's Welfare Reform Minister for one year and has chaired the related Work and Pensions Committee since 2015.
;Minor party candidates during the early 21st century
At the 2001, 2005 and 2010 general elections no candidates apart from those selected by the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat parties contested the seat. Until and including the 1966 general election, three or fewer candidates generally stood in more safe-than-marginal majority-seats nationally; as is reflected the elections shown below of Birkenhead. The 2015 general election result saw the Liberal Democrat candidate fall behind the Green candidate and the parties narrowly lost their deposits.

Boundaries

The enfranchising Act provided that the constituency was to consist of the Extra-parochial Chapelry of Birkenhead, the several townships of Claughton, Tranmere, and Oxton, and so much of the township of Higher Bebington as lies to the eastward of the road leading from Higher Tranmere to Lower Bebington.
1950–1974: The County Borough of Birkenhead, except the wards included in the Bebington constituency.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Birkenhead wards of Argyle, Bebington, Cathcart, Claughton, Cleveland, Clifton, Devonshire, Egerton, Gilbrook, Grange, Holt, Mersey, Oxton, and St James.
1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral wards of Bidston, Birkenhead, Claughton, Egerton, Oxton, and Tranmere.
2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral wards of Bidston and St James, Birkenhead and Tranmere, Claughton, Oxton, Prenton, and Rock Ferry.
The constituency covers the town of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, and the Birkenhead suburbs of Bidston, Claughton, Oxton, Prenton, Rock Ferry and Tranmere.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1861–1918

MPs since 1950

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1870s

  1. Elections|

    Elections in the 1860s

While the seat was created in 1861, it is considered a new seat for the purposes of the 1865 general election.
  1. Elections|