Post by Merseymike on Apr 24, 2020 11:41:16 GMT
At the last boundary review, Liverpool was not large enough to sustain five entire constituencies, so the Knowsley borough donated its southerly Halewood wards to the most southerly end of Liverpool to create what is a quite logical pairing - as a result the Liverpool name was removed from the name of the seat, which isn't entirely logical as Halewood certainly sees itself as 'Liverpool'
Like the other Liverpool seats, it is a very safe Labour constituency, albeit with a slightly higher base Conservative vote than in Central, Walton or West Derby. Liverpool's middle classes have traditionally lived in the south of the city, and the three former Tory heartlands of Woolton, Allerton and Cressington (formerly known as Grassendale) are part of this seat. Woolton provided the Tories last elected councillor, in 1994, under a slightly different boundary, but at local level they are no longer in contention. Labour have won the ward, and undoubtedly still do at national level (as the 2015 result held on the same day as the general elcction indicates) , but the Liberal Democrats hold all three seats now in what in any other context would be an impregnable Tory area. The Allerton and Hunts Cross ward is more mixed, with some social housing, and the LibDems still hold one of the three seats but again, Labour dominate nationally, as they do in the third of the middle-class bloc, Cressington, which contains an area of gated housing and has seen a photo-finish between Labour and Liberal Democrats locally in 2019
The remainder of the seat is a different story. The Belle Vale and Speke-Garston wards are both in this seat. Both are largely social housing, and are on the edge of the city - Belle Vale brought together two wards which had been affected by the demolition of tower block accommodation, one of which, Netherley, had been the electoral base of Derek Hatton. The LibDems had won seats in both wards on their first run in 2004, but their vote has almost entirely dissipated at local and it seems, national level as well. Speke is an outer estate that is physically cut off from the city by the A561, although does contain the airport which has improved the transport links slightly, although there is still no train station.
The Knowsley wards make up the township of Halewood, best known for the Jaguar-LandRover factory, and the area greatly expanded in the post-war era with a high proportion of social housing. There were originally three wards, but these have been condensed into two at the interim local boundary review. Independent candidates have achieved some local success in Halewood South, but the 72.3% of the vote achieved in the seat by Labour, with the Conservatives back on 13% despite the presence of Woolton and the other middle-class south Liverpool districts does not suggest this is about to change hands.
Like the other Liverpool seats, it is a very safe Labour constituency, albeit with a slightly higher base Conservative vote than in Central, Walton or West Derby. Liverpool's middle classes have traditionally lived in the south of the city, and the three former Tory heartlands of Woolton, Allerton and Cressington (formerly known as Grassendale) are part of this seat. Woolton provided the Tories last elected councillor, in 1994, under a slightly different boundary, but at local level they are no longer in contention. Labour have won the ward, and undoubtedly still do at national level (as the 2015 result held on the same day as the general elcction indicates) , but the Liberal Democrats hold all three seats now in what in any other context would be an impregnable Tory area. The Allerton and Hunts Cross ward is more mixed, with some social housing, and the LibDems still hold one of the three seats but again, Labour dominate nationally, as they do in the third of the middle-class bloc, Cressington, which contains an area of gated housing and has seen a photo-finish between Labour and Liberal Democrats locally in 2019
The remainder of the seat is a different story. The Belle Vale and Speke-Garston wards are both in this seat. Both are largely social housing, and are on the edge of the city - Belle Vale brought together two wards which had been affected by the demolition of tower block accommodation, one of which, Netherley, had been the electoral base of Derek Hatton. The LibDems had won seats in both wards on their first run in 2004, but their vote has almost entirely dissipated at local and it seems, national level as well. Speke is an outer estate that is physically cut off from the city by the A561, although does contain the airport which has improved the transport links slightly, although there is still no train station.
The Knowsley wards make up the township of Halewood, best known for the Jaguar-LandRover factory, and the area greatly expanded in the post-war era with a high proportion of social housing. There were originally three wards, but these have been condensed into two at the interim local boundary review. Independent candidates have achieved some local success in Halewood South, but the 72.3% of the vote achieved in the seat by Labour, with the Conservatives back on 13% despite the presence of Woolton and the other middle-class south Liverpool districts does not suggest this is about to change hands.
