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Post by greenhert on Jul 8, 2023 14:35:28 GMT
Southport was created in 1885 and remained virtually unchanged since its creation through 2010. This time, however, it will undergo significant change, by losing Ainsdale ward to Sefton Central and gaining the West Lancashire wards of Hesketh-with-Becconsall, North Meols, Rufford and Tarleton.
Southport is an upmarket seaside resort in Lancashire, which is reluctant at best to consider itself part of Merseyside. It was a county borough in its own right until being absorbed into Sefton MBC and Merseyside County. Southport has numerous interesting landmarks, including the fairground of New Pleasureland (which was built in 2007 to replace Old Pleasureland which operated from 1912 to 2006; several original rides now reside in Dreamland Margate), Southport Model Railway Village, Southport Pier, and the mediaeval house of Meols Hall. Several other notable landmarks in Southport have sadly been demolished, including its open air baths, the Steamport Museum, and the Palace Hotel. The Smedley Hydro is now the site of the UK Registry Office.
Southport is the only constituency in Merseyside to have never had a Labour MP (although this is likely to change at the next general election), and until recently it was a Conservative-Liberal Democrat marginal. During the nadir of the Liberals it was a safe Conservative seat; in 1970 Ronnie Fearn revived the fortunes of the Liberals in Southport. On his fifth attempt in 1987 he became the first Liberal MP for Southport since 1923; he was unseated by Matthew Banks in 1992 but recaptured the seat from him in 1997. Mr Fearn retired in 2001 and was succeeded by John Pugh, who served as MP for 16 years; local Conservative misfortunes in 2015 allowed him to hold on despite an 18.7% drop in the Liberal Democrat vote share. Mr Pugh retired in 2017 and the Liberal Democrats were pushed into third place by Labour, with Damien Moore capturing the seat second time around for the Conservatives. The Labour candidate, Liz Savage, exerted a further squeeze on the Liberal Democrats in 2019, whose vote share dropped by nearly half of their 2017 vote share. Southport did experience a pro-Conservative swing of 1.25% but it is now confirmed as a Conservative-Labour marginal. Since the retirement of Mr Pugh the Liberal Democrats have lost as many as seven councillors in Southport's wards, mainly to Labour, whilst regaining only one; it is fair to say the Liberal Democrat challenge in Southport is dead.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jul 8, 2023 17:02:10 GMT
Southport was created in 1885 and remained virtually unchanged since its creation through 2010. .. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2023 7:01:23 GMT
Labour took second place in Southport in 2017 for the first time since 1966 (when one John Prescott flew their pennant here - I wonder what became of him).
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Post by johnloony on Jul 9, 2023 8:45:10 GMT
Labour took second place in Southport in 2017 for the first time since 1966 (when one John Prescott flew their pennant here - I wonder what became of him). Either he became deputy prime minister or it was a different John Prescott |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2023 9:19:45 GMT
I think it's worth mentioning the significant localist party here - the Southport Party got a decent showing in 2015 and there's a non-negligible level of support for 'Southport out of Sefton' - I think the Lib Dems or Tories could make political hay out of proposing hiving off Southport as a separate local authority. It really is a bit different from Crosby, Formby, Maghull, Waterloo, Bootle, Litherland, etc and dunes separate Formby and Southport. The big area of the coast managed by the National Trust is a barrier, geographically if not as much politically these days. Labour takes this at some point, but Sefton Central and Wirral South it aint. I do wonder though without Ronnie Fearn (Mr Southport from what I hear) would Labour have nabbed this one in 1997 and lost it in say, 2005?
I don't deny there's a 'Merseyside' effect of sorts here, but the affinity for Liverpool is far less than in somewhere like Wirral South or even parts of Chester, or a place like Frodsham in Weaver Vale.
Southport Pier is the longest pier in Britain, isn't it?
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Post by yellowperil on Jul 9, 2023 9:27:39 GMT
I think it's worth mentioning the significant localist party here - the Southport Party got a decent showing in 2015 and there's a non-negligible level of support for 'Southport out of Sefton' - I think the Lib Dems or Tories could make political hay out of proposing hiving off Southport as a separate local authority. It really is a bit different from Crosby, Formby, Maghull, Waterloo, Bootle, Litherland, etc and dunes separate Formby and Southport. The big area of the coast managed by the National Trust is a barrier, geographically if not as much politically these days. Labour takes this at some point, but Sefton Central and Wirral South it aint. I do wonder though without Ronnie Fearn (Mr Southport from what I hear) would Labour have nabbed this one in 1997 and lost it in say, 2005? I don't deny there's a 'Merseyside' effect of sorts here, but the affinity for Liverpool is far less than in somewhere like Wirral South or even parts of Chester, or a place like Frodsham in Weaver Vale. Southport Pier is the longest pier in Britain, isn't it? Are you confusing Southport with Southend? |
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Post by doktorb🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ on Jul 9, 2023 9:28:18 GMT
I think it's worth mentioning the significant localist party here - the Southport Party got a decent showing in 2015 and there's a non-negligible level of support for 'Southport out of Sefton' - I think the Lib Dems or Tories could make political hay out of proposing hiving off Southport as a separate local authority. It really is a bit different from Crosby, Formby, Maghull, Waterloo, Bootle, Litherland, etc and dunes separate Formby and Southport. The big area of the coast managed by the National Trust is a barrier, geographically if not as much politically these days. Labour takes this at some point, but Sefton Central and Wirral South it aint. I do wonder though without Ronnie Fearn (Mr Southport from what I hear) would Labour have nabbed this one in 1997 and lost it in say, 2005? I don't deny there's a 'Merseyside' effect of sorts here, but the affinity for Liverpool is far less than in somewhere like Wirral South or even parts of Chester, or a place like Frodsham in Weaver Vale. Southport Pier is the longest pier in Britain, isn't it? I know this might fit into the "why can't Britain do anything" category but: *Southport is too small to stand alone and you can guarantee West Lancashire wouldn't accept getting it attached to them so they're pretty much stuck. *It likely is though for months now it's closed because of damage and nobody has enough money to fix it. |
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Post by carlton43 on Jul 9, 2023 9:29:51 GMT
I think it's worth mentioning the significant localist party here - the Southport Party got a decent showing in 2015 and there's a non-negligible level of support for 'Southport out of Sefton' - I think the Lib Dems or Tories could make political hay out of proposing hiving off Southport as a separate local authority. It really is a bit different from Crosby, Formby, Maghull, Waterloo, Bootle, Litherland, etc and dunes separate Formby and Southport. The big area of the coast managed by the National Trust is a barrier, geographically if not as much politically these days. Labour takes this at some point, but Sefton Central and Wirral South it aint. I do wonder though without Ronnie Fearn (Mr Southport from what I hear) would Labour have nabbed this one in 1997 and lost it in say, 2005? I don't deny there's a 'Merseyside' effect of sorts here, but the affinity for Liverpool is far less than in somewhere like Wirral South or even parts of Chester, or a place like Frodsham in Weaver Vale. Southport Pier is the longest pier in Britain, isn't it? No. Not by a long way. |
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Post by batman on Jul 9, 2023 9:36:49 GMT
I think it's worth mentioning the significant localist party here - the Southport Party got a decent showing in 2015 and there's a non-negligible level of support for 'Southport out of Sefton' - I think the Lib Dems or Tories could make political hay out of proposing hiving off Southport as a separate local authority. It really is a bit different from Crosby, Formby, Maghull, Waterloo, Bootle, Litherland, etc and dunes separate Formby and Southport. The big area of the coast managed by the National Trust is a barrier, geographically if not as much politically these days. Labour takes this at some point, but Sefton Central and Wirral South it aint. I do wonder though without Ronnie Fearn (Mr Southport from what I hear) would Labour have nabbed this one in 1997 and lost it in say, 2005? I don't deny there's a 'Merseyside' effect of sorts here, but the affinity for Liverpool is far less than in somewhere like Wirral South or even parts of Chester, or a place like Frodsham in Weaver Vale. Southport Pier is the longest pier in Britain, isn't it? Are you confusing Southport with Southend? almost certainly but IIRC Southport Pier has some sort of miniature railway too |
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Post by carlton43 on Jul 9, 2023 9:40:46 GMT
Are you confusing Southport with Southend? almost certainly but IIRC Southport Pier has some sort of miniature railway too Southend is the longest in the world and Southport is the second longest in Britain. |
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Post by finsobruce on Jul 9, 2023 9:45:29 GMT
almost certainly but IIRC Southport Pier has some sort of miniature railway too Southend is the longest in the world and Southport is the second longest in Britain. Longest pleasure pier. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2023 9:46:38 GMT
I think it's worth mentioning the significant localist party here - the Southport Party got a decent showing in 2015 and there's a non-negligible level of support for 'Southport out of Sefton' - I think the Lib Dems or Tories could make political hay out of proposing hiving off Southport as a separate local authority. It really is a bit different from Crosby, Formby, Maghull, Waterloo, Bootle, Litherland, etc and dunes separate Formby and Southport. The big area of the coast managed by the National Trust is a barrier, geographically if not as much politically these days. Labour takes this at some point, but Sefton Central and Wirral South it aint. I do wonder though without Ronnie Fearn (Mr Southport from what I hear) would Labour have nabbed this one in 1997 and lost it in say, 2005? I don't deny there's a 'Merseyside' effect of sorts here, but the affinity for Liverpool is far less than in somewhere like Wirral South or even parts of Chester, or a place like Frodsham in Weaver Vale. Southport Pier is the longest pier in Britain, isn't it? I know this might fit into the "why can't Britain do anything" category but: *Southport is too small to stand alone and you can guarantee West Lancashire wouldn't accept getting it attached to them so they're pretty much stuck. *It likely is though for months now it's closed because of damage and nobody has enough money to fix it. So Torbay can be a local authority but not Southport, how does that make sense? |
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Post by doktorb🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ on Jul 9, 2023 9:49:49 GMT
I know this might fit into the "why can't Britain do anything" category but: *Southport is too small to stand alone and you can guarantee West Lancashire wouldn't accept getting it attached to them so they're pretty much stuck. *It likely is though for months now it's closed because of damage and nobody has enough money to fix it. So Torbay can be a local authority but not Southport, how does that make sense? Size? Population? (Most likely) Council Tax Returns! |
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Jul 9, 2023 10:18:08 GMT
Southport *could* very feasibly be a district within Lancashire, but most of those advocating a breakaway from Sefton say it is a unitary or nothing.
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Southport
Jul 9, 2023 11:16:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2023 11:16:16 GMT
I love how Southport Out of Sefton is SOS for short.
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Post by doktorb🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ on Jul 11, 2023 9:16:41 GMT
Boundary changes here add Tarleton, Hesketh Bank, and Banks to this seat.
These are the "marsh towns", flat, rural, so many of Lancashire's green vegetables probably grown here. Due to geography and the River Douglas these are insular village communities. Ripe for home building, Tarleton and Hesketh Bank are slowly morphing into one quasi-town, just without any of the necessary infrastructure to go alongside the population growth.
The Tories will be helped by the addition of these wards, as locally they are usually strongest at both local and county level..
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Post by Robert Waller on Jul 28, 2023 16:15:22 GMT
2021 Census New Boundaries (ranks England and Wales) Age 65+ 25.3% 75/575 Owner occupied 69.7% 190/575 Private rented 23.3% 140/575 Social rented 7.0% 570/575 White 95.3% 167/575 Black 0.6% 435/575 Asian 1.8% 417/575 Managerial & professional 32.7% 288/575 Routine & Semi-routine 24.6% 256/575 Degree level 31.2% 305/575 No qualifications 18.2 % 254/575 Students 5.1% 373/575 General Election 2019: SouthportParty Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Damien Moore 22,914 47.6 +8.9Labour Liz Savage 18,767 39.0 +6.4 Liberal Democrats John Wright 6,499 13.5 −12.9 C Majority 4,147 8.6 +2.5Turnout 48,180 68.0 -1.1 Conservative hold Swing 1.3 Lab to C Boundary ChangesSouthport consists of 85.6% of Southport 17.6% of South Ribble Mapboundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/review2023/9bc0b2ea-7915-4997-9d4a-3e313c0ceb51/north-west/North%20West_266_Southport_Landscape.pdf2019 Notional result (Rallings/Thrasher) | Con | 25092 | 50.4% | | Lab | 18321 | 36.8% | | LD | 6217 | 12.5% | | Grn | 178 | 0.4% |
| | | | | | | | Majority | 6771 | 13.6% |
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