Warrington South (UK Parliament constituency)
Warrington South is a
constituency represented in the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one
Member of Parliament (MP) by the
first past the post system of election.
The constituency has the
Press Association (PA) number 612.
The constituency is one of two covering the
unitary authority of
Warrington,
Cheshire, the other being
Warrington North. It covers the parts of the town lying south of the
River Mersey, including
Appleton,
Grappenhall and
Stockton Heath, as well as the town centre and the
Penketh and
Sankey areas in the west of the town. It also includes the village of
Lymm.
The constituency was created in
1983. Prior to then, the
Warrington constituency covered the central part of the town and surrounding area, while the southern fringes were in the
Runcorn constituency and the surrounding area to the north was covered by the
Newton constituency. The current boundaries were introduced at the
1997 general election, when the number of constituencies in Cheshire were increased and the new
Weaver Vale seat was created.
Politically, Warrington South is considered the more interesting of the two Warrington seats. While Warrington North is a
safe seat for the
Labour Party, Warrington South is regarded as a
Bellwether constituency, reflecting the fate of the major parties at the national level. As such it was held by the
Conservatives from 1983 until
1992 (until
1987 by the former Runcorn MP
Mark Carlisle, then by
Chris Butler), when it was taken by Labour's
Mike Hall. Hall moved to the new Weaver Vale seat in 1997, and
Helen Southworth (also of the Labour Party) has represented the seat since then.
Most of the borough council seats in the constituency are held by the
Liberal Democrats, who nevertheless have come third in recent general elections, behind the
Conservatives.
Based on the 1992 notional results the Conservative party gained Warrington South.
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List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire
