Morecambe & Lunesdale
2015 Result:
Conservative: 19691 (45.5%)
Labour: 15101 (34.9%)
Lib Dem: 1612 (3.7%)
Green: 1395 (3.2%)
UKIP: 5358 (12.4%)
Independent: 85 (0.2%)
MAJORITY: 4590 (10.6%)
Category: Semi-marginal Conservative seat
Geography: North West, Lancashire. Part of the Lancaster council area.
Main population centres: Morecambe, Carnforth, Heynsham.
Profile: A seat at the very northern edge of Lancashire. The urban south-western part of the constituency along the coast includes the industrial ferry port of Heysham, along with its nuclear power station, and the holiday resort of Morecambe. In past decades Morecambe has been in steep decline, both its piers are gone, the Frontierland themepark closed in 1999 and a Crinkly Bottom theme park closed after only a few months in 1994. North of Morecambe the constituency includes much of Morecambe bay (including Warton Bank, the site of the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster where 21 chinese cockle pickers were cut off and drowned by advancing tides), Carnforth and the villages of Bolton-le-Sands and Silverdale. To the east the constituency stretches up the Lune valley into the pennines, taking in the small rural villages of northern Lancashire.
Politics: Once a reliable Conservative seat, like many others this fell to Labour in their 1997 landslide and was only narrowly regained by the Tories in 2010.
| Con: | 18035 (42%) |
| Lab: | 17169 (40%) |
| LDem: | 5791 (13%) |
| UKIP: | 1843 (4%) |
| Oth: | 598 (1%) |
| MAJ: | 866 (2%) |
| Con: | 15563 (37%) |
| Lab: | 20331 (49%) |
| LDem: | 5741 (14%) |
| MAJ: | 4768 (11%) |
| Con: | 15554 (37%) |
| Lab: | 20646 (50%) |
| LDem: | 3817 (9%) |
| UKIP: | 935 (2%) |
| Oth: | 703 (2%) |
| MAJ: | 5092 (12%) |
| Con: | 18096 (37%) |
| Lab: | 24061 (49%) |
| LDem: | 5614 (11%) |
| Oth: | 165 (0%) |
| MAJ: | 5965 (12%) |
*There were boundary changes after 2005
Now then Hemmelig old chap, I believe calling someone a “complete arse” in your books amounts to “partisan horsesh*t”. Let’s have none of it here and restrict it to LabourList or Conservative Home shall we?
God help us if you become the dominant commenter on here over Marder.
Where is Barnaby?
Maybe taking an August holiday. Just a guess.
I hope it’s nothing more serious, which I have some reason to suspect it might be. Will msg him on Facebook when I’m back in the UK.
To respond to Frederic’s point upthread Morecambe and Heysham constitute about five sevenths of this seat’s electorate with the balance being rural and/or small town. Although the Tories do pile up the votes in the more rural areas they may well have been neck and neck with Labour in Heysham and will only have been massively behind Labour in Skerton, which is in fact part of Lancaster.
Morecambe was in Lancaster before 1950
‘The rural district of Garstang, the part of the rural district of Lancaster which is not included in the Lonsdale Division, the municipal boroughs of Lancaster and Morecambe, and the urban districts of Heysham and Preesall.’
David Morris has said he’ll stand for Leader (if his preferred candidate does not).
Don’t know much about this MP either – other than he was a hairdresser and was in a band with Rick Astley.
Another Tory County Cllr has resigned from the Group – Tony Jones (Morecambe North).
He cited the failure of Geoff Driver to step down as leader whilst he’s awating trial for fraud and witness intimidation and his (unlawful) attempt to exclude the Chief Exec from meetings:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-40648085
Outside the North West these prosecutions probably aren’t known but they still have wider potential to damage reputations given the characters implicated in Liverpool, Lancs etc from Chief Execs, City Treasurers and Leaders past and present and the politicians (Mayors, MPs & Peers) who have publically backed them in the past.
It’ll be interesting to see who knows where the ‘bodies are buried.’
Strong Labour hold in Skerton tonight :
Hilda Jean PARR (Labour Party) 512 61.5% (+24.5)
Andy KAY (The Conservative Party Candidate) 288 34.6% (+8.7)
Derek John KAYE (Liberal Democrats) 33 4.0% (didn’t previously stand)
Blimey just seen. were people actually worried about me in 2015? Pretty sure I was just on holiday but perhaps I was rather busy campaigning for Corbyn as Labour leader
Morecambe North Ward By-election, 15.02.18:
Conservative 1,332
Liberal Democrat 809
Labour 580
Cons Hold.