Morecambe and Lunesdale (UK Parliament constituency)

From 1979 to 2019 the constituency was a bellwether constituency. At that time it included the north bank of the City of Lancaster, which is largely Skerton. as well as the seaside town of Morecambe and many villages. This seat brought together northern semi-rural reaches of Lancashire bisected by the M6, including seaside Silverdale and Carnforth near the Cumbria border, the seaside resort of Morecambe and the nuclear power station/ferry port village of Heysham which provides a direct east–west service to Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland. Separating Morecambe from Lancaster is a narrow belt of parkland, houses and the White Lund industrial estate.^[2]

The changes for the 2024 general election removed Skerton and added areas from Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria to the north of the constituency.^[3]

Map of boundaries before 2023 changes

Before 1950, Morecambe was in the Lancaster constituency. This seat was formerly Morecambe and Lonsdale and gained a new name and redrawn boundaries in 1983. For the general election of that year, sections of the constituency were removed to be united with the former county of Westmorland in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. For the 1983 election the electoral wards used in the creation of the new seat were:

• Alexandra, Arkholme, Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth, Halton-with-Aughton, Harbour, Heysham Central, Heysham North, Kellet, Overton, Parks, Poulton, Silverdale, Slyne-with-Hest, Torrisholme, Victoria and Walton^[4]

In boundary changes in the 2000s, only minor adjustments were made. Parliament approved the recommendations in the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies in respect of this area, enacting only minor boundary alterations. The constituency had City of Lancaster electoral wards:

• Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth, Halton-with-Aughton, Harbour, Heysham Central, Heysham North, Heysham South, Kellet, Overton, Poulton, Silverdale, Skerton East, Skerton West, Slyne-with-Hest, Torrisholme, Upper Lune Valley, Warton and Westgate.

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 general election, the constituency comprises following wards (as they existed on 1 December 2020):^[5][6]

City of Lancaster wards:

Wards of the former South Lakeland district, now in Westmorland and Furness:

The three South Lakeland wards were transferred from Westmorland and Lonsdale, partly offset by the community of Skerton going to the re-established seat of Lancaster and Wyre.

With effect from 1 April 2023, the District of South Lakeland was abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness.^[7] Also a local government boundary review was carried out in the City of Lancaster which came into effect in May 2023.^[8][9] Accordingly, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

• The City of Lancaster wards of: Bare; Bolton & Slyne; Carnforth & Millhead; Halton-with-Aughton & Kellet; Heysham Central; Heysham North; Heysham South; Lower Lune Valley; Overton; Poulton; Silverdale; Torrisholme; Upper Lune Valley; Warton; West End; Westgate; and a small part of Skerton.
• The Westmorland and Furness wards of: Burton and Holme; Kendal South (part); Kent Estuary; Levens and Crooklands (part); Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale (majority).^[10]

The revised constituency is made up of parts of: the previous Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency (35.1% by area and 76.3% by population of the new seat); Westmorland and Lonsdale, which still exists with revised boundaries (46.5% by area and 18.9% by population); and the former Lancaster and Fleetwood (18.4% by area and 4.8% by population).^[11] The notional 2019 result for the area was Conservative.^[12]

Once a safe Conservative seat, Morecambe followed its neighbour and fellow seaside town, Blackpool, by voting Labour in the 1997 general election. The results in the general elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005 had remarkably similar majorities with virtually no swing to the Conservatives. The Conservatives gained the seat at the 2010 general election with an above average swing. In the 2024 general election the seat was won by Labour.^[13]

Changes are from the notional results of the 2019 election on new 2024 boundaries ^[17].

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

• Morecambe and Lunesdale UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Morecambe and Lunesdale UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

54°05′20″N 2°49′26″W / 54.089°N 2.824°W / 54.089; -2.824