Merseyside West (European Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation
in 1999, the United Kingdom
used first-past-the-post
for the European elections
in England
, Scotland
and Wales
. The European Parliament constituencies
used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament
each.
From 1984 to 1999, the constituency of Merseyside West was one of them, following on from the previous "Liverpool" constituency which existed on different boundaries from 1979 to 1984.
When it was created in England in 1984, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Bootle
, Crosby
, Liverpool Broadgreen
, Liverpool Mossley Hill
, Liverpool Riverside
, Liverpool Walton
, Liverpool West Derby, Southport
, and remained broadly the same, despite the internal re-arrangement of some of these constituencies (Wavertree replacing Broadgreen and Mossley Hill, and a boundary shift for some of the others).
Ken Stewart, a left-wing and anti-Europe Labour Councillor, won the seat for Labour in 1984 from the incumbent (Liverpool constituency) Gloria Hooper, later Baroness Hooper. He retained it in 1989 and 1994 with increased majorities. His death in 1996 triggered the Merseyside West by-election, one of a number of crucial by-elections resulting in comfortable Labour victories in the closing months of John Major's Conservative government. Labour's candidate was Richard Corbett
, pro-Europe and later the Deputy Leader of the Labour MEPs, who held the seat until it was abolished with the introduction of the regional constituency proportional representation system in 1999. Corbett won selection as the Labour candidate against David Watts, later MP for St Helens, Margaret Wall (later Baroness Wall of New Barnet), and a number of local councillors from Liverpool and Bootle.
Under the regional constituency system, Merseyside West became part of the North West England
.
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in 1999, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
used first-past-the-post
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
for the European elections
Elections in the European Union
Elections to the Parliament of the European Union take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 736 MEPs are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other body is directly elected although the Council of the European Union and European Council is...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The European Parliament constituencies
European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union , divided into constituencies....
used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
each.
From 1984 to 1999, the constituency of Merseyside West was one of them, following on from the previous "Liverpool" constituency which existed on different boundaries from 1979 to 1984.
When it was created in England in 1984, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Bootle
Bootle (UK Parliament constituency)
Bootle is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. Since 1990 the MP has been Joe Benton of the Labour Party...
, Crosby
Crosby (UK Parliament constituency)
Crosby was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
, Liverpool Broadgreen
Liverpool Broadgreen (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Broadgreen was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Broadgreen suburb of Liverpool. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Liverpool Mossley Hill
Liverpool Mossley Hill (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Mossley Hill was a parliamentary constituency centered on the Mossley Hill suburb of Liverpool. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.-History:The constituency was created...
, Liverpool Riverside
Liverpool Riverside (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Riverside is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, Liverpool Walton
Liverpool Walton (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool, Walton is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, Liverpool West Derby, Southport
Southport (UK Parliament constituency)
Southport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, and remained broadly the same, despite the internal re-arrangement of some of these constituencies (Wavertree replacing Broadgreen and Mossley Hill, and a boundary shift for some of the others).
Ken Stewart, a left-wing and anti-Europe Labour Councillor, won the seat for Labour in 1984 from the incumbent (Liverpool constituency) Gloria Hooper, later Baroness Hooper. He retained it in 1989 and 1994 with increased majorities. His death in 1996 triggered the Merseyside West by-election, one of a number of crucial by-elections resulting in comfortable Labour victories in the closing months of John Major's Conservative government. Labour's candidate was Richard Corbett
Richard Corbett
Richard Corbett was a Member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber, serving between 1996 and 2009...
, pro-Europe and later the Deputy Leader of the Labour MEPs, who held the seat until it was abolished with the introduction of the regional constituency proportional representation system in 1999. Corbett won selection as the Labour candidate against David Watts, later MP for St Helens, Margaret Wall (later Baroness Wall of New Barnet), and a number of local councillors from Liverpool and Bootle.
Under the regional constituency system, Merseyside West became part of the North West England
North West England (European Parliament constituency)
North West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For the 2009 elections it elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.-Boundaries:...
.