Bootle is a constituency[n 1] which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, since 2015 by Peter Dowd of the Labour Party.[n 2]
Bootle | |
---|---|
Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundary of Bootle in North West England | |
County | Merseyside |
Population | 98,449 (2011 census)[1] |
Electorate | 75,194 (2023)[2] |
Major settlements | Bootle, Crosby, Waterloo, Seaforth, Litherland, Netherton, Orrell and Ford. |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1885 |
Member of Parliament | Peter Dowd (Labour) |
Seats | One |
Created from | South West Lancashire |
From 1885 to 1935, the constituency returned Conservative MPs, with its most notable MP being Conservative Party leader Bonar Law from 1911 to 1918, when property qualifications for the vote were abolished. Bonar Law would later serve as UK prime minister from 1922 to 1923, though at that point he no longer represented Bootle in the House of Commons. James Burnie of the Liberal Party held the seat from 1922 to 1924, and the seat was briefly held by John Kinley from the Labour Party from 1929 to 1931 and became a Conservative–Labour marginal seat in the 1930s when the mainstream Labour party formed the National Government. The Labour Party has held it continuously since the 1945 general election; this period saw two decades of steep decline in the profitability of Liverpool Docks, manufacturing and shipbuilding, which employed many constituents. At the three general elections from 1997, Bootle was the safest seat for any party in the United Kingdom by percentage of majority.
In 1990, two by-elections were held in Bootle. The first followed the death of Allan Roberts on 21 February, and was held on 24 May. Jack Holmes, the candidate of the continuing Social Democratic Party (representing the faction of the party which did not merge with the Liberal Democrats) was beaten by Screaming Lord Sutch of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, contributing to the end of the SDP. The victorious Labour candidate, Michael Carr unexpectedly died on 20 July 1990 after just 57 days in office.
The second by-election, held on 8 November 1990, was won by the Labour candidate, Joe Benton. Benton retained Bootle at the next four general elections with large majorities. At the 2005 general election, the seat was the safest seat by percentage of majority and had the highest winning share of the vote.[3] In June 2014, Benton announced that he would retire at the 2015 general election.
The 2015 result made the seat the fifth-safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority (with a winning vote share of 74.5% and a majority of 63.6%).[4][5] Bootle remained a safe seat into the 2020s, becoming the safest seat for Labour by this metric in 2024 (despite a decrease of the vote share by 10.7%) with a winning vote share of 68.7%; this gave Labour a 56.5% majority over Reform UK.
Though the seat has some small neighbourhoods with middle-to-high incomes, residents generally have some of the lowest UK incomes and there is a higher-than-average proportion of social housing.[6] The Bootle constituency has long been one of the safest seats in the United Kingdom and since 1945, has given a majority of votes cast to the Labour Party at each general election. Since 1964, the size of the majority (by vote share) has been in double digits; since 1992, it has been over 50%, peaking at 74.4% in the 1997 Blair landslide election. However, the Labour vote share was at its highest in 2017, when Peter Dowd received 84% of votes cast. Both the size of the majority and the share of the vote represent an unbeaten record for this constituency.
1885–1918: The Boroughs of Bootle-cum-Linacre and Liverpool, the parishes of Childwall, Fazakerley, Walton-on-the-Hill, and Wavertree, and parts of the parishes of Toxteth Park and West Derby.
1918–1950: The County Borough of Bootle.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Bootle, and the Urban District of Litherland.
1955–1974: The County Borough of Bootle.[7]
1974–1983: The County Borough of Bootle, and the Urban District of Litherland.[8]
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton wards of Church, Derby, Ford, Linacre, Litherland, Netherton, Orrell, and St Oswald.
1997–2010: As above less Church ward.
2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton wards of Church, Derby, Ford, Linacre, Litherland, Netherton and Orrell, St Oswald, and Victoria.
Boundary changes that came into force as a result of the 2010 general election being called saw the constituency grow to also include parts of the old Crosby constituency, with the electoral wards of Church and Victoria being added. Although these areas are more affluent than some parts of Bootle, it has not made the seat any less safe for Labour.
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.[9]
The constituency covers the southern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside. This comprises Bootle itself plus other localities including Crosby, Waterloo, Seaforth, Litherland, Netherton, Orrell and Ford.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Peter Dowd | 26,729 | 68.7 | −10.7 | |
Reform UK | Darren Burns | 4,746 | 12.2 | +6.9 | |
Green | Neil Doolin | 3,904 | 10.0 | +7.6 | |
Conservative | Rowena Bass | 1,674 | 4.3 | −4.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Gibson | 1,301 | 3.3 | −0.4 | |
Workers Party | Ian Smith | 526 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 21,983 | 56.5 | −13.7 | ||
Turnout | 38,880 | 53.2 | −12.2 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Peter Dowd | 39,066 | 79.4 | −4.6 | |
Conservative | Tarsilo Onuluk | 4,510 | 9.2 | −2.8 | |
Brexit Party | Kim Knight | 2,610 | 5.3 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Hanson | 1,822 | 3.7 | +2.0 | |
Green | Mike Carter | 1,166 | 2.4 | +1.0 | |
Majority | 34,556 | 70.2 | −1.8 | ||
Turnout | 49,174 | 65.7 | −3.5 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −0.85 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Peter Dowd | 42,259 | 84.0 | +9.5 | |
Conservative | Charles Fifield | 6,059 | 12.0 | +3.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Newman | 837 | 1.7 | −0.5 | |
Green | Alison Gibbon | 709 | 1.4 | −1.9 | |
Socialist Labour | Kim Bryan | 424 | 0.8 | New | |
Majority | 36,200 | 72.0 | +8.4 | ||
Turnout | 50,288 | 69.2 | +4.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +2.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Peter Dowd | 33,619 | 74.5 | +8.0 | |
UKIP | Paul Nuttall | 4,915 | 10.9 | +4.8 | |
Conservative | Jade Marsden | 3,639 | 8.1 | −0.8 | |
Green | Lisa Tallis | 1,501 | 3.3 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | David Newman | 978 | 2.2 | −12.9 | |
TUSC | Peter Glover | 500 | 1.1 | 0.0 | |
Majority | 28,704 | 63.6 | +12.2 | ||
Turnout | 45,152 | 64.4 | +6.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Joe Benton | 27,426 | 66.5 | −9.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | James Murray | 6,245 | 15.1 | +3.5 | |
Conservative | Sohail Qureshi | 3,678 | 8.9 | +2.8 | |
UKIP | Paul Nuttall | 2,514 | 6.1 | +2.8 | |
BNP | Charles Stewart | 942 | 2.3 | New | |
TUSC | Peter Glover | 472 | 1.1 | New | |
Majority | 21,181 | 51.4 | −12.4 | ||
Turnout | 41,227 | 57.8 | +7.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −1.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Joe Benton | 19,345 | 75.5 | −2.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Chris Newby | 2,988 | 11.7 | +3.2 | |
Conservative | Wafik Moustafa | 1,580 | 6.2 | −1.8 | |
UKIP | Paul Nuttall | 1,054 | 4.1 | New | |
Socialist Alternative | Peter Glover | 655 | 2.6 | +0.2 | |
Majority | 16,357 | 63.8 | −5.3 | ||
Turnout | 25,622 | 47.7 | −2.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −2.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Joe Benton | 21,400 | 77.6 | −5.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Jim Murray | 2,357 | 8.5 | +2.8 | |
Conservative | Judith Symes | 2,194 | 8.0 | −0.5 | |
Socialist Labour | Dave Flynn | 971 | 3.5 | +2.4 | |
Socialist Alliance | Peter Glover | 672 | 2.4 | New | |
Majority | 19,043 | 69.1 | −5.3 | ||
Turnout | 27,594 | 49.8 | −16.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −5.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Joe Benton | 31,668 | 82.9 | +8.3 | |
Conservative | Rupert Matthews | 3,247 | 8.5 | −7.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Kiron Reid | 2,191 | 5.7 | −0.9 | |
Referendum | James Elliot | 571 | 1.5 | New | |
Socialist Labour | Peter Glover | 420 | 1.1 | New | |
Natural Law | Simon Cohen | 126 | 0.3 | −0.2 | |
Majority | 28,421 | 74.4 | +15.8 | ||
Turnout | 38,223 | 66.7 | −5.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +6.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Joe Benton | 37,464 | 74.6 | +7.7 | |
Conservative | Christopher J. Varley | 8,022 | 16.0 | −4.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Cunningham | 3,301 | 6.6 | −6.4 | |
Liberal | Medina Hall | 1,174 | 2.3 | New | |
Natural Law | Thomas Haynes | 264 | 0.5 | New | |
Majority | 29,442 | 58.6 | +11.8 | ||
Turnout | 50,225 | 72.5 | −0.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +5.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Joe Benton | 22,052 | 78.2 | +2.8 | |
Conservative | James Clappison | 2,587 | 9.2 | +0.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Cunningham | 2,216 | 7.9 | −1.0 | |
Green | Sean Brady | 557 | 2.0 | −1.6 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 310 | 1.1 | −0.1 | |
Liberal | Kevin White | 291 | 1.0 | −0.3 | |
Christian Alliance | David Black | 132 | 0.5 | New | |
Majority | 19,465 | 69.0 | +2.7 | ||
Turnout | 28,145 | 39.7 | −10.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Michael Carr | 26,737 | 75.4 | +8.5 | |
Conservative | James Clappison | 3,220 | 9.1 | −11.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Cunningham | 3,179 | 8.9 | −4.1 | |
Green | Sean Brady | 1,269 | 3.6 | New | |
Liberal | Kevin White | 474 | 1.3 | New | |
Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 418 | 1.2 | New | |
SDP | Jack Holmes | 155 | 0.4 | New | |
Independent | T. J. Schofield | 27 | 0.1 | New | |
Majority | 23,517 | 66.3 | +19.5 | ||
Turnout | 35,477 | 50.6 | −22.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +9.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Allan Roberts | 34,975 | 66.9 | +13.9 | |
Conservative | Peter Papworth | 10,498 | 20.1 | −3.5 | |
SDP | Paul Denham | 6,820 | 13.0 | −10.4 | |
Majority | 24,477 | 46.8 | +17.4 | ||
Turnout | 52,293 | 72.9 | +4.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +8.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Allan Roberts | 27,282 | 53.0 | −8.0 | |
Conservative | Ronald Watson | 12,143 | 23.6 | −3.0 | |
SDP | John Wall | 12,068 | 23.4 | +13.1 | |
Majority | 15,139 | 29.4 | −5.0 | ||
Turnout | 51,493 | 68.3 | −2.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Allan Roberts | 26,900 | 61.0 | −3.0 | |
Conservative | Ronald Watson | 11,741 | 26.6 | +1.7 | |
Liberal | D.L. Mahon | 4,531 | 10.3 | +0.4 | |
Independent Liberal | H.I. Fjortoft | 911 | 2.1 | New | |
Majority | 15,159 | 34.4 | −4.7 | ||
Turnout | 44,083 | 70.4 | +3.2 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 27,633 | 64.0 | +5.4 | |
Conservative | J F Borrows | 10,743 | 24.9 | −1.7 | |
Liberal | H.I. Fjortoft | 4,266 | 9.9 | −3.6 | |
Communist | R. Morris | 512 | 1.2 | −0.1 | |
Majority | 16,890 | 39.1 | +7.1 | ||
Turnout | 43,158 | 67.2 | −6.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +3.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 27,301 | 58.6 | −5.0 | |
Conservative | J.F. Borrows | 12,366 | 26.6 | −9.8 | |
Liberal | H.I. Fjortoft | 6,258 | 13.5 | New | |
Communist | R. Morris | 586 | 1.3 | New | |
Majority | 14,935 | 32.0 | +4.8 | ||
Turnout | 46,511 | 73.3 | +8.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 20,101 | 63.6 | +3.2 | |
Conservative | G. Halliwell | 11,496 | 36.4 | +2.8 | |
Majority | 8,614 | 27.2 | +0.4 | ||
Turnout | 31,633 | 65.2 | −3.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +0.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 19,412 | 60.4 | −1.6 | |
Conservative | George Halliwell | 10,813 | 33.6 | −4.4 | |
Independent Labour | William Grant | 1,931 | 6.0 | New | |
Majority | 8,599 | 26.8 | +2.8 | ||
Turnout | 32,156 | 68.2 | −2.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 21,677 | 62.0 | +8.3 | |
Conservative | George Halliwell | 13,285 | 38.0 | −8.3 | |
Majority | 8,392 | 24.0 | +16.6 | ||
Turnout | 34,962 | 70.9 | −7.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +8.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 21,294 | 53.7 | +1.7 | |
Conservative | Harry O Cullen | 18,379 | 46.3 | −1.7 | |
Majority | 2,915 | 7.4 | +3.4 | ||
Turnout | 39,673 | 78.3 | +2.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Mahon | 19,020 | 52.0 | −0.7 | |
Conservative | Herbert W Jones | 17,582 | 48.0 | +3.3 | |
Majority | 1,438 | 4.0 | −4.0 | ||
Turnout | 36,602 | 75.7 | −5.5 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −2.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Kinley | 26,597 | 52.7 | −0.1 | |
Conservative | A Owen Hughes | 22,535 | 44.7 | −0.2 | |
Anti-Partition | Harry McHugh | 1,340 | 2.7 | +0.4 | |
Majority | 4,062 | 8.0 | +0.1 | ||
Turnout | 50,472 | 81.2 | −0.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +0.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Kinley | 25,472 | 52.8 | −5.8 | |
Conservative | W. Hill | 21,673 | 44.9 | +3.5 | |
Anti-Partition | Bernard McGinnity | 1,029 | 2.3 | New | |
Majority | 3,799 | 7.9 | −9.3 | ||
Turnout | 48,174 | 82.1 | +12.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −4.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Kinley | 15,823 | 58.6 | +19.8 | |
Conservative | Eric Errington | 11,180 | 41.4 | −7.2 | |
Majority | 4,643 | 17.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 27,003 | 69.7 | −1.6 | ||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Eric Errington | 16,653 | 48.6 | −13.3 | |
Labour | John Kinley | 13,285 | 38.8 | +0.7 | |
Liberal | James Burnie | 4,319 | 12.6 | New | |
Majority | 3,368 | 9.8 | −14.0 | ||
Turnout | 34,257 | 71.3 | −7.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Chichester Crookshank | 22,966 | 61.9 | +21.2 | |
Labour | John Kinley | 14,160 | 38.1 | −5.5 | |
Majority | 8,806 | 23.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 37,126 | 78.9 | +1.0 | ||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Kinley | 15,294 | 43.6 | +8.9 | |
Unionist | Vivian Henderson | 14,263 | 40.7 | −4.8 | |
Liberal | Ernest Eric Edwards | 5,523 | 15.7 | −4.1 | |
Majority | 1,031 | 2.9 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 35,080 | 77.9 | +0.9 | ||
Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +6.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Vivian Henderson | 12,361 | 45.5 | +3.4 | |
Labour | John Kinley | 9,427 | 34.7 | +20.9 | |
Liberal | James Burnie | 5,386 | 19.8 | −24.3 | |
Majority | 2,934 | 10.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 27,174 | 77.0 | +8.9 | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | James Burnie | 10,444 | 44.1 | −12.2 | |
Unionist | Vivian Henderson | 9,991 | 42.1 | +0.2 | |
Labour | John Kinley | 3,272 | 13.8 | New | |
Majority | 453 | 2.0 | −12.4 | ||
Turnout | 23,707 | 68.1 | −3.0 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -6.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | James Burnie | 13,276 | 56.3 | New | |
Unionist | Alexander Bicket | 9,867 | 41.9 | −21.1 | |
Independent | J E Burke | 425 | 1.8 | New | |
Majority | 3,409 | 14.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 23,568 | 71.1 | +12.6 | ||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Thomas Royden | 12,312 | 63.0 | N/A |
Sailors' Union | Edmund Cathery | 7,235 | 37.0 | New | |
Majority | 5,077 | 26.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 19,547 | 58.5 | N/A | ||
Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Bonar Law | 9,976 | 56.2 | N/A | |
Liberal | Max Muspratt | 7,782 | 43.8 | New | |
Majority | 2,194 | 12.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 17,758 | 69.7 | N/A | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | 9,954 | 52.9 | +1.8 | |
Liberal | William Permewan | 8,869 | 47.1 | −1.8 | |
Majority | 1,085 | 5.8 | +3.6 | ||
Turnout | 18,823 | 78.7 | +4.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | 7,821 | 51.1 | N/A | |
Liberal | Alfred Patten Thomas | 7,481 | 48.9 | New | |
Majority | 340 | 2.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 15,302 | 73.8 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 20,721 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | 6,532 | 59.4 | N/A | |
Liberal | Alexander McDougall | 4,460 | 40.6 | New | |
Majority | 2,072 | 18.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 10,992 | 69.7 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 15,772 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Sandys | 6,715 | 63.1 | ||
Liberal | Samuel Whitbread | 3,933 | 36.9 | ||
Majority | 2,782 | 26.2 | |||
Turnout | 10,648 | 72.6 | |||
Registered electors | 14,663 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
53°26′46″N 2°59′20″W / 53.446°N 2.989°W