Runcorn and Helsby (UK Parliament constituency)
| Runcorn and Helsby | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Runcorn and Helsby in North West England | |
| County | Cheshire |
| Electorate | 70,950 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Runcorn, Frodsham and Helsby |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Sarah Pochin (Reform UK) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Weaver Vale, Halton, City of Chester and Ellesmere Port and Neston |
Runcorn and Helsby is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election.[2]
The incumbent MP is Sarah Pochin, who defeated Labour Party candidate Karen Shore by six votes at a by-election on 1 May 2025, overturning a 34.8% majority. She is the first non-Labour MP elected in Runcorn in over fifty years.[3]
Boundaries
[edit]
Map of boundaries from 2024
The constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The Borough of Cheshire West and Chester wards of: Frodsham; Gowy Rural; Helsby; Sandstone.
- The Borough of Halton wards of: Beechwood & Heath; Bridgewater; Daresbury, Moore & Sandymoor; Grange; Halton Castle; Halton Lea; Mersey & Weston; Norton North; Norton South & Preston Brook.[4]
The seat comprises the following areas:[5]
- Helsby, Frodsham and the parts of the Borough of Halton transferred from the former constituency of Weaver Vale, comprising about half the electorate
- The town of Runcorn, transferred from the former constituency of Halton
- The Gowy Rural ward, including the village of Elton, transferred from the former constituency of Ellesmere Port and Neston,[6] and Guilden Sutton, transferred from the former constituency of City of Chester.
Members of Parliament
[edit]| Election | Member[7] | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mike Amesbury | Labour | ||
| Oct 2024 | Independent | Whip suspended in October 2024 after videos emerged showing Amesbury punching man to the ground[8] | ||
| 2025 | Sarah Pochin | Reform UK | Majority of 6[9] | |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 2020s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform UK | Sarah Pochin | 12,645 | 38.72 | +20.58 | |
| Labour | Karen Shore | 12,639 | 38.70 | −14.23 | |
| Conservative | Sean Houlston | 2,341 | 7.17 | −8.83 | |
| Green | Chris Copeman | 2,314 | 7.09 | +0.66 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Duffy | 942 | 2.88 | −2.2 | |
| Liberal | Dan Clarke | 454 | 1.39 | +0.26 | |
| Independent | Michael Williams | 363 | 1.11 | N/A | |
| Independent | Alan McKie | 269 | 0.82 | N/A | |
| Workers Party | Peter Ford | 164 | 0.50 | N/A | |
| Rejoin EU | John Stevens | 129 | 0.40 | N/A | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 128 | 0.39 | N/A | |
| English Democrat | Catherine Blaiklock | 95 | 0.29 | N/A | |
| SDP | Paul Andrew Murphy | 68 | 0.21 | −0.07 | |
| Volt | Jason Philip Hughes | 54 | 0.17 | N/A | |
| English Constitution Party | Graham Harry Moore | 50 | 0.15 | N/A | |
| Rejected ballots | 85 | ||||
| Majority | 6 | 0.02 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 32,655 | 46.2 | −12.5 | ||
| Reform UK gain from Labour | Swing | +17.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Mike Amesbury | 22,358 | 52.9 | +4.1 | |
| Reform UK | Jason Moorcroft | 7,662 | 18.1 | +13.3 | |
| Conservative | Jade Marsden | 6,756 | 16.0 | −20.8 | |
| Green | Chris Copeman | 2,715 | 6.4 | +3.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Rowe | 2,149 | 5.1 | −1.6 | |
| Liberal | Danny Clarke | 479 | 1.1 | New | |
| SDP | Paul Murphy | 116 | 0.3 | New | |
| Rejected ballots | 171 | ||||
| Majority | 14,696 | 34.8 | +22.9 | ||
| Turnout | 42,235 | 59.7 | −9.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 70,801 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −4.6 | |||
Changes are from the notional results of the 2019 election on the new boundaries.[12]
Elections in the 2010s
[edit]| 2019 notional result[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Labour | 23,617 | 48.8 | |
| Conservative | 17,838 | 36.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3,247 | 6.7 | |
| Brexit Party | 2,302 | 4.8 | |
| Green | 1,414 | 2.9 | |
| Turnout | 48,418 | 68.2 | |
| Electorate | 70,950 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ Halliday, Josh; Quinn, Ben (2 May 2025). "'They really are all horrible': political anger marks Reform UK's Runcorn win". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
- ^ "New Seat Details - Runcorn and Helsby". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Updated boundary changes published for Halton". InYourArea.co.uk. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
- ^ Whannel, Kate; Farley, Harry (27 October 2024). "Labour suspends MP Mike Amesbury after video appears to show him punching man". BBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ Halliday, Josh (2 May 2025). "Reform wins Runcorn and Helsby byelection in blow to Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ "Runcorn and Helsby Results - General Election 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Election Results for Runcorn and Helsby". Halton Borough Council. 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Notional election for the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby". UK Parliament.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
External links
[edit]- Runcorn and Helsby UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK