Election 97

Wirral South


Result 97 gain
from Conservative
Current MP 97 Ben Chapman
Majority 0 ( 0.0%)
Conservative 97 17,495 (36.4%)
Labour 97 24,499 (50.9%)
LibDem 97 5,018 (10.4%)
Nationalist 97 0 ( 0.0%)
Other 97 1,083 ( 2.3%)
Elected party 97
Electorate 97 59,372
Turnout 97 48,095 (81.0%)



1992 MP Ben Chapman
Old constituency name Wirral South
Majority 92 8,168 (16.2%)
Conservative 92 25,550 (50.8%)
Labour 92 17,382 (34.6%)
LibDem 92 6,572 (13.1%)
Nationalist 92 0 ( 0.0%)
Other 92 765 ( 1.5%)
Elected party 92 Conservative
Electorate 92 62,103
Turnout 92 50,269 (80.9%)
Wirral South



Tory change -14.5%
Labour change +16.4%
Lib Dem change -2.6%
Nationalist change +0.0%
Other change +0.7%
Electorate change -4.4%
Turnout Change +0.1%
Robert Waller wrote

Wirral South is notable for having seen the last by-election of the current parliament, and one that saw Labour win the seat with a swing of 17 per cent against the Conservatives. To all intents and purposes this ought to be a safe Tory seat. There are Labour-voting areas in the more industrial east of the constituency on the Mersey estuary, but the bulk of the electorate here is composed of middle-class owner-occupiers. Like many such contests, the recent by-election will have seen a significant protest vote, which the Conservatives would normally expect to win back come the general election. The interesting feature here is the size of the swing against the Tories, so close to the general election, which must raise the possibility that Labour might just hang on at the national poll.


Super Profiles

7,341 23.43 9.03 259
3,558 11.36 11.17 102
7,275 23.22 11.25 206
3,114 9.94 14.70 68
0 0.00 10.45 0
222 0.71 2.81 25
1,715 5.47 8.01 68
4,391 14.01 15.25 92
2,483 7.92 7.13 111
1,235 3.94 10.17 39