Election 97

Southport

Current MP Matthew Banks
Conservative 97 18,186
Labour 97 6,125
LibDem 97 24,346
Nationalist 97 0
Other 97 571
Elected party
Southport

Robert Waller wrote
Old constituency Southport
Conservative 92 26,081
Labour 92 5,637
LibDem 92 23,018
Nationalist 92 0
Other 92 704
Elected party Conservative

The genteel and pacific seaside town of Southport, set on the flat Lancashire (they don't like to be thought to be in Merseyside, although they are in the Borough of Sefton) coast between Liverpool and Blackpool, looks like the epitome of a safe Conservative seat. But it is far from that.

From 1987 to 1992 Southport's MP was a genial and popular local politician, Ronnie Fearn, who is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was defeated by the Conservative Matthew Banks in 1992, but only by 3,000 votes, and although 65 years of age, Fearn will be making his seventh bid for the constituency this time. It would be a brave person, in an era of apparent great Conservative government unpopularity, to say that Ronnie Fearn will not win a second term in this rather surprising location.


Super Profiles

4,972 12.32 9.03 136
4,299 10.65 11.17 95
9,986 24.75 11.25 220
6,464 16.02 14.70 109
131 0.32 10.45 3
0 0.00 2.81 0
9,943 24.64 8.01 308
2,391 5.93 15.25 39
864 2.14 7.13 30
690 1.71 10.17 17