Huyton ( ) was a former constituency for the House of Commons. Created in 1950, it was centred on

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

(later

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, just beyond the borders of the city of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. The only MP was frontbench Labour politician,

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

who while representing the seat became Leader of the Labour Party in 1963 and Prime Minister from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. The constituency was dissolved under 1983 boundary changes—largely replaced by Knowsley South. This coincided with Wilson's retirement from Parliament.

Opposition parties

The Liberals ran a candidate in the constituency on its creation in 1950 but did not run one again until 24 years later in 1974, by which time Wilson had become Leader of the Labour Party and served two terms as Prime Minister. The party finished in third place in all the elections it contested in this seat. Wilson achieved an absolute majority, save in the 1950 election, the runner up party always a

Conservative party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate, who polled best in 1951 with 48.7% of the vote. ;Political forebears The Widnes seat was, in the early 20th century, a

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...

: in the elections immediately preceding 1950, it alternated between the two largest parties.

Urbanisation

The seat was more suburban at a time of relatively low employment in the sub-region in the 1950s. Council housing and private sector construction of relatively smaller homes by the 1980s complimented the overwhelmingly semi-detached housing stock, downgrading the local housing stock during the seat's existence while solving the problem of chronic housing shortages in the city itself; a time when

expanded by a programme of home building and motorway building within the confines of Huyton and its suburbs moved further out particularly to the Wirral and other areas on the fringe of the new metropolitan county. The M57 was completed bisecting the area in 1974, so also the M62.

Election expenses and type of returning officer

The seat was classified as a higher-level expenses and returning officer

county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...

rather than a borough constituency.

Boundaries

1950–1974: The Urban Districts of Huyton-with-Roby and Prescot, and in the Rural District of Whiston the parishes of Eccleston, Kirkby, Knowsley, and Windle. 1974–1983: As prior less Kirkby. This was transferred to the redrawn Ormskirk constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References

Sources

*
Election results, 1950 - 1979
{{s-end Parliamentary constituencies in North West England (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented by a sitting Prime Minister