Lancaster and Wyre was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. From 1997 to 2010, it elected one

Member of Parliament (MP) A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...

by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system of election, but has now been replaced by Lancaster and Fleetwood.

History

This seat was created for the 1997 general election and was abolished at the 2010 general election. It was a marginal seat between the Labour and Conservative parties throughout its existence, and was the only seat gained by the Conservatives in the North West in the 2005 general election.

Boundaries

The City of Lancaster wards of Bulk, Castle, Caton, Ellel, John O'Gaunt, Scotforth East, and Scotforth West, and the Borough of Wyre wards of Breck, Brock, Calder, Carleton, Catterall, Duchy, Garstang, Hambleton, Hardhorn, High Cross, Norcross, Pilling, Preesall, Staina, Tithebarn, and Wyresdale. The

Boundary Commission for England The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission for ...

's proposals for parliamentary constituencies in

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 Lancash ...

were completed in 2006. They proposed to split this seat into two. As a result, Lancaster was attached to another part of Wyre borough, over the

River Wyre The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) in length. The river is a County Biological Heritage Site and has a sheltered estuary ...

to the

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...

. The new seat of Lancaster and Fleetwood represents the first time the two places have been linked for parliamentary reasons for many years. The other seat is the new Wyre and Preston North. This seat has never been created before, and the bringing together of

Garstang Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268; ...

, Thornton,

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation i ...

and the Fulwood and northern rural areas of Preston is unprecedented.

Members of Parliament

There were only two Members of Parliament for this seat. Ben Wallace was selected to represent the Conservatives at the 2010 election in the successor seat of Wyre and Preston North.

Elections

Elections in to 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster And Wyre (Uk Parliament Constituency) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Politics of Lancaster Politics of Wyre Parliamentary constituencies in North West England (historic)