Morecambe and Lunesdale

Morecambe and Lunesdale is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Lizzi Collinge for Labour.

1. Constituency profile

From 1979 to 2019 the constituency was a bellwether constituency. At that time it included the north bank of the City of Lancaster, which is largely Skerton, as well as the seaside town of Morecambe and many villages. This seat brought together northern semi-rural reaches of Lancashire bisected by the M6, including seaside Silverdale and Carnforth near the Cumbria border, the seaside resort of Morecambe and the nuclear power station/ferry port village of Heysham which provides a direct east–west service to Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland. Separating Morecambe from Lancaster is a narrow belt of parkland, houses and the White Lund industrial estate. The changes for the 2024 general election removed Skerton and added areas from Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria to the north of the constituency.

1. Boundaries


1. = Historic =

Before 1950, Morecambe was in the Lancaster constituency. This seat was formerly Morecambe and Lonsdale and gained a new name and redrawn boundaries in 1983. For the general election of that year, sections of the constituency were removed to be united with the former county of Westmorland in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. For the 1983 election the electoral wards used in the creation of the new seat were:

Alexandra, Arkholme, Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth, Halton-with-Aughton, Harbour, Heysham Central, Heysham North, Kellet, Overton, Parks, Poulton, Silverdale, Slyne-with-Hest, Torrisholme, Victoria and Walton In boundary changes which came into effect for the 2010 election, only minor adjustments were made. Parliament approved the recommendations in the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies in respect of this area, enacting only minor boundary alterations. The constituency had City of Lancaster electoral wards:

Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth, Halton-with-Aughton, Harbour, Heysham Central, Heysham North, Heysham South, Kellet, Overton, Poulton, Silverdale, Skerton East, Skerton West, Slyne-with-Hest, Torrisholme, Upper Lune Valley, Warton and Westgate.

1. = Current =

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the composition of the constituency was defined as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020): City of Lancaster wards:

Wards of the former South Lakeland district, now in Westmorland and Furness:

The three South Lakeland wards were transferred from Westmorland and Lonsdale, partly offset by the community of Skerton going to the re-established seat of Lancaster and Wyre. With effect from 1 April 2023, the District of South Lakeland was abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness. Also a local government boundary review was carried out in the City of Lancaster which came into effect in May 2023. Accordingly, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

The City of Lancaster wards of: Bare; Bolton & Slyne; Carnforth & Millhead; Halton-with-Aughton & Kellet; Heysham Central; Heysham North; Heysham South; Lower Lune Valley; Overton; Poulton; Silverdale; Torrisholme; Upper Lune Valley; Warton; West End; Westgate; and a small part of Skerton. The Westmorland and Furness wards of: Burton and Holme; Kendal South (part); Kent Estuary; Levens and Crooklands (part); Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale (majority). The revised constituency is made up of parts of: the previous Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency (35.1% by area and 76.3% by population of the new seat); Westmorland and Lonsdale, which still exists with revised boundaries (46.5% by area and 18.9% by population); and the former Lancaster and Fleetwood (18.4% by area and 4.8% by population).

1. History

Since its creation in 1983, the Morecambe and Lunesdale can be regarded as a bellwether seat, changing hands with a change of government. Once a safe Conservative area, Morecambe followed its neighbour and fellow seaside town, Blackpool, by voting Labour in the 1997 general election. The results in the general elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005 had remarkably similar majorities with virtually no swing to the Conservatives. The Conservatives gained the seat at the 2010 general election with an above average swing, and held it in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The notional 2019 result for the area, using the 2024 boundaries, was Conservative. In the 2024 general election the seat was won by Labour.

1. Members of Parliament


1. Elections


1. = Elections in the 2020s =

Changes are from the notional results of the 2019 election on new 2024 boundaries.

1. = Elections in the 2010s =


1. = Elections in the 2000s =


1. = Elections in the 1990s =


1. = Elections in the 1980s =


1. Morecambe and Lonsdale election results, 1950–79


1. See also

List of parliamentary constituencies in Cumbria List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

1. Notes


1. References


1. External links

Morecambe and Lunesdale UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Morecambe and Lunesdale UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Morecambe and Lunesdale UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

Nearby Places View Menu

Hest Bank railway station

Hest Bank railway station was opened by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&CR) three miles north of Lancaster Castle railway station. The line had been authorised in 1844 and a station was proposed for the village of Hest Bank, Lancashire, the following year. It opened in 1846 along with the line. The station continued to serve the village of Hest Bank until its closure in 1969. The site remains notable as being the point at which the present-day West Coast Main Line (WCML) comes nearest to the west coast. Views of Morecambe Bay can be glimpsed from trains on this section of the line. Meanwhile, the "little" North Western Railway had been formed to link Skipton to Lancaster and with the Morecambe Harbour and Railway planned to make a junction with the L&CR at Hest Bank. Regrettably this never materialised. Hoping to develop an export trade in coke and other minerals, the L&CR applied on its own account to build the branch to Morecambe, receiving permission in 1859. At this point the line was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and it was the latter that built the branch as a double track opening in 1864. In time however the branch was singled, but with an increase in holiday trade a south facing curve was added to the junction during 1888. Later a part of the branch from Bare Lane was redoubled and is still open as the Morecambe Branch Line. Hest Bank station itself was of rugged stone construction, a two-storey station house with a booking hall below on the up (southbound) platform. It was next to a level crossing over a minor road linking the A589 with houses, a water treatment works and a caravan park further along the foreshore. A small cottage for the crossing keeper was provided on the down (coastal-facing) side along with a footbridge to connect the platforms. The down side also had two sidings, one providing a bay platform. At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. During the 'thirties the station became remarkable as the only one between Preston and Carlisle with electric lighting, thanks to the ingenuity of a member of staff. Four camping coaches were positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1960 to 1963, then it increased to five until 1969. The goods yard closed on 2 December 1963 but the tracks were used for the camping coaches until the end of the 1969 season despite the station finally closing to passengers in February 1969. All traces of the platforms and buildings have disappeared (though the crossing keeper's cottage survived until 2012), as the incoming Morecambe branch was extended along the length of one of the former platforms as part of the layout changes associated with the 1973 WCML electrification scheme. The nearby signal box still stands although now disused. Its latter role, purely as a manually controlled gate box to supervise the adjacent level crossing and that at nearby Bolton-le-Sands, was brought to an end in the Spring of 2013. NR had published proposals to close the box here initially at the end of 2012, which was briefly postponed until February 2013 before the work was finally carried out in May. Both crossings are now worked direct from Preston PSB using CCTV.

Landmark Train

Venus and Cupid (sculpture)

Love, The Most Beautiful Of Absolute Disasters, popularly known as Venus and Cupid is a sculpture by Shane A. Johnstone which stands on a slight promontory beside Morecambe Bay on the eastern approach to Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

Art Landmark

Slyne-with-Hest

Slyne-with-Hest is a civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It had a population of 3,163 recorded in the 2001 census, decreasing to 3,126 at the 2011 Census. The parish is north of Lancaster and consists of two villages; Slyne, on the A6 road, and Hest Bank on the coast.

Landmark Neighbourhood

St Luke's Church, Slyne with Hest

St Luke's Church is in Manor Lane, Slyne-with-Hest, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of St Saviour, Aughton, and St Wilfrid, Halton. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Church