Sefton Central is a constituency represented since its creation in 2010 by Bill Esterson of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
Sefton Central is a constituency in Merseyside in North West England, covering most of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. Its main settlements are the towns of Maghull (including Lydiate) and Formby, which both have populations of around 25,000. The constituency also covers some suburbs of nearby towns, including Ainsdale (of Southport), Waddicar (of Kirkby) and Thornton and Great Crosby (both of Crosby).
This constituency covers the towns lying to the north of Liverpool, around from the city centre. Maghull and Formby primarily serve as commuter towns for Liverpool; both were largely developed during the 20th century with detached and semi-detached housing estates. This is an affluent constituency mostly made up of wealthy suburban neighbourhoods. Formby is a coastal town popular with tourists for its beaches, and most of the town falls within the top 10% least-deprived areas in England. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the UK average but higher than the rest of North West England.
Sefton Central has a low proportion of young adults and a large retired population. Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is low. Residents have average levels of education and are likely to be religious; like much of Merseyside and Lancashire, there is a large Roman Catholic population here due to historic Irish migration. A high proportion of residents work in the health, education and tourism sectors, and the percentage claiming unemployment benefits is around half the UK-wide rate. White people made up 97% of the population at the 2021 census.
Most of the constituency is represented by the Labour Party at the local borough council, with some Liberal Democrats elected in Ainsdale and localists elected in Maghull. An estimated 57% of voters in Sefton Central supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the UK-wide figure of 48%.
Boundaries
2010-2024 The constituency was created for the 2010 general election, replacing much of Crosby along with part of Knowsley North and Sefton East.The constituency comprised the following electoral wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton:The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, Office of Public Sector Information
Blundellsands Harington Manor Molyneux Park Ravenmeols Sudell
Current Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
Ainsdale; Blundellsands; Harington; Manor; Molyneux (polling districts C1, C2 and C3); Park; Ravenmeols; Sudell.
The Ainsdale ward was transferred from Southport, offset by the loss of the Aintree district in the Molyneux ward to Liverpool Walton.
Following a local government boundary review which did not affect the constituency boundaries, the seat comprises the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton with effect from May 2026:
Ainsdale; Aintree & Maghull South (excluding Aintree); Blundellsands; Formby East; Formby West; Lydiate & Maghull West; Maghull East; Thornton & Hightown.
The constituency covers Merseyside northern residential suburban areas of Crosby, Blundellsands, Brighton-Le-Sands, Little Crosby, Thornton, Hightown, Formby, Ainsdale and Maghull together with the villages and localities of Carr Houses, Freshfield, Ince Blundell, Kennessee Green, Lady Green, Little Altcar, Lunt, Lydiate, Melling, Sefton, and Waddicar, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
History This seat was contested for the first time at the 2010 general election.
At the time, eleven of the constituency's twenty-one councillors were Conservatives followed by the Liberal Democrats who had ten, whereas analysis by Rallings and Thrasher indicated that had the Sefton Central constituency existed in 2005, the result would have been: Labour 45.6%, Conservative 33.6%, LibDem 19.2%, giving a Labour majority of 4,950. The Labour Party candidate's majority was 3,862 suggesting a moderate two-party swing.
The area covered by this seat and its immediate predecessor Crosby was historically a strong area for the Conservatives. However, since Labour gained that seat in the 1997 election, they have held it with fairly comfortable margins for 20 years. In 2015, an 8.1% swing to Labour saw them take the area with their biggest ever majority of 11,846 votes (24.2%), in accordance with the significant swing to Labour in Merseyside compared to 2010; this margin was surpassed in 2017, as Labour won more than 60% of the vote in the seat and a majority of over 30% for the first time. This suggests that since 2010, Sefton Central has changed from a key marginal between the major parties to a Labour safe seat.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberParty 2010 Bill Esterson Labour
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Changes are from the notional 2019 results on the 2024 boundaries.
Elections in the 2010s
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside
Notes
References
External links Sefton Central UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Sefton Central UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK