# Morecambe and Lunesdale (UK Parliament constituency)

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.

## 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.

## Boundaries
### 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.

### 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:
* Bare
* Bolton & Slyne
* Carnforth & Millhead
* Halton-with-Aughton
* Harbour (Morecambe)
* Heysham Central
* Heysham North
* Heysham South
* Kellet
* Lower Lune Valley
* Overton
* Poulton (Morecambe)
* Silverdale
* Torrisholme
* Upper Lune Valley
* Warton
* Westgate (Morecambe)
Wards of the former South Lakeland district, now in Westmorland and Furness:
* Arnside & Milnthorpe
* Burton & Crooklands
* Sedbergh & Kirkby Lonsdale
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).

## History

Since its creation in 1983, the Morcambe 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.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | constituency created as "Morecambe and Lonsdale" | constituency created as "Morecambe and Lonsdale" |
| 1950 | Ian Fraser | Conservative |
| 1958 by-election | Basil de Ferranti | Conservative |
| 1964 | Alfred Hall-Davis | Conservative |
| 1979 | Mark Lennox-Boyd | Conservative |
| 1983 | constituency renamed as "Morecambe and Lunesdale" after boundary changes | constituency renamed as "Morecambe and Lunesdale" after boundary changes |
| 1983 | Mark Lennox-Boyd | Conservative |
| 1997 | Geraldine Smith | Labour |
| 2010 | David Morris | Conservative |
| 2024 | Lizzi Collinge | Labour |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Lizzi Collinge | 19,603 | 40.8 | +12.7 |
| | Conservative | David Morris | 13,788 | 28.7 | −24.9 |
| | Reform UK | Barry Parsons | 7,810 | 16.3 | +15.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Jackson | 4,769 | 9.9 | −5.7 |
| | Green | Gina Dowding | 2,089 | 4.3 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,815 | 12.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,059 | 63.1 | −4.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +18.8 | |
Changes are from the notional results of the 2019 election on new 2024 boundaries.

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Morris | 23,925 | 52.8 | +5.1 |
| | Labour | Lizzi Collinge | 17,571 | 38.8 | −5.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Owen Lambert | 2,328 | 5.1 | +1.4 |
| | Green | Chloe Buckley | 938 | 2.1 | +1.1 |
| | Independent | Darren Clifford | 548 | 1.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,354 | 14.0 | +10.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,310 | 67.2 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.5 | |
General election 2017: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Morris | 21,773 | 47.7 | +2.2 |
| | Labour | Vikki Singleton | 20,374 | 44.6 | +9.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Matthew Severn | 1,699 | 3.7 | ±0.0 |
| | UKIP | Robert Gillespie | 1,333 | 2.9 | −9.5 |
| | Green | Cait Sinclair | 478 | 1.0 | −2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,399 | 3.1 | −7.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,657 | 68.3 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.8 | |
General election 2015: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Morris | 19,691 | 45.5 | +4.0 |
| | Labour | Amina Lone | 15,101 | 34.9 | −4.6 |
| | UKIP | Steven Ogden | 5,358 | 12.4 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Matthew Severn | 1,612 | 3.7 | −9.6 |
| | Green | Phil Chandler | 1,395 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| | Independent | Michael Dawson | 85 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,590 | 10.6 | +8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,242 | 65.0 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.3 | |
General election 2010: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Morris | 18,035 | 41.5 | +4.2 |
| | Labour | Geraldine Smith | 17,169 | 39.5 | −9.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Les Jones | 5,791 | 13.3 | −0.3 |
| | UKIP | Nigel Brown | 1,843 | 4.2 | New |
| | Green | Chris Coates | 598 | 1.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 866 | 2.0 | −9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,436 | 62.1 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | −6.9 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geraldine Smith | 20,331 | 48.8 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | James Airey | 15,563 | 37.4 | +0.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Stone | 5,741 | 13.8 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,768 | 11.4 | −0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,635 | 61.4 | +0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.4 | |
General election 2001: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geraldine Smith | 20,646 | 49.6 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative | David Nuttall | 15,554 | 37.3 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Cotton | 3,817 | 9.2 | −2.2 |
| | UKIP | Greg Beaman | 935 | 2.2 | New |
| | Green | Cherith Adams | 703 | 1.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,092 | 12.3 | +0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,655 | 61.1 | −11.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.65 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Geraldine Smith | 24,061 | 48.9 | |
| | Conservative | Mark Lennox-Boyd | 18,096 | 36.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | June Greenwell | 5,614 | 11.4 | |
| | Referendum | Ian Ogilvie | 1,313 | 2.7 | New |
| | Natural Law | David Walne | 165 | 0.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,965 | 12.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,249 | 72.3 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 16.2 | |
General election 1992: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Lennox-Boyd | 22,507 | 50.9 | −1.8 |
| | Labour | Jean Yates | 10,998 | 24.9 | +2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony Saville | 9,584 | 21.7 | −3.2 |
| | MB Independent | Mark Turner | 916 | 2.1 | New |
| | Natural Law | Richard Marriott | 205 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,509 | 26.0 | −1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,210 | 78.3 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.1 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Lennox-Boyd | 22,327 | 52.7 | −3.9 |
| | SDP | June Greenwell | 10,542 | 24.9 | −0.3 |
| | Labour | David Smith | 9,535 | 22.5 | +4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,785 | 27.8 | −3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,404 | 76.1 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1983: Morecambe and Lunesdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Lennox-Boyd | 21,968 | 56.6 | |
| | SDP | Tom Clare | 9,774 | 25.2 | |
| | Labour | Abbott Bryning | 6,882 | 17.7 | |
| | Independent | Irene Woods | 208 | 0.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,194 | 31.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,832 | 72.9 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |