# St Helens North (UK Parliament constituency)

St. Helens North is a constituency created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by the Labour Party's David Baines since 2024.

## Boundaries

1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens wards of Billinge and Seneley Green, Blackbrook, Broad Oak, Haydock, Moss Bank, Newton East, Newton West, Rainford, and Windle.
2010–2022: As above, subject to changes in the local authority ward structure, with Parr replacing Broad Oak, Newton East renamed Newton, and Newton West becoming Earlestown.
2022–present: Following a further local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022, the Newton and Earlestown wards reverted back to Newton-le-Willows East and Newton-le-Willows West respectively. The constituency now comprises the following wards of the Borough of St Helens:
* Billinge & Seneley Green; Blackbrook; Haydock; Moss Bank; Newton-le-Willows East; Newton-le-Willows West; Parr; Rainford; Windle; and a very small part of Sutton South East.
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.
The constituency is one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough, the other being St Helens South and Whiston. It includes the north of the town of St Helens, and Billinge, Seneley Green, Earlestown, Blackbrook, Haydock, Newton-le-Willows and Rainford.

## History
### Results of the winning party

The constituency was created in 1983, primarily replacing parts of the St Helens and Newton constituencies, both of which had been held by the Labour Party since 1935. Candidates fielded by Labour have won this seat at every general election – except for 1983, by an absolute majority. Their vote share ranged from 47.9% (1983) to 64.9% (1997).
The constituency was first won by the former Newton MP John Evans and from 1997 to 2015 by David Watts, a former council leader. His successor was Connor McGinn. In December 2022, McGinn was suspended by the Labour Party but continued to sit as an independent MP until he stood down at the 2024 general election, when the seat was won by Labour's David Baines.

### Opposition parties

The Conservative Party have fielded the runner-up candidate in every election except 2005 (Liberal Democrats) and 2024 (Reform UK). Neither the Liberal Democrats nor the Green candidate won 5% of the vote in 2015 to retain their deposits. The third place in 2015 was taken by the UKIP candidate, Smith, who narrowly gained more than the national average swing through a swing of 10.4%. In 2017, all three of these parties lost their deposit. In 2019, the Brexit Party won 11.3% of the vote, which it doubled to 22.5% in 2024, standing under its new name of Reform UK.

### Turnout

Turnout has ranged from 77.4% in 1992 to 52.7% in 2001.

## Constituency profile

The seat includes the large town of St Helens, noted by visitors for its successful rugby league side and the nearby horseracing racecourse at Haydock Park. Despite these prominent sports venues, workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 4.7% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian, which was close to the Greater Manchester and Merseyside average but higher than the regional average of 4.4%.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | John Evans | Labour |
| 1997 | Dave Watts | Labour |
| 2015 | Conor McGinn | Labour |
| 2022 | Conor McGinn | Independent |
| 2024 | David Baines | Labour |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Baines | 21,284 | 52.6 | +0.3 |
| | Reform UK | Malcolm Webster | 9,115 | 22.5 | +11.2 |
| | Conservative | Jayne Rear | 4,507 | 11.1 | −15.5 |
| | Green | Daniel Thomas | 3,495 | 8.6 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pat Moloney | 1,799 | 4.4 | −1.2 |
| | English Constitution | Joe Greenhalgh | 274 | 0.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,169 | 30.1 | +4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,474 | 53.6 | −8.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Conor McGinn | 24,870 | 52.3 | −11.4 |
| | Conservative | Joel Charles | 12,661 | 26.6 | −0.5 |
| | Brexit Party | Malcolm Webster | 5,396 | 11.3 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pat Moloney | 2,668 | 5.6 | +3.0 |
| | Green | David Van Der Burg | 1,966 | 4.1 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,209 | 25.7 | −10.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,561 | 62.9 | −3.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −5.4 | |
General election 2017: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Conor McGinn | 32,012 | 63.7 | +6.7 |
| | Conservative | Jackson Ng | 13,606 | 27.1 | +7.5 |
| | UKIP | Peter Peers | 2,097 | 4.2 | −10.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tom Morrison | 1,287 | 2.6 | −1.8 |
| | Green | Rachel Parkinson | 1,220 | 2.4 | −1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,406 | 36.6 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,222 | 66.0 | +4.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.4 | |
General election 2015: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Conor McGinn | 26,378 | 57.0 | +5.3 |
| | Conservative | Paul Richardson | 9,087 | 19.6 | −2.7 |
| | UKIP | Ian Smith | 6,983 | 15.1 | +10.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Denise Aspinall | 2,046 | 4.4 | −15.8 |
| | Green | Elizabeth Ward | 1,762 | 3.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,291 | 37.4 | +8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,256 | 61.5 | +1.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.0 | |
General election 2010: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Watts | 23,041 | 51.7 | −8.2 |
| | Conservative | Paul Greenall | 9,940 | 22.3 | +3.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Beirne | 8,992 | 20.2 | −1.1 |
| | UKIP | Gary Robinson | 2,100 | 4.7 | +1.7 |
| | Socialist Labour | Stephen Whatham | 483 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,101 | 29.4 | −6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,556 | 59.8 | +2.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Watts | 22,329 | 56.9 | −4.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Beirne | 8,367 | 21.3 | +3.7 |
| | Conservative | Paul Oakley | 7,410 | 18.9 | +0.1 |
| | UKIP | Sylvia Hall | 1,165 | 3.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,962 | 35.6 | −6.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,271 | 57.8 | +5.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −4.0 | |
General election 2001: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Watts | 22,977 | 61.1 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | Simon Pearce | 7,076 | 18.8 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Beirne | 6,609 | 17.6 | +4.9 |
| | Socialist Labour | Stephen Whatham | 939 | 2.5 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,901 | 42.3 | −5.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,601 | 52.7 | −16.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Watts | 31,953 | 64.9 | +7.0 |
| | Conservative | Pelham Walker | 8,536 | 17.3 | −11.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Beirne | 6,270 | 12.7 | −0.4 |
| | Referendum | David Johnson | 1,276 | 2.6 | New |
| | Socialist Labour | Ron Waugh | 833 | 1.7 | New |
| | UKIP | Richard Rubin | 363 | 0.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,417 | 47.6 | +18.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,231 | 68.9 | −8.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1992: St. Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Evans | 31,930 | 57.9 | +4.2 |
| | Conservative | Brendan Anderson | 15,686 | 28.5 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Beirne | 7,224 | 13.1 | −6.0 |
| | Natural Law | Anne Lynch | 287 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,244 | 29.4 | +3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,127 | 77.4 | +1.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.5 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Evans | 28,989 | 53.7 | +5.8 |
| | Conservative | Melinda Libby | 14,729 | 27.3 | −3.1 |
| | Liberal | Neil Derbyshire | 10,300 | 19.1 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,260 | 26.4 | +8.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,018 | 76.3 | +1.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.4 | |
General election 1983: St Helens North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Evans | 25,334 | 47.9 | |
| | Conservative | Anthony Rhodes | 16,075 | 30.4 | |
| | Liberal | Neil Derbyshire | 11,525 | 21.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,259 | 17.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,934 | 74.5 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |