# Crosby (UK Parliament constituency)

53°29′28″N 3°01′44″W﻿ / ﻿53.491°N 3.029°W﻿ / 53.491; -3.029
Crosby was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

## History

Prior to 1997, the constituency was seen as a safe seat for the Conservative Party. They held the seat from its creation in 1950 until the death in 1981 of Sir Graham Page. The resulting by-election was notable as it was won by Shirley Williams, one of the "gang of four" senior members of the Labour Party who had founded the new Social Democratic Party (SDP), becoming the first SDP member to be elected. However, Williams lost the seat to the Conservative candidate Malcolm Thornton at the 1983 general election.
Thornton held the seat until the 1997 election, when he lost to Labour's Claire Curtis-Thomas who held the seat until its abolition. On 7 October 2009, it was announced that Curtis-Thomas would stand down at the 2010 general election.

## Boundaries

1950–1955: The Borough of Crosby, and the parish of Ford in the Rural District of West Lancashire.
1955–1974: The Borough of Crosby, and the Urban District of Litherland.
1974–1983: The Borough of Crosby, the Urban District of Formby, and in the Rural District of West Lancashire the parishes of Altcar, Ince Blundell, Maghull, Sefton (part), and Thornton.
1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton wards of Blundellsands, Harington, Manor, Molyneux, Park, Ravenmeols, Sudell, and Victoria.
1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton wards of Blundellsands, Church, Harington, Manor, Ravenmeols, and Victoria.
The predecessor seat to Crosby was the Waterloo constituency, which existed between 1918 and 1950. Crosby constituency covered the whole town of Crosby which includes the localities of Great Crosby, Blundellsands, Brighton-le-Sands, Seaforth, Waterloo, Little Crosby, Hightown and Thornton, as well as the town of Formby and the village of Little Altcar, all in Sefton in Merseyside. On its abolition in 2010 it was bordered to the north by the constituency of Southport, to the east by Lancashire West and Knowsley North and Sefton East, and to the south by Bootle.
Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England, the Crosby constituency was abolished at the 2010 general election. It was replaced by the new Sefton Central seat, which includes parts of the former Knowsley North and Sefton East constituency. As a result, Formby and Little Altcar are part of the new Sefton Central constituency and the town of Crosby has been divided between two constituencies, with the two electoral wards of southern Crosby, Church and Victoria, containing the urbanised bulk of the town which includes the areas of Great Crosby, Waterloo and Seaforth, being absorbed into the expanded Bootle constituency, represented by the Labour MP Joe Benton, and the two electoral wards of northern Crosby, Blundellsands and Manor, which contains residential suburban areas such as, Blundellsands, Brighton-Le-Sands, Little Crosby, Thornton, and Hightown, forming part of the new Sefton Central constituency represented by Bill Esterson, also a Labour MP.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1950 | Malcolm Bullock | Conservative | Resigned October 1953 |
| 1953 by-election | Graham Page | Conservative | Died October 1981 |
| 1981 by-election | Shirley Williams | SDP |
| 1983 | Malcolm Thornton | Conservative |
| 1997 | Claire Curtis-Thomas | Labour |
| 2010 | constituency abolished: see Sefton Central & Bootle | constituency abolished: see Sefton Central & Bootle |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harold Bullock | 22,347 | 60.26 | |
| | Labour | Ronald Lewis | 9,403 | 25.35 | |
| | Liberal | James Burnie | 5,336 | 14.39 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,944 | 34.90 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,086 | 84.50 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Harold Bullock | 25,034 | 70.95 |
| | Labour | Edith Edwards | 10,251 | 29.05 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,783 | 41.90 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,285 | 79.77 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
1953 Crosby by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 18,614 | 68.09 | −2.86 |
| | Labour | Ernest Adams | 7,545 | 27.60 | −1.45 |
| | Ind. Conservative | J.A. Freeman | 1,180 | 4.32 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,069 | 40.49 | −1.41 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,339 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 29,161 | 68.00 |
| | Labour | Ernest Adams | 13,725 | 32.00 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,436 | 35.99 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,886 | 73.70 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1959: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 29,801 | 66.90 |
| | Labour | Douglas E. Brown | 14,745 | 33.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,056 | 33.80 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,546 | 77.48 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 21,538 | 48.63 | |
| | Labour | Robert Hodge | 14,158 | 31.97 | |
| | Liberal | Norman Sellers | 8,590 | 19.40 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,380 | 16.66 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,286 | 76.66 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 21,980 | 54.07 |
| | Labour | Alan John Whipp | 18,674 | 45.93 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,306 | 8.13 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,654 | 72.19 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 24,042 | 56.71 | +2.64 |
| | Labour | Peter J. Carswell | 18,350 | 43.29 | −2.64 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,692 | 13.42 | +5.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,392 | 71.44 | −0.75 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
1970 notional result on 1974-1983 boundaries: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | | 35,200 | 63.77 |
| | Labour | | 20,000 | 36.23 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,200 | 27.54 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,200 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election February 1974: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 32,519 | 52.19 | −11.58 |
| | Labour | Sean Hughes | 16,949 | 27.20 | −9.03 |
| | Liberal | Geoffrey Woodcock | 12,842 | 20.61 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,570 | 24.99 | −2.55 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,310 | 80.07 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 29,764 | 51.51 | −0.68 |
| | Labour | Margaret J. Hignett | 17,589 | 30.44 | +3.24 |
| | Liberal | Anthony Hill | 10,429 | 18.05 | −2.56 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,175 | 21.07 | −3.92 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,782 | 73.51 | −6.56 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Page | 34,768 | 56.95 | +5.44 |
| | Labour | Tony Mulhearn | 15,496 | 25.38 | −5.06 |
| | Liberal | Anthony Hill | 9,302 | 15.24 | −2.81 |
| | Ecology | Peter Hussey | 1,489 | 2.44 | +2.44 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,272 | 31.56 | +10.49 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,055 | 75.18 | +1.67 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

1981 Crosby by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SDP | Shirley Williams | 28,118 | 49.07 | +33.83 |
| | Conservative | John Butcher | 22,829 | 39.84 | −17.11 |
| | Labour | John Backhouse | 5,450 | 9.51 | −15.87 |
| | Ecology | Richard Small | 480 | 0.83 | −1.61 |
| | Raving Loony | Tarquin Biscuitbarrel | 223 | 0.39 | New |
| | Independent | Tom Keen | 99 | 0.17 | New |
| | Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident | Bill Boaks | 36 | 0.06 | New |
| | Independent | John Kennedy | 31 | 0.05 | New |
| | Independent | Donald Potter | 31 | 0.05 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,289 | 9.23 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,297 | 69.3 | −5.9 |
| | SDP gain from Conservative | SDP gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
General election 1983: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Thornton | 30,604 | 47.2 | |
| | SDP | Shirley Williams | 27,203 | 42.0 | |
| | Labour | Robert Waring | 6,611 | 10.2 | |
| | Ecology | Peter Hussey | 415 | 0.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,401 | 5.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64,833 | 77.9 | |
| | Conservative gain from SDP | Conservative gain from SDP | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Thornton | 30,836 | 46.2 | −1.0 |
| | SDP | Anthony Donovan | 23,989 | 35.9 | −6.1 |
| | Labour | Christopher Cheetham | 11,992 | 18.0 | +7.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,847 | 10.3 | +5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 66,817 | 79.6 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Thornton | 32,267 | 47.4 | +1.2 |
| | Labour | Maria Eagle | 17,461 | 25.7 | +7.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Flo Clucas | 16,562 | 24.3 | −11.6 |
| | Liberal | John Marks | 1,052 | 1.5 | N/A |
| | Green | Sean Brady | 559 | 0.8 | New |
| | Natural Law | N.L. Paterson | 152 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,806 | 21.7 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 68,053 | 82.5 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.2 | |
General election 1997: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Claire Curtis-Thomas | 22,549 | 51.1 | +22.3 |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Thornton | 15,367 | 34.8 | −13.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul McVey | 5,080 | 11.5 | −8.5 |
| | Referendum | John Gauld | 813 | 1.8 | New |
| | Liberal | John Marks | 233 | 0.5 | −1.0 |
| | Natural Law | William Hite | 99 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,182 | 16.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,141 | 77.2 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +18.1 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Claire Curtis-Thomas | 20,327 | 55.1 | +4.0 |
| | Conservative | Robert Collinson | 11,974 | 32.5 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tim Drake | 4,084 | 11.1 | −0.4 |
| | Socialist Labour | Mark Holt | 481 | 1.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,353 | 22.6 | +6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,866 | 65.1 | −12.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.2 | |
General election 2005: Crosby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Claire Curtis-Thomas | 17,463 | 48.2 | −6.9 |
| | Conservative | Debi Jones | 11,623 | 32.1 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim Murray | 6,298 | 17.4 | +6.3 |
| | UKIP | John Whittaker | 454 | 1.3 | New |
| | Communist | Geoffrey Bottoms | 199 | 0.5 | New |
| | Clause 28 Children's Protection Christian Democrats | David Braid | 157 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,840 | 16.1 | −6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,194 | 66.7 | +1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −3.2 | |