Huyton (UK Parliament constituency)

Huyton
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1950–1983
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Knowsley South, Knowsley North, St Helens South and St Helens North

Huyton was a county constituency in the United Kingdom. Created in 1950, it was centred on Huyton in Lancashire (later Merseyside), North West England, just beyond the borders of the city of Liverpool. Its one and only Member of Parliament throughout its existence was Labour MP Harold Wilson, who became Labour Party leader in 1963, then serving as prime minister from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976.

The constituency ceased to exist with the implementation of the 1983 boundary changes and was replaced by Knowsley South. This coincided with Wilson's retirement from parliament.

The Liberals first ran a candidate in the constituency on its creation in 1950, but did not run one again until 24 years later in 1974, by which time Harold Wilson had become Leader of the Labour Party and served two terms as Prime Minister. The party finished in third place in all the elections it contested in this seat.

Boundaries

1950-1974: The Urban Districts of Huyton and Prescot, and in the Rural District of Whiston the civil parishes of Eccleston, Kirkby, Knowsley, and Windle.

1974-1983: The Urban Districts of Huyton and Prescot, and in the Rural District of Whiston the civil parishes of Eccleston, Knowsley, and Windle.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Harold Wilson	Labour
	1983	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	27,449	51.9	−8.9
	Conservative	Garnet Harrison	19,939	37.7	+8.0
	Liberal	P Cottier	5,476	10.4	+0.9
Majority			7,510	14.2
Turnout			52,864	72.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−8.5

General Election October 1974: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	31,750	60.8	+4.1
	Conservative	William Peters	15,517	29.7	+0.3
	Liberal	Michael Paul Braham	4,956	9.5	−4.0
Majority			16,233	31.0
Turnout			52,223	71.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.9

General Election February 1974: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	31,767	56.7
	Conservative	Thomas Yates Benyon	16,462	29.4
	Liberal	N Snowden	7,584	13.5
	More Prosperous Britain	Harold Smith	234	0.4
Majority			15,305	27.3
Turnout			56,047	77.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	45,583	63.1	−3.3
	Conservative	John Nicholas McAlpine Entwistle	24,509	33.9	+1.3
	Democratic	John Walter Gerald Sparrow	1,232	1.7	N/A
	Communist	Joseph Ivor Kenny	890	1.2	N/A
Majority			21,074	29.1	−4.7
Turnout			72,214	70.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.4

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	41,122	66.4	+2.5
	Conservative	T L Hobday	20,182	32.6	−2.1
	National Teenage Party	David Edward Sutch	585	0.9	N/A
Majority			20,940	33.8	+4.6
Turnout			61,889	70.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.3

General Election 1964: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	42,213	63.9	+9.0
	Conservative	Harold Tucker	22,940	34.7	−10.4
	Communist Anti-Revisionist	Michael Claude Watkins Baker	899	1.4	N/A
Majority			19,273	29.2
Turnout			66,052	76.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.7

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	33,111	54.9	+2.2
	Conservative	G.B. Woolfenden	27,184	45.1	−2.2
Majority			5,927	9.8
Turnout			60,295	77.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.2

General Election 1955: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	24,858	52.7	+1.4
	Conservative	William Geraint Oliver Morgan	22,300	47.3	-1.4
Majority			2,558	5.4
Turnout			47,158	78.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	23,582	51.3	+2.9
	Conservative	F L Neep	22,389	48.7	+2.2
Majority			1,193	2.6	+0.7
Turnout			45,971	84.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Huyton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. James Harold Wilson	21,536	48.4
	Conservative	S Smart	20,702	46.5
	Liberal	H Griffith Edwards	1,905	4.3
	Communist	L McGree	387	0.9
Majority			834	1.9
Turnout			44,530	85.0

See also

• Knowsley South parliamentary constituency

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 4)
• Election results, 1950 - 1979

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Belper	Constituency represented by the Leader of the Opposition 1963–1964	Succeeded by Kinross and Perthshire West
Preceded by Kinross and Perthshire West	Constituency represented by the Prime Minister 1964–1970	Succeeded by Bexley
Preceded by Bexley	Constituency represented by the Leader of the Opposition 1970–1974	Succeeded by Sidcup
Preceded by Sidcup	Constituency represented by the Prime Minister 1974–1976	Succeeded by Cardiff South East