In the biggest Labour landslide since 1997, with Labour winning 412 seats, how did Edge Hill’s constituency, West Lancashire, do in the election?

Victory for Labour

Following the trend since 2010, Labour comfortably won this constituency, with Ashley Dalton winning with 22,305 votes. Dalton won 50.5% of the vote, losing 1.6% of the vote share from the previous election, which was the by election in 2023.  She however maintained clear support within the constituency.

Dalton beat Conservative, Mike Prendergast, by a significant margin, with Prendergast receiving 8,680 votes and losing 16.7% of the vote. Reform UK candidate Simon Evans was not that far behind, receiving 7,909 votes but gaining 13.66% share of the vote from the previous election. In fourth place came Green Party’s Charlotte Houltram, with 3,263 votes and gaining 5% of the vote. In last place came Liberal Democrat, Graham Smith with 2,043 of the vote, with only a 0.3% loss from the previous election. 

What does this mean for West Lancashire?

With Labour now the largest party in government, this now makes West Lancashire’s Ashley Dalton MP part of the governing party. With Labour holding a significantly large majority, passing legislation becomes easier with Labour’s manifesto pledges more likely to be enacted within Parliament. Since the election, Dalton has been appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary Labour’s health team.

In terms of the West Lancashire Constituency, Dalton’s plans for the Constituency contain 5 key components:

  • Reversing the “Conservative closure” of A&E services at Ormskirk hospital,
  • Fighting for the Constituency on issues concerning the cost-of-living crisis,
  • Reducing fuel bills across West Lancashire,
  • Working with local police to keep the community safe and prevent anti-social behaviour,
  • Adding a train station in Skelmersdale.

Turnout

Out of  the 74,083 registered voters in the West Lancashire Constituency, 60% of them turned out to vote. Since 2019, there was an 11.80% decrease in people voting, matching the national trend of a decreased turnout compared to 2019. 

This election result strongly mirrored the national picture, with Labour taking this Constituency with the majority vote and keeping another seat within Parliament. With Dalton’s position changing from the opposition to governing party, the Party’s delivery of the manifesto and promises will be more closely observed.

To read more please see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001577

By Ella Weatherburn

The picture of Ashley Dalton is provided by the Houses of Parliament under a Creative Commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/