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.

Constituency profile

St Helens North is a constituency in Merseyside in North West England. It covers the northern suburbs of the town of St Helens (Windle, Haresfinch, Laffak, Parr and Blackbrook) and the outlying towns and villages of Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Haydock, Garswood, Billinge and Rainford.

St Helens is a large, industrial town. It was a rural hamlet until the Industrial Revolution when it grew rapidly as a centre for coal mining, glassmaking and metalworking. The suburbs covered by this constituency are highly-deprived and mostly consist of semi-detached housing, much of which is socially rented. Most of the constituency's other settlements also have a history of coal mining. Newton-le-Willows was an important railway junction, which made it a major manufacturer of locomotives. Newton-le-Willows has average levels of wealth whilst the rural villages are mostly affluent. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the rest of North West England, and the average price is around half the UK average.

St Helens North has a low proportion of young adults and an above-average retired population. Residents have below-average rates of income and average levels of homeownership and child poverty. They generally have low levels of education and many residents are religious; like much of Merseyside, there is a large Roman Catholic population here due to historic Irish migration. A high proportion of residents work in the business administration and transport sectors, and the percentage claiming unemployment benefits is low. White people made up 97% of the population at the 2021 census.

At the local borough council, most of the constituency is represented by Reform UK with some Labour Party and independent councillors elected in Newton-le-Willows. An estimated 59% of voters in St Helens North supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the UK-wide figure of 52%.

Boundaries

Historic 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.

Current Following a further local government boundary review coming into effect in May 2022, which did not change the constituency boundaries, 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 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.

Members of Parliament Election Member Party Notes 1983 John Evans Member for Newton (1974–1983) 1997 Dave Watts Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party (2012–2015) 2015Conor McGinn 2022 2024 David Baines

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

2005 notional result Party Vote % Labour 23,993 57.4 Liberal Democrats 8,728 20.9 Conservative 7,884 18.8 UKIP 1,231 2.9Turnout41,83655.7Electorate75,121

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

1979 notional result Party Vote % Labour 28,703 52.4 Conservative 19,581 35.9 Liberal 6,004 11.0 Others 451 0.8Turnout54,739Electorate

See also Parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside

Notes

References

External links St Helens North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK St Helens North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK St Helens North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK