Fylde (UK Parliament constituency)

Fylde (/faɪld/, FYLD) is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Lancashire which since 2024 has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament^{[n 2]} by Andrew Snowden, a Conservative. It is the only Conservative seat in Lancashire after the 2024 General Election, and one of three seats held by the party in North West England overall.

Fylde
County constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary of Fylde in North West England
County	Lancashire
Electorate	75,114 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Kirkham, Wesham, Lytham St Annes, Freckleton, Poulton-le-Fylde
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Andrew Snowden (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Fylde North and Fylde South
1918–1950
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	Blackpool and Darwen
Replaced by	Fylde North and Fylde South

History

The Fylde constituency was originally formed for the 1918 general election, but was abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was split into Fylde North and Fylde South. For the 1983 general election those two constituencies were merged to form a new Fylde constituency.

The seat has been won by Conservative Party members during the entirety of its two creations.

Boundaries

The constituency has four main population centres, namely Kirkham/Wesham, Lytham St Annes, Freckleton and Poulton-le-Fylde. Kirkham, Wesham and Freckleton are small towns with some light industrial development and have a considerable Labour vote, but Lytham and St Annes are comfortable seaside resorts, favoured by families and retired couples, and along with the more rural parts of the seat, are safely Conservative, as is the market town of Poulton-le-Fylde.

1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Fleetwood, Kirkham, Longridge, Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton, and Walton-le-Dale, the Rural District of Preston, and part of the Rural District of Fylde.

1945–1950: Part of the County Borough of Preston; the Municipal Borough of Fleetwood; the Urban Districts of Kirkham, Longridge, Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton Cleveleys, Walton-le-Dale, and part of Fulwood; and, the Rural District of Fylde, and parts of Blackburn, and Preston.^[2]

1983–1997: The Borough of Fylde, and the Borough of Preston ward of Preston Rural West.

1997–2010: The Borough of Fylde, the Borough of Preston wards of Ingol and Preston Rural West, and the Borough of Wyre ward of Great Eccleston.

2010–2024: The Borough of Fylde, and the City of Preston ward of Lea.

The seat was reduced in the boundary review leading to the 2010 United Kingdom general election, losing most of its elements from the Borough of Wyre and the City of Preston to the new seat of Wyre and Preston North.

2024–present: The Borough of Fylde; the Borough of Wyre wards of Breck, Hardhorn with High Cross, and Tithebarn.^[3]

Constituency expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring in the three Borough of Wyre wards which constitute the town of Poulton-le-Fylde, transferred from the abolished constituency of Wyre and Preston North. The small part formerly in the City of Preston was transferred to a revised Preston constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

Election		Member[4]	Party
	1918	Wilfrid Ashley	Conservative
	1922	Edward Stanley	Conservative
	1938 by-election	Claude Lancaster	Conservative
	1950	constituency split into Fylde North and Fylde South

MPs since 1983

Election		Member[4]	Party
	1983	Sir Edward Gardner	Conservative
	1987	Michael Jack
	2010	Mark Menzies
	2024		Independent
	2024	Andrew Snowden	Conservative

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Fylde^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Snowden	15,917	33.2	−29.0
	Labour	Tom Calver	15,356	32.0	+6.8
	Reform UK	Brook Wimbury	8,295	17.3	N/A
	Independent	Anne Aitken	4,513	9.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Jewell	2,120	4.4	−2.9
	Green	Brenden Wilkinson	1,560	3.3	−0.2
	ADF	Cheryl Morrison	199	0.4	N/A
Majority			561	1.2
Turnout			48,105	62.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-17.9

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Fylde^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Menzies	28,432	60.9	+2.2
	Labour	Martin Mitchell	11,821	25.3	−8.0
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Jewell	3,748	8.0	+3.0
	Green	Gina Dowding	1,731	3.7	+1.0
	Independent	Andy Higgins	927	2.0	N/A
Majority			16,611	35.6	+10.2
Turnout			46,659	69.8	−0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 2017: Fylde^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Menzies	27,334	58.7	+9.5
	Labour	Jed Sullivan	15,529	33.3	+14.5
	Liberal Democrats	Freddie Van Mierlo	2,341	5.0	+1.3
	Green	Tina Rothery	1,263	2.7	−0.5
Majority			11,805	25.4	−5.0
Turnout			46,594	70.7	+4.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.5

General election 2015: Fylde^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Menzies	21,406	49.1	−3.1
	Labour	Jed Sullivan	8,182	18.8	−0.9
	UKIP	Paul White	5,569	12.8	+8.3
	Independent	Mike Hill	5,166	11.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Freddie van Mierlo	1,623	3.7	−18.4
	Green	Bob Dennett	1,381	3.2	+1.7
	Northern	Elizabeth Clarkson	230	0.5	N/A
Majority			13,224	30.3	+0.2
Turnout			43,557	66.3	0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2010: Fylde^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Menzies	22,826	52.2
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Winlow	9,641	22.1
	Labour	Liam Robinson	8,624	19.7
	UKIP	Martin Bleeker	1,945	4.5
	Green	Phillip Mitchell	654	1.5
Majority			13,185	30.1
Turnout			43,690	66.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Fylde^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Jack	24,287	53.4	+1.1
	Labour	William Parbury	11,828	26.0	−4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Winlow	7,748	17.0	+2.2
	Liberal	Tim Akeroyd	1,647	3.6	New
Majority			12,459	27.4	+5.9
Turnout			45,510	60.1	−0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.9

General election 2001: Fylde^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Jack	23,383	52.3	+3.4
	Labour	John Stockton	13,773	30.8	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Begg	6,599	14.8	+0.2
	UKIP	Lesley Brown	982	2.2	New
Majority			9,610	21.5	+4.2
Turnout			44,737	60.9	−12.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Fylde^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Jack	25,443	48.9
	Labour	John Garrett	16,480	31.7
	Liberal Democrats	William L. Greene	7,609	14.6
	Referendum	David J. Britton	2,372	4.6
	Natural Law	Terry B. Kerwin	163	0.3
Majority			8,963	17.3
Turnout			52,067	72.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Fylde^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Jack	30,639	61.4	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Cryer	9,648	19.3	−4.9
	Labour	Carol Hughes	9,382	18.8	+4.5
	Natural Law	Peter Leadbetter	239	0.5	New
Majority			20,991	42.1	+5.6
Turnout			49,908	78.5	+1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.8

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Fylde^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Jack	29,559	60.7	−2.2
	Liberal	Elizabeth Smith	11,787	24.2	−0.1
	Labour	Geoffrey Smith	6,955	14.3	+3.4
	Restore Capital Punishment	Harold Fowler	405	0.8	−1.2
Majority			17,772	36.5	−1.9
Turnout			48,706	77.0	+5.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Fylde^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Gardner	27,879	62.9
	Liberal	Elizabeth Smith	10,777	24.3
	Labour	David King	4,821	10.9
	Independent	Harold Fowler	863	2.0
Majority			17,102	38.6
Turnout			44,340	71.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections 1918–1945

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Fylde

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claude Lancaster	37,930	61.4
	Labour	Edgar Hewitt	22,102	35.8
	Common Wealth	Karl Edwin Heath	1,784	2.9
Majority			15,828	25.6
Turnout			61,816	70.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

1938 Fylde by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claude Lancaster	38,263	68.4	−2.4
	Labour	Mabel Tylecote	17,648	31.6	+2.4
Majority			20,615	36.8	−4.8
Turnout			55,911
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1935: Fylde

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	39,731	70.8
	Labour	Thomas McNamee	16,379	29.2
Majority			23,352	41.6
Turnout			56,110	72.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Fylde

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Fylde ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Stanley	29,894	64.7
	Labour	Joseph Williamson	16,318	35.3
Majority			13,576	29.4
Turnout			46,212	74.9
Registered electors			61,702
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1924: Fylde

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

General election 1923: Fylde ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Stanley	16,510	55.5
	Liberal	R. Parkinson Tomlinson	13,230	44.5
Majority			3,280	11.0
Turnout			29,740	76.1
Registered electors			39,090
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1922: Fylde

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

Elections in the 1910s

Ashley

General election 1918: Fylde

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Wilfrid Ashley	13,670	64.9
	Labour	William John Tout	7,400	35.1
Majority			6,270	29.8
Turnout			21,070	59.0
	Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
2. Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "F"
5. "Declaration of Results of Poll" (PDF). Fylde Council. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
6. "Statement of persons nominated" (PDF).
7. Parliamentary Election 2017^{[permanent dead link‍]} Fylde Borough Council
8. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. "Fylde". BBC News Online. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
10. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
16. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. The Liberal Year Book, 1930

External links

• Fylde UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Fylde UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Fylde UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK