STV for North Lancashire

When I’ve visited Morecambe and Lancaster, they’ve always felt like one continuous place, yet for electoral purposes, they’re usually split under FPTP, with Morecambe joined to rural areas to the north, and Lancaster linked to areas to the south. Under the recent Boundary Review, Morecambe’s constituency even stretches into Cumbria. In this post, we’ll see how they can finally be joined together under STV, as we take a look at the rest of north and west Lancashire.

Preston and Lancashire North (to elect 4 MPs, covering the current constituencies of Lancaster and Wyre;  Morecambe and Lunesdale; Preston; Ribble Valley )

Blackpool & Fylde (to elect 3 MPs, covering the current constituencies of Blackpool North and Fleetwood; Blackpool South; Fylde)

The Geography

My North Lancashire STV constituency is completed by the addition of Preston and Ribble Valley. In the latest review, Ribble Valley lost Clitheroe, which I thought was its main town. Most of the population now comes from the suburbs north and south of Preston, so it makes sense to bring them together in one seat.

There’s no place quite like Blackpool in the UK—it’s the seaside amusement experience turned up to eleven. The surrounding Fylde area, with its quieter seaside resorts of Lytham and St Annes (which, I am assured, are two different places), contrasts sharply with Blackpool’s atmosphere.

The Politics

This is another region where Labour made multiple gains in 2024, adding to their hold on Preston by winning all the other seats, bar Fylde, where they were just a few hundred votes short. Their remarkable gain of Ribble Valley was also by a slim margin.

Only in Lancaster did the winning party secure noticeably more than 40% of the vote. In Fylde and Preston, two Independents gathered significant support, with one in Preston achieving over 20% of the vote. Reform UK also performed well across the region, especially in Blackpool South.

Labour is likely to secure at least one MP in each constituency. The Liberal Democrats are unlikely to make much progress here, but as for the remaining seats, it’s anyone’s guess—STV’s transfer process will play a major role

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No visit to Morecambe is complete for me without a visit to the statue on the shore, then I can go about my day singing the song