The placeConstituency · North West · Electorate 78,091 · 2023 boundaries

Birkenhead.

Labour Party MP Mick Whitley holds the seat on 52.1% of the vote.

Member of ParliamentMick Whitley · Labour Party
CouncilWirral
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001091
Electorate · 2024
78.1k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
52.1%
Labour Party · +32.0pp over Grn
Settlements
2
Largest: Birkenhead
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
24.2
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
1 Jun 2026

The data available for Mick Whitley, Labour MP for Birkenhead since 2019, is strikingly thin -- and the news coverage that does exist is almost entirely about a different person. Every significant news story attached to this briefing concerns Alison McGovern, who appears to have succeeded Whitley as Birkenhead's MP and has since been appointed Minister for Local Government and Homelessness. This suggests Whitley may no longer be serving in this role, though the circumstances of that transition are not captured in the available data.

With zero recorded division votes and no speech data, it is impossible to construct any meaningful parliamentary record for Whitley from the information provided. No committee memberships, no rebel votes, no stance profile, and no deviations from party average are recorded. Whether this reflects a gap in data collection, his departure from the Commons, or some other circumstance cannot be determined from what is available here.

Constituents seeking to understand their current representation should note that Alison McGovern appears, based on the news record, to be the active MP for Birkenhead -- attending local groundbreaking ceremonies, drawing senior Labour endorsements, and holding ministerial office covering housing and local government. The news sentiment data for the constituency over the past 90 days centres on culture and community issues, with some crime coverage. This briefing cannot provide a reliable account of Mick Whitley's recent parliamentary activity due to the absence of usable data.

52.1%
Lab vote · 2024 GE
1
Council overlapping the seat
7
Wards · 21 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.7 wards · 21 councillors

Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Bebington(3 seats)Lamb · Walsh · Grier9,905Wirral LabMay 2023
Bidston St James(3 seats)Kenny · McManus · Grey4,054Wirral LabMay 2023
Birkenhead Tranmere(3 seats)Onwuemene · Tomeny · Cleary5,013Wirral LabMay 2023
Claughton(3 seats)Davies · Wood · Foulkes5,728Wirral LabMay 2023
Oxton(3 seats)Brame · Redfern · Kelly7,398Wirral LabMay 2023
Prenton(3 seats)Cooke · Gorman · Graham6,943Wirral LabMay 2023
Rock Ferry(3 seats)McDonald · Basnett · Murphy4,026Wirral LabMay 2023

Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

§ 02Settlements.2 named places

The seat’s population is concentrated in Birkenhead (89,890), with Bebington (15,037) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 104,927.

city 89,890large-town 15,037

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Birkenhead89,890city
Bebington15,037large town
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate53.3%57.1%-7%
Owner-occupied55.3%63.1%-12%
Private rented22.8%20.0%+14%
Social rented21.8%16.8%+30%

Ethnicity.

White93.6%
Asian3.4%
Black0.6%
Mixed1.6%
Other0.8%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 49.0% Female 51.0% Median seat
MaleAgeFemale
85+
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
16-19
10-15
5-9
0-4

Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band

§ 04Local economy.Income · tax · businesses · schools
Median income
£26,100
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£32,700
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
2,795
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
54
32 primary · 8 secondary
GCSE pass
63.4%
Attainment 8: 45.9

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£224m
Taxpayers51,000
Median per taxpayer£2,520
Mean per taxpayer£4,360

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

This constituency is served by Wirral. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.

For household tax breakdown

Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.

§ 05Recorded crime.data.police.uk · 12-month rolling

Headline rate.

Per 1k pop · 3mo
24.2
+17% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
8.1
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
39% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences9.3
Shoplifting2.6
Anti-social behaviour2.3
Public order2.1
Criminal damage & arson2.0
Drugs1.6
Other theft1.1

Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop

Showing 7 of 15·All 15 categories — full monthly trend & settlement breakdown
§ 06Election history.5 contests · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Alison McGovernWONLab22,46852.1
Jo BirdGrn8,67020.1
Tony StanleyRef6,14214.2
Sarah PayneCon3,2387.5
Stuart KellyLD2,2925.3
Catherine EvansInd3240.8

Turnout 43,134

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2019Mick WhitleyLab59.0
2017Frank FieldLab76.9
2015Frank FieldLab67.6
2010Field, FrankLab62.5
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
BoundariesONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundary review
Wards & councilsLGBCE · Democracy Club
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
SettlementsONS Built-Up Areas
Census 2021
DemographicsONS · Nomis · Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
Income & taxHMRC SPI
±8% confidence
SchoolsDfE · attainment data
Crimedata.police.uk
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo
ElectionsElectoral Commission