The placeConstituency · South East · Electorate 74,081 · 2023 boundaries

West Lancashire.

Labour Party MP Ashley Dalton holds the seat on 50.5% of the vote.

Member of ParliamentAshley Dalton · Labour Party
CouncilWest Lancashire
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001577
Electorate · 2024
74.1k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
50.5%
Labour Party · +30.8pp over Con
Settlements
10
Largest: Skelmersdale
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
14.4
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
2 Jun 2026

Ashley Dalton's most significant recent act was resigning as a Health Minister in March 2026 to focus on her role as a local MP after disclosing she has incurable breast cancer -- a decision she framed around her constituents' right to active representation. She has since returned to the backbenches, where she immediately pushed for ministerial intervention over plans to axe A&E services at a Lancashire hospital, signalling that her local advocacy has intensified rather than diminished since leaving government.

On assisted dying, Dalton is a clear outlier within Labour. She voted against the Terminally Ill Adults Bill at Second Reading, Report Stage, and Third Reading -- one of a minority of Labour MPs to oppose the legislation throughout -- and sits 48 percentage points below her party's average on assisted dying access, the sharpest deviation in her profile. Otherwise she votes with Labour 98.7% of the time. Her participation rate of 61% is below the Commons average, though her period in government and her health treatment provide context for that figure. Her 243 contributions span 83 debates, with health and social care dominating -- a focus that predates her own diagnosis and reflects a consistent policy interest.

Her former role as a Health Minister explains why health accounts for 65 of her recorded speech contributions, and her cancer diagnosis has since made her a more prominent voice on NHS provision. Local news coverage over the past 90 days skews heavily towards crime stories unrelated to Dalton herself; coverage directly involving her centres on health and constituency advocacy, with broadly positive sentiment. No committee memberships are currently recorded.

50.5%
Lab vote · 2024 GE
1
Council overlapping the seat
13
Wards · 13 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.13 wards · 13 councillors

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

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Aughton Holborn Anne Marie Hughes1,162West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Burscough Bridge Rufford Alison Jones827West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Burscough Town Jess Riding938West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Old Skelmersdale Ella Worthington883West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Ormskirk East Michael John Crompton1,151West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Ormskirk West Charles Robert Berry1,105West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Rural North East Katie Juckes1,093West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Rural South Linda Marjorie Webster842West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Rural West Gareth Oakes1,191West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Skelmersdale North Lizzie Urquhart780West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Skelmersdale South Nigel Hudson581West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Tanhouse Skelmersdale Town Centre Aaron Body713West Lancashire RefMay 2026
Up Holland Richard Lee1,028West Lancashire RefMay 2026

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

§ 02Settlements.10 named places

The seat’s population is concentrated in Skelmersdale (33,961), with Ormskirk (29,608) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 100,444.

large-town 63,569town 28,549village 8,326

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Skelmersdale33,961large town
Ormskirk29,608large town
Rural & dispersed11,357town
Burscough9,622town
Orrell7,570town
Parbold2,497village
Showing 6 of 10·All 10 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate54.1%57.1%-5%
Owner-occupied69.7%63.1%+10%
Private rented14.4%20.0%-28%
Social rented15.8%16.8%-6%

Ethnicity.

White96.7%
Asian1.1%
Black0.4%
Mixed1.4%
Other0.4%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 47.9% Female 52.1% 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
£27,300
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£36,900
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
3,845
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
64
47 primary · 5 secondary
GCSE pass
63.8%
Attainment 8: 43.9

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£283m
Taxpayers50,000
Median per taxpayer£2,650
Mean per taxpayer£5,710

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

This constituency is served by West Lancashire. 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
14.4
-31% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
4.8
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
41% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences5.9
Anti-social behaviour2.2
Criminal damage & arson1.3
Other theft1.0
Public order0.7
Shoplifting0.7
Vehicle crime0.6

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.6 contests · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Ashley DaltonWONLab22,30550.5
Mike PrendergastCon8,68019.6
Simon EvansRef7,90917.9
Charlotte HoultramGrn3,2637.4
Graham SmithLD2,0434.6

Turnout 44,200

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2023Ruth Ashley Charman DaltonLab62.3
2019Rosie CooperLab52.1
2017Rosie CooperLab58.9
2015Rosie CooperLab49.3
2010Cooper, RosieLab45.1
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