Southport is a coastal town which used to be part of Lancashire but which was transferred to Merseyside in the local government reforms of the early 1970s. It is 20 miles north of Liverpool and 17 from Preston, the town being surrounded by a flat countryside of attractive villages and mostly arable farms. Southport has kept its genteel image and is proud of its Victorian heritage (there is a statue of Queen Victoria on the promenade) as well as its well-known flower show and restored pier. Neighbouring Birkdale has a championship golf course. This is an upmarket seaside resort where almost 22% of the population are over 65. Almost 50% of housing is semi-detached and nearly 80% owner-occupied. Unemployment is low for the north west - 19.3% of the working population are employed in wholesale and retail occupations and 16.2% in health and social work. It is rather unusual to find a Conservative-Lib Dem marginal in this part of the world. The Tories held this seat from 1924 to 1983 but, like in other coastal towns, their vote has declined in recent decades. Unlike other Lancashire coastal towns like Blackpool and Morecambe, however, the Liberal Democrats have been the beneficiaries here. Ronnie Fearn first fought the seat in 1970, progressively reducing the Tory majority until he finally won at his fifth attempt in 1987. However he lost again to the Conservatives' Matthew Banks five years later but persisted and regained the seat in 1997. He retired in 2001. His successor, John P

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Southport is a coastal town which used to be part of Lancashire but which was transferred to Merseyside in the local government reforms of the early 1970s. It is 20 miles north of Liverpool and 17 from Preston, the town being surrounded by a flat countryside of attractive villages and mostly arable farms. Southport has kept its genteel image and is proud of its Victorian heritage (there is a statue of Queen Victoria on the promenade) as well as its well-known flower show and restored pier. Neighbouring Birkdale has a championship golf course. This is an upmarket seaside resort where almost 22% of the population are over 65. Almost 50% of housing is semi-detached and nearly 80% owner-occupied. Unemployment is low for the north west - 19.3% of the working population are employed in wholesale and retail occupations and 16.2% in health and social work. It is rather unusual to find a Conservative-Lib Dem marginal in this part of the world. The Tories held this seat from 1924 to 1983 but, like in other coastal towns, their vote has declined in recent decades. Unlike other Lancashire coastal towns like Blackpool and Morecambe, however, the Liberal Democrats have been the beneficiaries here. Ronnie Fearn first fought the seat in 1970, progressively reducing the Tory majority until he finally won at his fifth attempt in 1987. However he lost again to the Conservatives' Matthew Banks five years later but persisted and regained the seat in 1997. He retired in 2001. His successor, John Pugh, was elected in 2001 by 3,007.

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