Lancashire West
Labour hold

Once upon a time the West Lancashire seat could be introduced as a starkly divided marginal, with very little in common between its two constituent parts, Skelmersdale New Town and the very Conservative communities of the plain around Ormskirk. Now however the Labour element has overwhelmed all opposition, as Colin Pickthall, who gained the seat from Kenneth Hind in 1992, won by over 17,000 in 1997. This was partly due to the removal of some Tory villages to the north to join South Ribble, which is still marginal. It is far more due to the national and regional swing to Labour, and even if Skelmersdale should demonstrate a low turnout in the next General Election this will not loosen Labour's grip.

Colin Pickthall, Jack Straw's PPS and a man with a rough-hewn piratical visage and beard, won this seat for Labour in 1992. A unilateralist leftwinger-turned-loyalist, he was born in 1944, attended Ulverston Grammar School and the Universities of Wales and Lancaster, and then taught in schools and higher education colleges for 25 years. An insulin-dependent diabetic, he opposes hare coursing - practised in his constituency at the Waterloo Cup - and backs the standard Labour teachers' opposition to league tables and selective schooling.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 26.40% 14.99% 176.10 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.45% 2.13% 21.18 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.99% 2.49% 40.01 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 2.95% 4.43% 66.60 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 10.76% 7.27% 147.91 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.65% 2.56% 25.28 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.10% 2.04% 4.72 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.00% 3.94% 0.00 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 15.97% 13.04% 122.45 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 9.49% 12.70% 74.74 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 3.81% 8.14% 46.75 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.00% 4.02% 0.00 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 2.05% 3.19% 64.45 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 15.38% 11.31% 135.99 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.91% 3.06% 29.72 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 10.09% 2.52% 400.59 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 9.15% 9.41% 97.21 £5-10K 16.06% 16.63% 96.54 £10-15K 16.31% 16.58% 98.40 £15-20K 13.64% 13.58% 100.42 £20-25K 10.60% 10.39% 101.99 £25-30K 8.01% 7.77% 103.03 £30-35K 6.00% 5.79% 103.62 £35-40K 4.50% 4.33% 103.85 £40-45K 3.39% 3.27% 103.82 £45-50K 2.57% 2.48% 103.60 £50-55K 1.97% 1.90% 103.25 £55-60K 1.52% 1.47% 102.80 £60-65K 1.18% 1.15% 102.28 £65-70K 0.92% 0.91% 101.71 £70-75K 0.73% 0.72% 101.11 £75-80K 0.58% 0.57% 100.48 £80-85K 0.46% 0.46% 99.84 £85-90K 0.37% 0.37% 99.19 £90-95K 0.30% 0.31% 98.53 £95-100K 0.24% 0.25% 97.87 £100K + 1.25% 1.34% 93.20