Fylde () is a constituency in Lancashire which since 2024 has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Andrew Snowden, a Conservative. It is the only Conservative seat in Lancashire after the 2024 general election, and one of three seats held by the party in North West England overall.
Constituency profile The Fylde constituency is located in Lancashire and covers the towns and villages between Blackpool and Preston. It is named after the Fylde, the peninsula and coastal plain on which it lies. Its largest town is Lytham St Annes, which has a population of around 43,000. Lytham St Annes was previously two separate towns, with Lytham being the older of the two and St Annes being a planned seaside resort town developed during the 1870s. Lytham is generally affluent whilst there is some deprivation in St Annes. Other settlements in the constituency include the town of Poulton-le-Fylde, the connected towns of Kirkham and Wesham and the connected villages of Freckleton and Warton. Poulton-le-Fylde is a historic market town, and Warton is the site of Warton Aerodrome and the headquarters of BAE Systems Military Air & Information, where the Eurofighter Typhoon is manufactured. House prices in the constituency are higher than the rest of North West England but lower than the national average.
In general, residents of the constituency are older, more religious and more likely to work in professional occupations compared to the rest of the country. Levels of education and household income are similar to national averages. White people made up 96% of the population at the 2021 census. At the district council level, most of the constituency is represented by Conservatives, with more independents elected in the rural areas in the east. At the county council, the rural east is instead represented by Reform UK. An estimated 57% of voters in Fylde supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the nationwide figure of 52%.
History The Fylde constituency was originally formed for the 1918 general election, but was abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was split into Fylde North and Fylde South. For the 1983 general election those two constituencies were merged to form a new Fylde constituency.
The seat has been won by Conservative Party members during the entirety of its two creations, though Labour came very close to winning the seat for the first time in 2024 on a swing of nearly 18%, but the Conservatives managed to hold on with a narrow three-figure majority.
Boundaries
Historic 1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Fleetwood, Kirkham, Longridge, Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton, and Walton-le-Dale, the Rural District of Preston, and part of the Rural District of Fylde.
1945–1950: Part of the County Borough of Preston; the Municipal Borough of Fleetwood; the Urban Districts of Kirkham, Longridge, Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton Cleveleys, Walton-le-Dale, and part of Fulwood; and, the Rural District of Fylde, and parts of Blackburn, and Preston.
1983–1997: The Borough of Fylde, and the Borough of Preston ward of Preston Rural West.
1997–2010: The Borough of Fylde, the Borough of Preston wards of Ingol and Preston Rural West, and the Borough of Wyre ward of Great Eccleston.
2010–2024: The Borough of Fylde, and the City of Preston ward of Lea.
The seat was reduced in the boundary review leading to the 2010 United Kingdom general election, losing most of its elements from the Borough of Wyre and the City of Preston to the new seat of Wyre and Preston North.
Current Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The Borough of Fylde The Borough of Wyre wards of: Breck; Hardhorn with High Cross; Tithebarn. The seat was expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring in the three Borough of Wyre wards which constitute the town of Poulton-le-Fylde, transferred from the abolished constituency of Wyre and Preston North. The small part formerly in the City of Preston was transferred to a revised Preston constituency. The constituency has four main population centres, namely Kirkham/Wesham, Lytham St Annes, Freckleton and Poulton-le-Fylde. Kirkham, Wesham and Freckleton are small towns with some light industrial development and have a considerable Labour vote, but Lytham and St Annes are comfortable seaside resorts, favoured by families and retired couples, and along with the more rural parts of the seat, are safely Conservative, as is the market town of Poulton-le-Fylde.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1918–1950 ElectionMemberParty 1918 Wilfrid Ashley Conservative 1922 Edward Stanley Conservative 1938 by-election Claude Lancaster Conservative 1950 constituency split into Fylde North and Fylde South
MPs since 1983 ElectionMemberParty 1983 Sir Edward Gardner Conservative 1987 Michael Jack 2010Mark Menzies2024 Independent 2024 Andrew Snowden Conservative
Election results
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections 1918–1945 Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1910s
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire
Notes
References
External links Fylde UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Fylde UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Fylde UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK