General election guide: all the Preston, South Ribble, Chorley, Wyre, Ribble Valley and other Lancashire candidates, boundary changes and the current state of play

This is how the contests are shaping up in all of those seats across the county (plus Southport, which now incorporates the northern parishes of West Lancashire, which were previously part of the South Ribble constituency) – and all the major boundary changes you need to know about - ahead of the big vote on 4th July:

CENTRAL & SOUTHERN LANCASHIRE

***PRESTON

Candidate list

Yousuf Bhailok - Independent

David Brooks - Alliance for Democracy and Freedom

Neil Darby - Liberal Democrats

James Elliot - Reform UK

Trevor Hart - Conservative Party

Sir Mark Hendrick (sitting MP until Parliament was dissolved) - Labour and Co-operative Party

Derek Killeen - UK Independence Party

Michael Lavalette - Independent

Isabella Metcalf-Riener - Green Party

Joseph O’Meachair - Rejoin EU

State of play

Labour’s Sir Mark Hendrick - who has represented the constituency since 2000 - will be seeking to extend his stay as the city’s MP beyond the 25-year mark at this summer’s poll. At the last election in 2019, he secured a 12,146 majority - and a 61.8 percent share of the vote - over his Conservative rival, who trailed in a distant second place. The Brexit Party - which has since morphed into Reform UK - took just over five percent of the total votes cast.

Candidates for the 2024 vote include former Preston city councillor Trevor Hart, who lost his seat on the authority at last month's local elections; deputy Liberal Democrat group leader on the city council, Neil Darby; and another former Preston city councillor, Michael Lavalette, who previously sat at the town hall for parties including the Socialist Alliance and the Respect Party, but will be standing at the election as an independent.

The consistency has been held by Labour since it emerged in something close to its current form in 1983.

Major boundary changes

On the western edge of the city, the Preston seat will gain from the Fylde constituency those parts of the Ingol and Cottam and Lea and Larches wards that it does not already contain - which is the majority of them.

Elsewhere, Garrison and Cadley will join the Preston constituency from the soon-to-be-defunct Wyre and Preston North seat, a move which will put the whole of Cadley in the same parliamentary patch - only a small western portion currently sits in the Preston voting area for general elections.

***SOUTH RIBBLE

Candidate list

Katherine Fletcher (sitting MP until Parliament was dissolved) - Conservative Party

Paul Foster - Labour Party

Andy Hunter - Reform UK

Stephani Mok - Green Party

Ange Turner - Liberal Democrats

State of play

The seat, which includes western parts of the Chorley Council area, is currently held by Conservative politician Katherine Fletcher who was first elected in 2019. Back then, she enjoyed a 11,199 majority - a 55.8 percent vote share - and is standing again in the hope of securing a second term as the constituency’s representative.

She will be challenged this time by the Labour leader of South Ribble Borough Council, Paul Foster, who has run the authority for the past five years. The seat is 95th on Labour’s target list nationally, as determined by the degree of swing needed towards the party to win it - 8.65 percent. Liberal Democrat borough councillor Ange Turner is amongst the other candidates who will be vying for votes.

Since its formation in 1983, the seat has always mirrored the national election result - being Tory-held from 1983 until 1997, taken by Labour between 1997 and 2010 and then returning to the Conservatives in and since 2010.

Major boundary changes

The seat will gain the Farington East and Farington West wards from the Ribble Valley constituency, as well as the parts of the Eccleston, Heskin and Charnock Richard ward that it does not already cover.

Meanwhile, Hesketh-with-Becconsall, North Meols and Tarleton will all be subsumed into an expanded Southport seat.

Although within the South Ribble Borough Council area, the wards of Bamber Bridge East, Bamber Bridge West, Cupe Green and Gregson Lane, Lostock Hall, Samlesbury and Walton, Walton-le-Dale East and Walton-le-Dale West are - and will remain - in the Ribble Valley constituency.

***CHORLEY

Candidate list

Ben Holden-Crowther - Democracy for Chorley

Sir Lindsay Hoyle (sitting MP until Parliament was dissolved) - Speaker seeking re-election

Graham Moore - English Constitution Party, Independence for England

Martin Powell-Davies – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Mark Tebbutt - Green Party

State of play

For the second election in a row, Chorley’s current MP is the Speaker of the House of Commons, putting the constituency in a unique position. The tradition is that the major parties do not contest the parliamentary seat held by the Speaker.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been in that role since 2019, but has represented Chorley since 1997 - initially for Labour before having to renounce his party affiliation when he ascended to the Speaker’s chair.

At the 2019 poll, he snapped up a majority of 17,362 votes and the largest vote share in Lancashire at 67.3 percent, ahead of a Green Party and an independent candidate who challenged him for his seat. Sir Lindsay will again face a contest from the Greens and three other candidates this time round.

Major boundary changes

The whole of the Eccleston, Heskin and Charnock Richard ward will move to within the South Ribble seat - a total of almost 6,000 voters. Currently, only Eccleston is in the South Ribble voting area, while Heskin Green, Charnock Green and Charnock Richard are all in the Chorley constituency.

***RIBBLE VALLEY

Candidate list

Qasim Ajmi - Independent

John Carroll - Reform UK

Maya Ellis - Labour Party

Nigel Evans (sitting MP until Parliament was dissolved) - Conservative Party

Caroline Montague - Green Party

John Potter - Liberal Democrats

State of play

The Ribble Valley constituency has been significantly redrawn for the forthcoming election - losing the Clitheroe and Whalley areas which currently sit at the heart of it.

The seat - which includes eastern parts of the South Ribble Borough Council area, including Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale - has been represented by veteran Conservative MP Nigel Evans for the past 32 years. Mr. Evans, a deputy speaker of the Commons, is seeking re-election once again. On the current boundaries back in 2019, he secured the largest numerical majority in Lancashire - 18,439 votes - and a 60.3 percent vote share. Amongst his challengers this time are the Liberal Democrat group leader on Preston City Council, John Potter.

Apart from a brief period when it was held by the Liberal Democrats in 1991/92 following a by-election, the constituency has been a Tory stronghold since its formation in 1983.

Major boundary changes

In the east of the constituency, the Chatburn, East Whalley, Read & Simonstone, Edisford and Low Moor, Littlemoor, Primrose, Sabben, Salthill, St. Mary’s, Whalley and Painter Wood, and Wiswell and Barrow wards are all decanted into the new Pendle and Clitheroe seat.

Meanwhile, on the western side, the Farington East and Farington West wards will move into the South Ribble constituency. The new Ribble Valley seat also acquires the Preston City Council wards of Greyfrairs, Sharoe Green, Preston Rural North and Preston Rural East.

***WEST LANCASHIRE

Candidate list

Ashley Dalton (sitting MP until Parliament was dissolved) - Labour Party

Simon Evans - Reform UK

Charlotte Houltram - Green Party

Mike Prendergast - Conservative Party

Graham Smith - Liberal Democrats

State of play

The seat - which has had the moniker Lancashire West at recent polls - has been Labour held since 1992, having been secured by the Conservatives for the first nine years after its formation in 1983.

It was won by the long-serving MP Rosie Cooper back in 2019, but she stepped down in 2023 to move into an NHS role and a by-election returned Labour’s Ashley Dalton as the new MP. The latter’s majority - of 8,326 votes - was almost identical to that of Ms. Copper, in spite of the by-election attracting approximately half the turnout of the 2019 poll.

Major boundary changes

Rufford moves into a broadened Southport seat.

***SOUTHPORT

Candidate list

Edwin Black - Green Party

Sean Halsall - Independent

Erin Harvey - Liberal Democrats

Patrick Hurley - Labour Party

Andrew Lynn - Reform UK

Damien Moore (sitting MP until 30th May)

State of play

The seat was held by the Liberal Democrats between 1997 and 2017, when Damien Moore took the constituency for the Conservatives. He is defending a 4,147 majority - a near 48 percent vote share - from the last election in 2019.

Major boundary changes

The seat acquires the northern parishes of the West Lancashire Council area - Hesketh-with-Becconsall, North Meols and Tarleton - which previously sat within the South Ribble parliamentary constituency. Riufford also moves in from the West Lancashire seat.

NORTH LANCASHIRE

***LANCASTER AND WYRE

Candidate list

Nigel Alderson - Reform UK

Peter Cartridge - Conservative Party

Jack Lenox - Green Party

Matt Severn - Liberal Democrats

Cat Smith (sitting MP in Lancaster and Fleetwood until Parliament was dissolved) - Labour Party

State of Play

A re-formed constituency for the 2024 election - having previously existed between 1997 and 2010 - it will absorb parts of the current Wyre and Preston North and Lancaster and Fleetwood seats, which are both being abolished.

The previous Wyre and Preston North Conservative MP Ben Wallace - who was first elected in 2005 to the old Lancaster and Wyre seat - is not standing for election again this year. He won by a comfortable majority of 16,781 votes at the last election in 2019. The previous Lancaster and Fleetwood Labour MP Cat Smith is contesting the redrawn constituency. She enjoys a majority of 2,380 in her present seat.

Wyre and Preston North has been Conservative held since it was formed in 2010, while Lancaster and Fleetwood was also taken by the Tories when it was created the same year, but was snatched by Labour in 2015 and has been retained by them ever since.

The new Lancaster and Wyre seat is 30th on Labour’s target list by virtue of the size of the swing needed to take it from the Conservatives. That calculation - made on behalf of the Press Association - is based on a notional result from the 2019 election, had the constituency existed then.

Major boundary changes

In the Preston City Council area, the Greyfrairs, Sharoe Green, Preston Rural North and Preston Rural East wards - totalling more than 23,000 residents - will all shift into the revamped Ribble Valley constituency from their current home in Wyre and Preston North. The Garrison and Cadley wards will move from that constituency into the Preston seat.

The Skerton East and Skerton West wards will move into the new Lancaster and Wyre constituency from their present home in Morecambe and Lunesdale.

New seat’s boundaries

The full list of wards which fall under the new Lancaster and Wyre seat is: Brock with Catterall, Calder, Garstang, Great Eccleston, Hambleton and Stalmine, Pilling, Preesall and Wyresdale - all in the Wyre Council area - and Bulk, Castle, Ellel, John O'Gaunt, Marsh, Scotforth East, Scotforth West, Skerton East, Skerton West, and University and Scotforth Rural, in the Lancaster City Council area.

***MORECAMBE AND LUNESDALE

Candidate list

Lizzi Collinge - Labour Party

Gina Dowding - Green Party

Peter Jackson - Liberal Democrats

David Morris (sitting MP until Parliament was dissolved) - Conservative Party

Barry Parsons - Reform UK

State of play

The Conservative Party’s David Morris has represented the seat since 2010 and, last time around in 2019, secured a 6,354 majority and a 52.8 percent share of the vote. For the second election running, his Labour challenger will be Lancashire county councillor Lizzi Collinge, while fellow County Hall member Gina Dowding is on the ballot for the Green Party.

The seat has tracked the national result since its formation 1983, first going to the Tories and then turning Labour between 1997 and 2010.

Major boundary changes

The Skerton East and Skerton West wards move into the new Lancaster and Wyre seat.

FYLDE COAST

***BLACKPOOL NORTH AND FLEETWOOD

Candidate list

Dan Barker - Reform UK

Lorraine Beavers - Labour Party

Jan Creswell - Social Democratic Party

Gita Gordon - Independent

Bill Greene - Liberal Democrats

Paul Maynard (sitting MP for for Blackpool North and Cleveleys until 30th May) - Conservative Party

Tina Rothery - Green Party

James Rust - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

State of play

The re-emergence of a constituency that was scrapped in 2010 and which will take in parts of the abolished Blackpool North and Cleveleys and Lancaster and Fleetwood seats.

It previously existed between 1997 and 2010 and was Labour held for all of its 13 years. However, Blackpool North and Cleveleys has been the preserve of the Tories since its formation in 2010 and the MP throughout that time, Paul Maynard, is contesting the seat once again. He is defending an 8,596 majority.

The current Labour holder of the Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency is standing in the new Lancaster and Wyre seat, while the party will field the deputy opposition group leader of Lancashire County Council, Lorraine Beavers, in Blackpool North and Fleetwood.

The new Blackpool North and Fleetwood seat is 110th on Labour’s target list by virtue of the size of the swing needed to gain it from the Conservatives. That calculation - made on behalf of the Press Association - is based on a notional result from the 2019 election, had the constituency existed then.

Major boundary changes

The Carleton and Stanah wards will move in from the axed Wyre and Preston North, along with the central and southern parts of the Marsh Mill ward that are not already part of Blackpool North and Cleveleys.

Meanwhile, the Park, Pharos, Rossall and Warren wards will join from Lancaster and Fleetwood. The Claremont, Clayton, Park (different to the aforementioned) and Warbreck wards will shift into Blackpool South.

***BLACKPOOL SOUTH

Candidate list

Stephen Black - Independent

Mark Butcher - Reform UK

Andrew Cregan - Liberal Democrats

Zak Khan - Conservative Party

Kim Knight - Alliance for Democracy and Freedom

Ben Thomas - Green Party

Chris Webb (sitting MP until 30th May) - Labour Party

State of play

Barely had the campaign banners come down in Blackpool South after May’s high-profile by-election in the constituency than the general election was called.

Chris Webb, the new Labour MP for the seat, secured a 26 percent swing to take it from the Conservatives - the third-biggest Tory-to-Labour shift since 1945 - after Scott Benton stood down following a lobbying scandal. The former is now defending a 7,607 majority, compared to the 3,690 won by Scott Benton in 2019 - and on a much lower turnout at the by-election poll.

The Conservatives were within just over 100 votes of coming third, behind Reform UK, in the by-election. The Tories have chosen a different candidate, Zak Khan, for the general election, while Reform have once again selected Mark Butcher.

Major boundary changes

The Claremont, Clayton, Park and Warbreck wards join the seat from the soon-to-be-defunct neighbouring Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency.

***FYLDE

Candidate list

Anne Aitken - Independent

Tom Calver - Labour Party

Mark Jewell - Liberal Democrats

Cheryl Morrison - Alliance for Democracy and Freedom

Andrew Snowden - Conservative Party

Brenden Wilkinson - Green Party

Brook Wimbury - Reform UK

State of play

Previous MP Mark Menzies - who has represented the seat since 2010 - announced in April he was standing down after an investigation by the Conservative Party found he had shown a “pattern of behaviour” that fell below the standard expected of MPs - although he was cleared of claims he had misused party funds. He had already resigned the Tory whip and ended his tenure as an independent.

Former Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden has been chosen to contest the seat for the Tories.

Mr. Menzies secured a healthy majority of 16.611 back in 2019 and a 60.9 percent vote share in a seat that has been won only by the Tories in a history which dates back to 1918. The constituency disappeared in 1950, before being re-formed in 1983.

Major boundary changes

The Breck, Hardhorn with High Cross and Tithebarn wards will join from the axed Wyre and Preston North constituency.

The parts of the Ingol and Cottam and Lea and Larches wards that currently sit in Fylde will move into the Preston seat.

EAST LANCASHIRE

***BLACKBURN

Candidate list

Kate Hollern (sitting MP until 30th May) - Labour Party

Adnan Hussain - Independent

Jamie McGowan - Conservative Party

Denise Morgan - Green Party

Craig Murray - Workers Party of Britain

Tiger Patel - Independent

Natasha Shah - Independent

Tommy Temperley - Reform UK

Adam Waller Slack - Liberal Democrats

State of play

The solid Labour seat - which has never elected anyone of another political colour since it was created in 1955 - has the second largest majority in Lancashire. Kate Hollern - who has represented the constituency since 2015 - secured 18,304 votes in 2019, a 64.9 percent share.

A former Conservative councillor on Blackburn with Darwen Council, Altaf ‘Tiger’ Patel - who resigned from the party in October 2023 over the government’s stance on the conflict in Gaza and now sits as independent - is amongst a trio of independent candidates at the general election poll.

Major boundary changes

None.

***BURNLEY

Candidate list

Gordon Birtwistle - Liberal Democrats

Mitchell Cryer - Independent

Rayyan Fiass - Independent

Antony Higginbotham (sitting MP until 30th May) - Conservative Party

Jack Launer - Green Party

David Roper - Independent

Oliver Ryan - Labour and Co-operative Party

State of play

The seat became an emblem of the demolition of Labour’s so-called ‘red wall’ at the 2019 election when it turned Tory for the first time in its then 101-year history. It had previously been Labour held for all but five years when the Liberal Democrats seized it for one term between 2010 and 2015.

The previous Conservative MP, Antony Higginbotham, is defending the slimmest majority in Lancashire - 1,352 votes - and the seat is the top Labour target by the scale of the swing needed for the party to retake it, at just 0.13 percent.

Major boundary changes

The Brierfield East & Clover Hill and Brierfield West & Reedley wards join the Burnley seat from the current Pendle constituency.

***HYNDBURN

Candidate list

Sara Britcliffe (sitting MP until 30th May) - Conservative Party

Shabir Fazal - Green Party

Richard Oakley - Reform UK

Sarah Smith – Labour Party

Beth Waller-Slack - Liberal Democrats

State of play

The seat was taken by the Tories in 2019 after 27 years of it being held by Labour. It had originally been secured by the Conservatives for almost a decade after its formation in 1983.

Incumbent MP Sara Britcliffe won a 2,951-vote majority in 2019, a 48.5 percent vote share.

The constituency is 35th on Labour’s target list, requiring a 3.48 percent swing towards the party in order for it to recapture the seat.

Major boundary changes

None.

***PENDLE AND CLITHEROE

Candidate list

Victoria Fletcher - Reform UK

Anna Fryer - Liberal Democrats

Syed Hashmi - Workers Party

Jonathan Hinder - Labour Party

Tony Johnson - Independent

Zulfikar Khan - Independent

Lex Kristan - Green Party

Andrew Stephenson (sitting MP until 30th May) - Conservative Party

Christopher Thompson - Rejoin UK

State of play

A significantly redrawn seat after the current Pendle constituency was joined by the Clitheroe and Whalley areas which have been carved out of a similarly revamped Ribble Valley.

The existing Pendle seat has been Tory held - by the same MP, Andrew Stephenson - since 2010. Last time out, in 2019, he enjoyed a majority of 6,168 votes - 54.2 percent of the total number cast. The constituency was secured by Labour between 1992 and 2010 and had been won by the Conservatives when it was created in 1983.

As part of the Ribble Valley seat, Clitheroe and Whalley were part of a constituency held by the Tories for all but one of the 41 years of its history.

Major boundary changes

The Brierfield East & Clover Hill and Brierfield West & Reedley wards depart for the Burnley constituency.

Meanwhile, the Chatburn, East Whalley, Read & Simonstone, Edisford and Low Moor, Littlemoor, Primrose, Sabben, Salthill, St. Mary’s, Whalley and Painter Wood, and Wiswell and Barrow wards all join from the current Ribble Valley seat.

***ROSSENDALE AND DARWEN

Candidate list

Tayab Ali - Workers Party

Bob Bauld - Green Party

Jake Berry (sitting MP until 30th May) - Conservative Party

Rowan Fitton - Liberal Democrats

Andy MacNae - Labour Party

Daniel Matchett - Reform UK

State of play

The seat has been held by Conservative MP Jake Berry since 2010. He enjoyed a 9,522-vote majority at the last election in 2019, a 56.5 percent vote share.

The constituency was Tory-won upon its formation in 1983, but was taken by Labour between 1992 and 2010. It is number 107 on Labour’s target list this time around based on the swing needed for the party to take it – 9.85 percent.

Major boundary changes

None.