An earlier constituency of the same name existed between 1918 and 1983, but lay further to the south-east, and was a predominantly Conservative seat.
Constituency profile
Liverpool Wavertree is an urban and suburban constituency in Merseyside. It covers neighbourhoods lying south-east of Liverpool city centre, including Wavertree, Kensington, Edge Hill, Childwall, St Michael's Hamlet, Mossley Hill and Aigburth. Liverpool is a large port city with a history of slave trading and importation of goods for Lancashire's industry. The city underwent economic decline in the 1970s as the docks and manufacturing industries declined in importance, but has experienced regeneration in the 21st century. The Liverpool Wavertree constituency has average levels of wealth; there is high deprivation in the north of the constituency around Wavertree and Kensington, which have dense terraced housing, whilst Childwall and Aigburth are generally affluent. The constituency has a large student population; Kensington and Edge Hill lie adjacent to the University of Liverpool, and Childwall is the location of Liverpool Hope University which has around 5,000 students. The average house price in the constituency is lower than the national average but similar to the rest of North West England.
In general, residents of Liverpool Wavertree are young and well-educated. Few are married and the rate of homeownership is low. Household income is average and a high proportion of residents work in the health, education and finance sectors. The child poverty rate is high, and a high percentage of residents claim unemployment benefits. White people made up 78% of the population at the 2021 census, with Asians being the largest ethnic minority group at 7%. At the local city council, most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrats, with some Labour Party councillors elected in the areas closer to the city centre and Green Party representatives elected around St Michael's Hamlet. Voters in Liverpool Wavertree strongly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 68% voted to remain compared to the nationwide figure of 48%.
Historic
1918–1950: The County Borough of Liverpool wards of Allerton, Childwall and Little Woolton, Garston, Much Woolton, Wavertree, and Wavertree West.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Liverpool wards of Old Swan, Wavertree, and Wavertree West.
1955–1983: The County Borough of Liverpool wards of Broadgreen, Childwall, Church, and Old Swan.
1997–2010: The City of Liverpool wards of Broadgreen, Childwall, Church, Kensington, Old Swan, and Picton.
2010–2024: The City of Liverpool wards of Childwall, Church, Kensington and Fairfield, Old Swan, Picton, and Wavertree.
Liverpool was subject to a comprehensive local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023. As a result, the new constituency boundaries do not align with the revised ward boundaries. The constituency now comprises the following wards or part wards of the City of Liverpool from the 2024 general election:
Aigburth; Arundel; Canning (small part); Childwall (most); Church (most); Edge Hill (nearly all); Everton East (small part); Festival Gardens (part); Gateacre (very small part); Greenbank Park; Kensington & Fairfield (most); Mossley Hill (most); Old Swan West; Penny Lane (part); Princes Park (small part); Sefton Park; Smithdown; St Michaels; Wavertree Garden Suburbs; Wavertree Village.
The present Liverpool Wavertree constituency dates from 1997. It contained parts of the former constituencies of Liverpool Broadgreen and Liverpool Mossley Hill. It was held by Jane Kennedy of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2010, who was also the former MP for Liverpool Broadgreen. At the 2005 general election, the Labour lead over the Liberal Democrats was cut from 38 points to 15 points. At the 2010 general election, Jane Kennedy retired, and Luciana Berger was selected as the official Labour candidate, which caused some friction in the local CLP, especially due to her close connection with Kennedy.
An earlier Liverpool Wavertree constituency existed until 1983; this was further to the south-east in the city and was predominantly a Conservative seat, occasionally with large majorities. It had been created in 1918, but a declining population in the 1970s caused it to be split between Liverpool Garston, the newly formed Liverpool Broadgreen and Liverpool Mossley Hill constituencies. While the Conservatives have fared badly in the new Wavertree constituency (polling under 7% at the 2005 general election), a direct comparison must take into account the differing boundaries since the 1997 recreation: with more inner-city areas than its previous incarnation, the seat is home to constituents on a lower income than the average in the North West and who are traditionally less sympathetic to Conservative policies. The 2015 general election result made the seat the seventh-safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.
At the 2010 general election, the Liberal Democrats' targeting of the seat led to a high turnout; however, it was comfortably retained by Labour with a 2.1% swing away from the Liberal Democrats. The unexpected turnout led, unusually, to one polling station running out of ballot papers.
