The seat was established by the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and covers the southwest part of
Cumbria. The largest town in the constituency,
Barrow-in-Furness, grew on the back of the
shipbuilding industry and is now the site of the
BAE Systemsnuclear submarine and shipbuilding operation. This reliance on the industry aligns many of its journalists and in its community with strong nuclear deterrents, from which Labour has recoiled since its involvement in the Iraq War that removed dictator Saddam Hussain. Labour
Cabinet member
Albert Booth represented Barrow for many years from 1966, but was defeated in 1983, in the aftermath of the
Falklands War, by a
Manchester lawyer,
Cecil Franks of the
Conservative Party, who retained the seat until 1992. Local media attributed this to widespread fears of job losses because the Labour Party was then signed up to doing away with all its
nuclear capabilities including the
submarines.[n 3]
As Labour revised its policies by favouring the retention of Britain's nuclear capability, and following massive job losses in the town's shipbuilding industry, Labour's fortunes revived in Barrow.
John Hutton took the seat back for Labour in 1992 and retained it until the 2010 general election, when he was replaced by
John Woodcock, also of Labour. In 2001, Hutton had the support of more than half of all those who voted. Other industries in the constituency currently include engineering and chemicals, and more than a quarter of all jobs are in
manufacturing. The 2015 result gave the seat the 10th-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[3] In 2017, Woodcock's majority was reduced from 795 votes to 209 votes, the 16th smallest majority in the country.[4] Conservative, Simon Fell, took the seat in 2019 with a slightly greater margin than John Woodcock had when he first won the seat for Labour in 2010.
1885–1918: The municipal borough of Barrow-in-Furness.[5]
1983–2010: The entire district of
Barrow-in-Furness and the following wards from the District of South Lakeland: Low Furness, Pennington, Ulverston Central, Ulverston East, Ulverston North, Ulverston South and Ulverston West.
2010–present: The entire district of
Barrow-in-Furness and the following wards from the District of South Lakeland: Broughton, Crake Valley, Low Furness & Swarthmoor,
Ulverston Central, Ulverston East, Ulverston North, Ulverston South, Ulverston Town and Ulverston West.
The Borough of Copeland wards of: Black Combe & Scafell; Millom.
The District of South Lakeland wards of: Broughton & Coniston (polling districts AHA, AHB, AHC, BZ, CA, CB, CL and CY); Furness Peninsula; Ulverston East; Ulverston West.[6]
The constituency will be expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring the (former) Copeland Borough wards of Black Combe & Scafell, and
Millom from the (to be abolished) constituency of
Copeland. The boundaries within the (former) District of South Lakeland are unchanged, with the revised contents reflecting a previous local government boundary review.
With effect from 1 April 2023, the second tier councils in Cumbria were abolished and replaced by the new unitary authorities of Cumberland, and Westmorland and Furness.[7] The constituency will therefore now comprise the following from the 2024 general election:
The Cumberland wards of: Millom; Millom Without (most).
The Westmorland and Furness wards of: Dalton North; Dalton South; Hawcoat and Newbarns; High Furness; Low Furness; Old Barrow and Hindpool; Ormsgill and Parkside; Risedale and Roosecote; Ulverston; Walney Island; and a very small part of Coniston and Hawkshead.[8]
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
^"Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.