Halton constituency sits on either side of the River Mersey and comprises of Widnes, the original town of Runcorn (with a small part of the new town) and Hale village. It consists of 14 separate wards; Hale, Ditton, Riverside, Hough Green, Broadheath, Kingsway, Birchfield, Farnworth, Appleton, Halton, Mersey, Heath, Grange and Halton Brook. To view maps of the constituency, please click here.
The parliamentary seat of Halton was created in 1983 and it has been Labour held throughout its existence electing The Rt Hon Gordon Oakes as its first Member of Parliament.
Widnes moved to Cheshire in 1974 and formed with Runcorn the Borough of Halton. Links between Widnes and Runcorn stretch back nearly 900 years to the early 12th century when land on both sides of the river formed part of the Halton Barony. The two towns are connected by the Runcorn/ Widnes Bridge which at 330 metres long is one of the largest arch bridges in the world. It carries the A557 across the Mersey and is of major importance to Halton, Merseyside and indeed, the north west of England. The bridge has now exceeded its capacity and as it gets older and traffic levels continue to rise, essential maintenance becomes more and more disruptive. The proposed New Mersey Crossing will relieve the Runcorn/ Widnes Bridge, encourage development and bring about regeneration in the surrounding area.
Halton is an urban, industrial area. Its main businesses are in chemicals, food processing, clothing, metal products and call centres.
Halton is also the home of the Widnes Vikings- the world renowned Rugby League Club, and of Runcorn Football Club- The Linnets.
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