At the mouth of the Mersey, Bootle - first mentioned in the Doomsday book - is a tough inner city constituency. It is perhaps best remembered the area where toddler Jamie Bulger was killed in 1993.
Bootle is part of the metropolitan borough of Sefton but is far more similar to the neighbouring districts of working class north Liverpool than to the Sefton’s middle-class commuting and seaside communities. Many of Bootle’s once busy extensive docks now stand idle rendering it one of the poorest constituencies in Britain.
Aided by European funding, the Docklands have been redeveloped whilst many local business have been given grants to help them expand and create jobs. Despite these efforts unemployment remains high and the area reflect many of the problems associated with the poverty and deprivations of the inner city. Youth alcohol abuse, vandalism, car theft, teenage pregnancy and drug addiction all appear commonplace.
This seat provided Labour's biggest victory in 1997 with a 74.4 per cent margin of voters separating Joe Benton from other candidates.