The seat is starkly divided between (usually) super-loyal Conservative wards centred around the town of Ormskirk such as Aughton Park and Aughton Town Green and the New Town of Skelmersdale which have provided Labour with greater, if not fanatical, support. In 1997 there was no doubt which face of the seat won the day.
Lancashire West was created in 1983 when the old Ormskirk seat was split in two to form this seat and Knowsley North. The Conservative Ken Hind won the first two contests in this constituency in 1983 and 1987, but eventually lost to Colin Pickthall in 1992, who won by more than 2,000 votes on a 2.7% swing.
Skelmersdale, thought of by many visitors as bleak, windy and hilly, has never been one of the more successful New Towns. Besides chronic levels of unemployment, there have been major problems in attracting and keeping a population and a large number of houses stand empty despite attempts to sell them at rock bottom prices - under £3,000 in some cases. Situated in the south west corner of Lancashire, the seat borders the seaside resorts of Formby and Southport to the east and the Merseyside towns of Kirkby and Maghull to the south.