WIRRAL South MP Alison McGovern has confirmed she is putting herself forward for a new seat in Birkenhead ahead of the next General Election.

Ms McGovern's Wirral South constituency will be divided into Wirral West and Ellesmere Port, with most becoming part of Wirral West, under Boundary Commission changes which would see the number of seats on Wirral reduced from four to three because of the number of voters in the area.

Birkenhead and Wallasey will continue to exist though there will be some changes to the boundaries.

Fellow Labour MP Mick Whitley, who currently represents Birkenhead in its current form has confirmed he will run against Ms McGovern. Part of the existing Wirral South constituency will be merged into the new Birkenhead seat.

Birkenhead-born Mr Whitley is a former trade union organiser and regional secretary for the trade union Unite.

He has been seen as to the Left of the party while Ms McGovern chairs Progress, a political organisation associated with the development of New Labour.

In an open letter to constituents, Ms McGovern wrote: "When I first stood to be your Member of Parliament in 2010, I was 29 years old, and I must have seemed pretty naive. I hoped to win, but I didn’t expect to.

"I wanted to stand for the place that made me, and the campaign team worked so hard, but it seemed incredible to discover at 6am on May 7, 2010 I had won by 531 votes. You gave me your trust against all odds. Thank you so much.

"I appreciate that parliamentary boundaries mean more to those of us in politics than others, but you may be aware that the Boundary Commission is reducing Wirral’s voice in parliament by cutting our MPs from four to three.

"I'm going to ask Labour members to support me standing in a new Wirral constituency which includes Bebington, but I’ll be the last person to have the title of MP for Wirral South.

"I worry Bromborough and Bebington split between three different constituencies will not give them enough attention but we will work together as MPs to ensure that the change is as good as it can be under the circumstances we face.

"When I think back over the last 13 years, my one feeling is love.

"I’m grateful to those who voted for me, but also to those who never once did but still wished me well  —  thank you.

"This letter isn’t intended to be a political argument for voting Labour — even though you know I think that is the right thing to do. I just want to say that you have all been great. And I wanted to say thank you.

"I came into politics to change our country and fight for the people of Merseyside, and I plan to continue to do so. I hope to have your support in standing to be Labour’s MP for the new constituency which merges parts of Wirral South and Birkenhead and which will include my home.

"The decades ahead are full of huge opportunities for the Wirral, and I hope to continue to represent you in Parliament on every step of that journey, fighting for a brighter future for the Wirral as I always have done."

In response, Mick Whitley, who was re-selected by Birkenhead CLP last year to stand as the Labour candidate in the next General Election, said:

"I am the MP for Birkenhead and have been working hard for the people of our town since I was elected.

"It was one of the greatest privileges of my life to be elected to serve as the Member of Parliament in 2019, and I was honoured to be resoundingly reselected by Labour members in Birkenhead last year.

"In the event of a new contest, as the sitting MP for Birkenhead, I will definitely be standing and will once again, ask the local members to put their trust in me – so that, together, we can finish the work that we began four years ago. I am looking forward to leading a positive campaign, based on my record of delivering real change for the town in which I was born and bred.

"Since my election, I have worked hard to bring our communities together to tackle the big challenges that we face.

"I opened the first constituency office in Birkenhead in forty years. Together with my team, we have found safe homes for constituents in need, secured financial support for people struggling to pay their bills, and helped to save two local primary schools. This has gone hand in hand with the work I have done with others to champion the ambitious regeneration of the town.

"I promised to be Birkenhead’s voice in Westminster and not the other way around. And that is a promise I have kept. My priorities in Parliament have been my constituents’ priorities – from fighting for additional support for workers and businesses during Covid, my years’ long campaign to secure defence contracts for Cammell Laird to save and create jobs.

"I am proud to stand by my record as Birkenhead’s Member of Parliament and of the progress we have made over the last few years. But I also know that I could not have done any of it without the support of the Labour Party members and the people of this town.

"The future of Birkenhead is bright but there is still so much more to do. I am up for doing it."