West Coast Group Representation Constituency
The West Coast Group Representation Constituency was a five-member group representation constituency in western and central Singapore. It covered the areas of Jurong, Dover, Pasir Panjang, West Coast and Telok Blangah, as well as Jurong Island, an offshore island of Singapore. At abolition, it had five divisions: Ayer Rajah–Gek Poh, Boon Lay, Nanyang, Telok Blangah and West Coast, managed by West Coast Town Council.
History
Creation and WP contest (1997)
Prior to the 1997 general election, West Coast GRC was created from the GRCs of Brickworks, which was abolished at the same election, and Tanjong Pagar; it was assigned four Members of Parliament. The governing People's Action Party defeated the Workers' Party with 70.14% of the vote.Walkovers (2001 and 2006)
In the 2001 general election, Boon Lay Single Member Constituency was abolished and absorbed into West Coast GRC, which gained one MP to become a five-member GRC. The PAP team won unopposed.In the 2006 general election, the GRC absorbed Ayer Rajah SMC; Tan Cheng Bock, incumbent PAP MP for the SMC and future opposition politician, made his initial retirement from politics at the same election. The PAP team won unopposed for the second consecutive election.
RP contests (2011 and 2015)
In the 2011 general election, Pioneer SMC was carved out of West Coast GRC; the PAP defeated the Reform Party with 66.57% of the vote. At the same election, Lawrence Wong, future Prime Minister and MP for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC, made his political debut as a PAP candidate for West Coast GRC. He was assigned to the Boon Lay division.In the 2015 general election, West Coast GRC lost its Clementi division to Jurong GRC, becoming a four-member GRC in the process. The PAP defeated the RP with 78.57% of the vote.
PSP contest/PAP detrenchment (2020)
Founding of PSP (2019)
In 2019, Tan co-founded the Progress Singapore Party with 11 others, a part of whom had, like him, previously belonged to the PAP. Together with Lee Hsien Yang, the estranged younger brother of then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the 12 said that the PAP had "lost its way" and deviated from its founding principles. The party was officially registered on 28 March 2019 after being approved by the Registry of Societies.General election
In the 2020 general election, West Coast GRC was re-expanded to become a five-member GRC, gaining the Nanyang division of Chua Chu Kang GRC and the Jurong West section of Hong Kah North SMC.During the election, Desmond Lee and Ang Wei Neng, both incumbent PAP MPs for Jurong GRC, were redeployed to the GRC. Tan, meanwhile, contested West Coast GRC, personally leading the PSP's "A-team"; the move was framed as a return to his defunct Ayer Rajah SMC. In its worst performance in the history of West Coast GRC, the PAP defeated the PSP with 51.68% of the vote.
After the election, two non-constituency MP seats were offered to the PSP team for West Coast GRC by virtue of their electoral performance. Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai were appointed.