The long-running campaign for Southport to leave Merseyside was given a boost by a joint letter from Southport's Tory MP, Damien Moore, and West Lancs Labour MP Rosie Cooper.
The pair have told Communities Secretary Michael Gove they want Southport to join forces with Ormskirk and Skelmersdale to become one authority within Lancashire.
Ms Cooper said: "In West Lancashire, we are stuck in the no man's land between Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. We need to be treated more fairly as these huge metropolitan areas use much of the available resources, leaving so very little for rural towns and villages that we have to fight for their leftover scraps.
