The Contest for Luton One of Anthony Wells’ contributors described Luton as “to be frank, a dump.†Having recently moved there, I’d have to say that while that is probably a fair description of what must be the most badly designed town centre, anywhere in the Home Counties, it’s not a fair description of an entire town of nearly 200,000 people. There is a great deal of good private housing around Wardown Park, Stopsley, the Old and New Bedford Roads,…
Focus on Lancashire I’ve commented several times that while a strong performance for the Conservatives in Southern England would be sufficient to deprive Labour of their majority, there is no chance of the Conservatives winning an overall majority without regaining a lot of ground in the North of England, something they conspicuously failed to do in 2005. Nowhere is that more true than in Lancashire, a key battleground for decades between the Conservatives and Labour. When the new boundary changes…
A review of the key general election London seats London sees extensive boundary changes at the next election, which are neutral for the Conservatives, Labour, and Respect, while costing the Liberal Democrats one seat, Brent East, which is abolished. London loses one seat, having 73 in total. The Conservative seat of Hornchurch is abolished, while boundary changes convert Croydon Central and Hammersmith & Fulham (now Hammersmith) into Labour seats. Two new seats are created, Ealing Central & Acton, and Fulham…
Why Are the Conservatives So Bad at By-Elections? The Conservatives have recovered ground strongly in local elections, in every round of local elections since 1997. Even their opinion poll ratings gradually rose from the disastrous levels of the mid-nineties, after 1997, and rose sharply following David Cameron’s election as Leader. In 2005, they managed to claw back 33 Parliamentary seats, which at least provides a platform for fighting the next election. Yet, in Parliamentary by-elections, their performance has never really…
Focus on Wales “Punter†has asked me to comment on the Welsh constituencies on several occasions. As there are 40 Welsh constituencies, then my comments on the likely outcome at the next election must be brief. Wales has been a left-wing stronghold since 1885. Firstly, it was monolithically Liberal, and then, after a period of confusion in the Twenties and Thirties, almost as solid for Labour up till 1979. Even in 1931, Labour won no fewer than 18 out of…