Basingstoke
2010 Results:
Conservative: 25590 (50.52%)
Labour: 10327 (20.39%)
Liberal Democrat: 12414 (24.51%)
UKIP: 2076 (4.1%)
Others: 247 (0.49%)
Majority: 13176 (26.01%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Conservative: 16549 (38.3%)
Labour: 14598 (33.8%)
Liberal Democrat: 9380 (21.7%)
Other: 2655 (6.1%)
Majority: 1951 (4.5%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 19955 (41.5%)
Labour: 15275 (31.7%)
Liberal Democrat: 9952 (20.7%)
BNP: 821 (1.7%)
Green: 928 (1.9%)
UKIP: 1044 (2.2%)
Other: 148 (0.3%)
Majority: 4680 (9.7%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 20490 (42.7%)
Labour: 19610 (40.9%)
Liberal Democrat: 6693 (13.9%)
UKIP: 1202 (2.5%)
Majority: 880 (1.8%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 24751 (43.3%)
Labour: 22354 (39.1%)
Liberal Democrat: 9714 (17%)
Other: 310 (0.5%)
Majority: 2397 (4.2%)
Boundary changes: Major. Loses Calleva, Pamber, Upton Grey & The Candovers and part of Sherborne St John to Hampshire North East, while gaining part of Hatch Warren & Beggarwood, a tiny part of Popley West and most of the small ward of Rooksdown from Hampshire North West.
Profile: Basingstoke was once a small market town, but has rapidly expanded since the 1960s, first seeing the development of council housing for the London overspill, and more recently becoming a site of major private development to cater for commuters into south-west London. It has also become a prosperous economic centre in its own right, with high tech and service industries.
The growth of the town has seen its boundaries drawn ever tighter around Basingstoke itself. On the old boundaries it included the rural hinterland to the north and south of the town, the new boundaries reduce the seat to just Basingstoke itself and a few villages close to the east of the town, including Old Basing and Newnham.
The seat has returned a Conservative MP since the 1920s, though in the 2001-2005 Parliament was briefly in the unusual position of being a mainland British seat represented by a Northern Irish political party when the then MP Andrew Hunter joined the DUP, having intended to relocate to Northern Ireland.
Current MP: Maria Miller(Conservative) born 1964, Wolverhampton. Educated at Brynteg Comprehensive school, Bridgend, and the LSE. Former marketing consultant and director of an advertising company. Contested Wolverhampton North East 2001. First elected as MP for Basingstoke 2005. Shadow minister for education 2005-2006, for family welfare 2006-2007, for children since 2007 (more information at They work for you)
Maria Miller(Conservative) born 1964, Wolverhampton. Educated at Brynteg Comprehensive school, Bridgend, and the LSE. Former marketing consultant and director of an advertising company. Contested Wolverhampton North East 2001. First elected as MP for Basingstoke 2005. Shadow minister for education 2005-2006, for family welfare 2006-2007, for children since 2007 (more information at They work for you)
Funda Pepperell (Labour) Educated at Southampton Solent University. Former international sprinter. Journalist
John Shaw (Liberal Democrat) Basingstoke and Deane councillor. Contested Southampton Test 2001.
Stella Howell (UKIP) Steve Saul (Basingstoke Common Man)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 94433
Male: 49.5%
Female: 50.5%
Under 18: 24.2%
Over 60: 15.5%
Born outside UK: 7.1%
White: 95.6%
Black: 0.8%
Asian: 1.6%
Mixed: 1.2%
Other: 0.7%
Christian: 71.8%
Hindu: 0.6%
Muslim: 0.6%
Full time students: 2%
Graduates 16-74: 18.9%
No Qualifications 16-74: 23.1%
Owner-Occupied: 71.7%
Social Housing: 20.7% (Council: 0.8%, Housing Ass.: 19.9%)
Privately Rented: 5.2%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 3.1%
This was a truly rotten result for Labour, in a seat where they/we really ought to be competitive. Although Labour generally did poorly in Southern New Towns, this result stands out as a particularly bad one.
I hate to be the one to mention this, but does anyone think the ethnicity of the Labour candidate played a part here – as in Hemel Hempstead?
It’s hard to rule out entirely, but I think it wasn’t the major cause.
I doubt it was that.
Labour seemed to do particularly badly in New Towns which they didn’t win in 2005.
They may regain second though.
I thought Labour would hold second place here.
yes, a weak second though.
I’m a little surprised the Tory vote rose this much,
I thought about 7-8%.
I don’t think it was the major cause, it was just noticeable that Labour did so much worse in those 2 seats than the likes of Crawley and Harlow (where the swing to the Conservatives was less than in 2005)
It may have been some incumbency effect. Certainly Mike Penning had made a good impression in Hemel and maybe Maria Miller, also first elected in 2005, did likewise here. In Harlow of course Bill Rammel may have enjoyed some incumbency boost (though obviously this wasn’t available to the Labour candidate in Crawley). Hemel in particular saw the ‘double-incumbency effect’ so beloved of Robert Waller, that is to say there was both the loss of the previous Labour MPs incumbency vote plus whatever incumbency effect Mike Penning had built up.