Cheltenham
Notional 2005 Results:
Liberal Democrat: 18989 (40%)
Conservative: 18474 (38.9%)
Labour: 5320 (11.2%)
Other: 4699 (9.9%)
Majority: 515 (1.1%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 15819 (36.3%)
Labour: 4988 (11.4%)
Liberal Democrat: 18122 (41.5%)
Green: 908 (2.1%)
UKIP: 608 (1.4%)
Other: 3176 (7.3%)
Majority: 2303 (5.3%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 14715 (35.2%)
Labour: 5041 (12%)
Liberal Democrat: 19970 (47.7%)
UKIP: 482 (1.2%)
Green: 735 (1.8%)
Other: 892 (2.1%)
Majority: 5255 (12.6%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 18232 (36.2%)
Labour: 5100 (10.1%)
Liberal Democrat: 24877 (49.5%)
Referendum: 1065 (2.1%)
Other: 1029 (2%)
Majority: 6645 (13.2%)
Boundary changes:
Profile:
Current MP: Martin Horwood(Lib Dem) (more information at They work for you)
Candidates:
Mark Coote (Conservative) Educated at Cheltenham Grammar School and Nottingham University. History and Politics teacher. Contested Hastings & Rye in 2001 & 2005.
James Green (Labour)
Keith Bessant (Green)
2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 98733
Male: 48.5%
Female: 51.5%
Under 18: 20.8%
Over 60: 21.8%
Born outside UK: 7.3%
White: 96.6%
Black: 0.3%
Asian: 1.3%
Mixed: 0.9%
Other: 0.8%
Christian: 71.8%
Hindu: 0.6%
Full time students: 7.5%
Graduates 16-74: 27.1%
No Qualifications 16-74: 21.4%
Owner-Occupied: 70.1%
Social Housing: 13.9% (Council: 10.5%, Housing Ass.: 3.4%)
Privately Rented: 12.8%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 8.4%



I recently had a phone call from someone out of the blue (no pun intended) on behalf of Mark Coote. In my book that’s the sort of canvassing that loses as many votes as it gains.
I seem to be getting the same impression from all pages on Lib-Dem held seats here, that they all have MPs with high personal votes and will buck the national trend or only just remain gold.
Most of the Lib-Dems seats are middle class, ABC1 areas that Cameron will have direct appeal to. His Liberal Conservative message will be a contrast to the previous two Conservative General Election Campaigns and should win over a larger number of wavering Lib-Dem voters, who haven’t voted Conservative since the early 1990s.
The results are likely to be patchy C v LD.
I agree Joe but I have a feeling that this is a particularly likely CON GAIN and would have been despite the boundary change.
sorry I meant “even if there had been no boundary change”.