Grantham and Stamford
2010 Results:
Conservative: 26552 (50.29%)
Labour: 9503 (18%)
Liberal Democrat: 11726 (22.21%)
BNP: 2485 (4.71%)
UKIP: 1604 (3.04%)
Others: 929 (1.76%)
Majority: 14826 (28.08%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Conservative: 20823 (46.1%)
Labour: 14187 (31.4%)
Liberal Democrat: 7643 (16.9%)
Other: 2472 (5.5%)
Majority: 6636 (14.7%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 22109 (46.9%)
Labour: 14664 (31.1%)
Liberal Democrat: 7838 (16.6%)
UKIP: 1498 (3.2%)
Other: 1038 (2.2%)
Majority: 7445 (15.8%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 21329 (46.1%)
Labour: 16811 (36.3%)
Liberal Democrat: 6665 (14.4%)
UKIP: 1484 (3.2%)
Majority: 4518 (9.8%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 22672 (42.8%)
Labour: 19980 (37.7%)
Liberal Democrat: 6612 (12.5%)
Referendum: 2721 (5.1%)
Other: 985 (1.9%)
Majority: 2692 (5.1%)
Boundary changes:
Profile: A large rural seat in southern Lincolnshire. Grantham and Stamford are at the extreme north and south of the seat, with a large swathe of agricultural countryside between them, dotted with small rural villages. The only other large settlement in the seat is the rapidly growing town of Bourne, situated at the west of the Lincolnshire Fens.
Politically Grantham is probably most widely associated with its most famous daughter, Margaret Thatcher, who grew up in the town and whose father Alfred owned a grocer`s shop in the town and served as mayor in 1945/6. However, Grantham itself is probably the most Labour part of the seat. The rural part of the seat and the historical town of Stamford though outweigh any Labour votes in Grantham and it is normally a safely Conservative seat. In 2007 the sitting Conservative MP Quentin Davies defected to the Labour party.
Current MP: Nick Boles (Conservative) Educated at Winchester and Oxford University. Founder and chairman of a decorating supplies company, former director of Policy Exchange. Westminster councillor 1998-2002. Contested Hove 2005. Announced his intention to seek the Conservative nomination for London mayor in 2007, but later stepped down from the contest having been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Nick Boles (Conservative) Educated at Winchester and Oxford University. Founder and chairman of a decorating supplies company, former director of Policy Exchange. Westminster councillor 1998-2002. Contested Hove 2005. Announced his intention to seek the Conservative nomination for London mayor in 2007, but later stepped down from the contest having been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Mark Bartlett (Labour) Grantham branch president of the GMB.
Harrish Bisnauthsing (Liberal Democrat) born Mauritius. Former engineer in the RAF. Computer hardware consultant. South Kesteven district councillor. Tony Wells (UKIP)
Christopher Robinson (BNP) Born Ingoldsby. Educated at the Kings school. Former Director of a shipping company.Mark Horn (Lincolnshire Independents)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 94002
Male: 48.9%
Female: 51.1%
Under 18: 23.4%
Over 60: 21.7%
Born outside UK: 4.6%
White: 98.4%
Black: 0.2%
Asian: 0.5%
Mixed: 0.5%
Other: 0.4%
Christian: 81.5%
Full time students: 2%
Graduates 16-74: 16.6%
No Qualifications 16-74: 28.2%
Owner-Occupied: 72.8%
Social Housing: 15.8% (Council: 14.1%, Housing Ass.: 1.7%)
Privately Rented: 7.7%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 5%
Would I be right in saying Quentin Davies is not standing anywhere in the election?
If so, he should be added to the list of retiring MPs. He is not marked as such in the Guardian’s ‘politics’ supplement today.
CON HOLD (in effect regain)
Apparently Quentin’s getting a peerage in the Dissolution honours list.
I’m recalling our long-ago discussion here;
Was this seat reported as a Conservative gain on Election Night?
VoteDave – It was reported as a Tory hold because the Tories won it at the Election 2005.
Quite right too. It’s not a practise they have always adopted.
Indeed – also the approach to byelections seems to change through the years. When, on the 30th anniversity, the BBC repeated Election ’79 they reported Ashfield as a Lab Gain (a by-election reversal). In 2005 Brent East was a LibDem Gain (they, of course, won it in a by-election during the 01-05 parliament). In 2010, C&N and North Norwich were dubbed “Conservative Win” rather than Gain/Hold, and Labour “won” D&WF, rather than “Hold” – reversing the byelection loss