Hemel Hempstead
2010 Results:
Conservative: 24721 (49.97%)
Labour: 10295 (20.81%)
Liberal Democrat: 11315 (22.87%)
BNP: 1615 (3.26%)
UKIP: 1254 (2.53%)
Independent: 271 (0.55%)
Majority: 13406 (27.1%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Conservative: 18571 (40.1%)
Labour: 18390 (39.7%)
Liberal Democrat: 7812 (16.9%)
Other: 1491 (3.2%)
Majority: 181 (0.4%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 19000 (40.3%)
Labour: 18501 (39.3%)
Liberal Democrat: 8089 (17.2%)
UKIP: 1518 (3.2%)
Majority: 499 (1.1%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 17647 (38.5%)
Labour: 21389 (46.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 5877 (12.8%)
UKIP: 970 (2.1%)
Majority: 3742 (8.2%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 21539 (39.1%)
Labour: 25175 (45.7%)
Liberal Democrat: 6789 (12.3%)
Referendum: 1327 (2.4%)
Other: 262 (0.5%)
Majority: 3636 (6.6%)
Boundary changes: very minor. Hemel Hempstead loses Felden and Sheethanger Common, amounting to around 1,200 electors.
Profile: Hemel Hempstead is a Hertfordshire new town, just north-west of the junction of the M25 and M1. When the town was originally built in the 1950s industrial areas were developed to prevent Hemel becoming no more than a London dormitory town, good communications links mean the town has retained significant industry and commerce, including the headquarters of Dixons and Kodak. Just east of the town is the Herfordshire Oil storage depot, better known as the Buncefield complex, made infamous by the explosion of December 2005.
The seat also contains a swathe of countryside to the North of the constituency including villages like Flamstead, Great Gaddesden, Markyate, Nettleden, Hudnall, Little Gaddesden & Potton End.
In November 2006 it was announced that Hemel Hempstead hospital was to be downgraded, with acute and emergency services being moved to Watford.
Current MP: Mike Penning(Conservative) born 1957, London. Educated at King Edmund Comprehensive school. A right-winger from a working-class background, Penning has a varied past career. After leaving school he served in the Grenadier Guards in Northern Ireland, Kenya and Germany and worked as a full-time fireman in Essex, before working as a political journalist and as a media consultant. A staunch Euro-sceptic, Penning was a media advisor to the “whipless 8″ Conservative MPs under the Major government and was later national director of Conservatives Against a Federal Europe. He went on to serve as an advisor to William Hague and deputy head of media for Iain Duncan Smith. Contested Thurrock in 2001. First elected for Hemel Hempstead 2005. Backed David Davis in the 2005 leadership contest. Shadow health spokesman since 2007 (more information at They work for you)
Mike Penning(Conservative) born 1957, London. Educated at King Edmund Comprehensive school. A right-winger from a working-class background, Penning has a varied past career. After leaving school he served in the Grenadier Guards in Northern Ireland, Kenya and Germany and worked as a full-time fireman in Essex, before working as a political journalist and as a media consultant. A staunch Euro-sceptic, Penning was a media advisor to the “whipless 8″ Conservative MPs under the Major government and was later national director of Conservatives Against a Federal Europe. He went on to serve as an advisor to William Hague and deputy head of media for Iain Duncan Smith. Contested Thurrock in 2001. First elected for Hemel Hempstead 2005. Backed David Davis in the 2005 leadership contest. Shadow health spokesman since 2007 (more information at They work for you)
Ayfer Orhan (Labour) born 1959 to a Turkish Cypriot family. Graphic designer, company director and now a disability specialist for the Learning and Skills Council. Labour Councillor in Enfield. Contested North West Cambridgeshire 2005.
Richard Grayson (Liberal Democrat) born 1969, Hemel Hempstead. Educated at Hemel school, University of East Anglia and Oxford University. Former Director of policy for the Liberal Democrats, currently head of Politics at Goldsmiths College. Contested Hemel Hempstead in 2005.
David Alexander (UKIP) Janet Price (BNP) Mick Young (Independent)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 94138
Male: 49%
Female: 51%
Under 18: 23.7%
Over 60: 19.4%
Born outside UK: 7.1%
White: 94.7%
Black: 0.7%
Asian: 2.6%
Mixed: 1.2%
Other: 0.7%
Christian: 69.2%
Hindu: 0.9%
Muslim: 1.6%
Full time students: 2.1%
Graduates 16-74: 18.6%
No Qualifications 16-74: 26.3%
Owner-Occupied: 66.6%
Social Housing: 27.3% (Council: 23.4%, Housing Ass.: 3.9%)
Privately Rented: 4.3%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 3.9%
Pete W,
I live in Bennetts End, Hemel Hempstead, and was surprised about your predictions that Labour would take the ward. My understanding is that the Councillor who moved to Labour was not selected by the Conservatives, hence changed sides. The other sitting conservative Councillor is one of the most high profiled in the town and popular. There is good bet that the seat could remain Conservative for this reason?.
I hadn’t previously seen the above post. You were correct KK and Labour made nmo progress in Hemel not only losing back Bennets End but losing a seat in Hemel Town they won in 2007 and winning one back in Gadebridge. LDs held their own
” Like Kieran, I think Bromley council (where I live) would benefit from having less Conservative councillors, and Lewisham next door would benefit from having more. There is nothing worse than one-party rotten boroughs of whatever party. ”
A badly run council with whatever majority would be worse.
Whereas, in national elections, I like to see/at least accept some balance – over a period (in the wider democratic interest),
there are many (Conservative) councils with large majorities and excellent services, such as Wandsworth.
STV for councils – you know it makes sense
Typical Lib Dem. They actually think that FPTP is the root of all evil and that if only we had STV all council extremism, corruption and instability would be swept away in an instant.
Of course, STV would INCREASE the potential for instability and depress local democracy as people are turned off voting-given that their votes won’t really matter as they do not in cotland and as they have long not mattered in Northern Ireland.
“There is nothing worse than one-party rotten boroughs of whatever party”
Oh yes there is! You should have come to Stoke during the height of Labour’s collapse if you don’t believe me.
A trick has been missed there. Entire books could be written about politics in Stoke-on-Trent between 2002 and 2011.
Ideally, my own council would have less Labour councillors and a larger opposition. But I for one still think the situation is generally improved on what we had before May 2011.
I should add that Bromley is not a rotten borough….actually its performance is pretty good in terms of services and council tax. The Tory group is however very arrogant and would benefit from some competition.
I tend to agree with you Shaun that STV in Scottish local elections has been a bad thing. Maybe a compromise (AV?) between STV and FPTP might work better.
Hmmm. Its better than nothing H.Hemmlig. When you’re starting with the nightmare scenario of STV as Scotland is, AV is a leap forward
But given that we in England have had the good sense to retain the best system-and are now moving gradually towards single member wards, it seems. Even AV would be a step backwards.
Interesting results in Hemel Hempstead in the 1920s and 1930s. It seems Labour were hardly established at all in the constituency during that period. For example they only polled 8.2% in 1931 and 15.4% in 1935. The Liberals were the main challengers to the Conservatives. They finally took second place in 1945 but only by 4,000 votes.
I don’t think Labour won the seat until 1974.
The 1970 majority was still pretty substantial for the Tories but I think the seat included Harpenden then.
Hemel Hempstead is perhaps the largest New Town which, in the context of Andy’s figures, show it must have grown very quickly – perhaps in the 1960s/70s.
Indeed, Labour’s first win came in the October 1974 election. I wasn’t aware that Harpenden had ever been part of the constituency but if so it could be a reason why Labour won St Albans in 1945 but not this seat.
Of course Hemel Hempstead was the last seat the Liberals won in Hertfordshire which they did in 1923. I think I’m right in saying that is the only LIberal victory in a Hertfordshire seat for over a century (since 1906)
” I wasn’t aware that Harpenden had ever been part of the constituency but if so it could be a reason why Labour won St Albans in 1945 but not this seat.”
Yes Labour would never have won Hemel on the old boundaries which included Harpenden (it was included from 1918 until 1974).
St Albans in 1945 of course still included Welwyn Garden city and Hatfield and even though neither had been developed as New Towns there would have been substantial Labour votes from these sources, especially in Welwyn Garden city. Its difficult to say whether these areas would have been decisive or whether St Albans on current boundaries would have voted Labour in 1945