Hove
2010 Results:
Conservative: 18294 (36.72%)
Labour: 16426 (32.97%)
Liberal Democrat: 11240 (22.56%)
UKIP: 1206 (2.42%)
Green: 2568 (5.15%)
Independent: 85 (0.17%)
Majority: 1868 (3.75%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 16829 (37.1%)
Conservative: 16378 (36.1%)
Liberal Democrat: 8074 (17.8%)
Green: 3008 (6.6%)
Other: 1072 (2.4%)
Majority: 450 (1%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 16366 (36.5%)
Labour: 16786 (37.5%)
Liberal Democrat: 8002 (17.9%)
Green: 2575 (5.7%)
UKIP: 575 (1.3%)
Other: 492 (1.1%)
Majority: 420 (0.9%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 16082 (38.3%)
Labour: 19253 (45.9%)
Liberal Democrat: 3823 (9.1%)
UKIP: 358 (0.9%)
Green: 1369 (3.3%)
Other: 1103 (2.6%)
Majority: 3171 (7.6%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 17499 (36.4%)
Labour: 21458 (44.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 4645 (9.7%)
Referendum: 1931 (4%)
Other: 2588 (5.4%)
Majority: 3959 (8.2%)
Boundary changes: Almost insignificant, Hove gains a few hundred voters from the tidying up of the boundary with Brighton Pavilion to match slight changes in the ward boundaries.
Profile: Hove forms part of a conurbation with Brighton, in 2000 Brighton & Hove achieved city status. Hove has a reputation of being quieter and more genteel than its neighbour, though areas like Brunswick are actually rather bohemian. As a South coast retirement area the seat has one of the highest proportions of pensioners. The constituency also includes Portslade Village and Portslade-on-Sea – the industrial centre of Brighton & Hove and one of the staunchest Labour areas in the city.
Current MP: Mike Weatherley (Conservative) born 1957. Finance Director. Crawley Borough councillor 2006-2007. Contested Brighton Pavilion 2005, Barking 2001.
Mike Weatherley (Conservative) born 1957. Finance Director. Crawley Borough councillor 2006-2007. Contested Brighton Pavilion 2005, Barking 2001.
Celia Barlow(Labour) born 1955, Cardiff. Educated at Cambridge University. Worked as a BBC journalist, freelancer and college lecturer prior to her election in 2005 (more information at They work for you)
Paul Elgood (Liberal Democrat) Brighton and Hove councillor. Contested Worthing East and Shoreham 2001, Hove 2005.
Ian Davey (Green) Brighton and Hove councillor. Former IT consultant. Runs a social enterprise promoting cycling.
Paul Perrin (UKIP) Born 1965. Director of IT consultancy.
Brian Ralfe (Independent)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 92230
Male: 48%
Female: 52%
Under 18: 18.6%
Over 60: 22.7%
Born outside UK: 11.2%
White: 94%
Black: 0.8%
Asian: 1.9%
Mixed: 2.1%
Other: 1.2%
Christian: 61.7%
Hindu: 0.6%
Jewish: 2.3%
Muslim: 1.7%
Full time students: 4.8%
Graduates 16-74: 27.5%
No Qualifications 16-74: 21.9%
Owner-Occupied: 64.6%
Social Housing: 11% (Council: 7%, Housing Ass.: 4%)
Privately Rented: 21.5%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 12.8%
Con gain by about 3000
On the map (which I’m using to navigate along to south coast) Hove looks like its in the wrong place.. its to the west of Brighton, not the east
Hove is West of Brighton, Chris. Always has been!!
Thats what I said !
But try finding it on the prediction map
It’s in the right place on the Times website interactive map
Hove was never quite as genteel as popular imagination has it.
The poor estates on the outskirts (I grew up in one of these) always get overlooked. If you look at the big houses in the centre closely, you’ll find they’re often divided into many squalid flats.
Hove managed to look safe Tory in the 1980s because Labour and the Lib/SDPs were bashing the hell out of each other trying to establish dominance. When Labour won this fight, they were able to go out and take on the Tories. Most people were very surprised when this became a Labour seat, I wasn’t.
CON GAIN. Labour will retake it some day though.
So did the conservatives actually win this seat ? ITV flashed it up a Labour hold, but looking at the results in detail apparently Mike Weatherly took it by about 2500 ?
CON GAIN. Majority 1868, swing 2.4%.
Full result:
C 18294
Lab 16426
LD 11240
Green 2568
UKIP 1206
Ind 85
Smaller swing than nearby Brighton Kemptown
and a strong Labour performance in one of their surprise gains in 1997
Con win on a 2.4% swing. Is this the lowest Labour-Con swing in a marginal in the south of england?. Overall a promising result for Labour despite losing the seat.
I see Hove and Kemptown being marginal seats from now on
As one poster said, Hocve isn’t quite as nice as popular imagination would have you believe
You get council estates like Hangleton and Mile Oak and Portslade, in the far west of the seat, is considered a proper dump by anyone living nearer the centre
Yet another marginal seat, where the Tories share of the vote is lower than in 1997.
Labour have done relatively well here in my opinion.
The future of Hove depends on the unwinding, or lack of, a formidable LibDem vote, who have performed impressively here over the last decade.
The Tory position does look somewhat lukewarm, at 0.7% up on 1997 – as far as I can estimate.
Labour are 11.2% down on 1997, but they advanced abour 20 points then.
Probably the LDs will be squeezed somewhat (I don’t know how much – they may remain stronger than they used to be),
but it looks like Labour will be back here at some point – not sure when.