Newport West
2010 Results:
Conservative: 12845 (32.34%)
Labour: 16389 (41.26%)
Liberal Democrat: 6587 (16.58%)
Plaid Cymru: 1122 (2.82%)
BNP: 1183 (2.98%)
UKIP: 1144 (2.88%)
Green: 450 (1.13%)
Majority: 3544 (8.92%)
2005 Results:
Labour: 16021 (44.8%)
Conservative: 10563 (29.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 6398 (17.9%)
Plaid Cymru: 1278 (3.6%)
Other: 1472 (4.1%)
Majority: 5458 (15.3%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 9185 (26.2%)
Labour: 18489 (52.7%)
Liberal Democrat: 4095 (11.7%)
Plaid Cymru: 2510 (7.2%)
UKIP: 506 (1.4%)
BNP: 278 (0.8%)
Majority: 9304 (26.5%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 9794 (24.4%)
Labour: 24331 (60.5%)
Liberal Democrat: 3907 (9.7%)
Plaid Cymru: 648 (1.6%)
Referendum: 1199 (3%)
Other: 323 (0.8%)
Majority: 14537 (36.2%)
No Boundary Changes:
Profile:
Current MP: Paul Flynn(Labour) (more information at They work for you)
Matthew Williams (Conservative) Paul Flynn(Labour) (more information at They work for you)Veronica German (Liberal Democrat) Jeff Rees (Plaid Cymru) Pippa Bartolotti (Green)Hugh Moelwyn Hughes (UKIP) Timothy Windsor (BNP)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 82731
Male: 48%
Female: 52%
Under 18: 24.5%
Over 60: 20.8%
Born outside UK: 4.6%
White: 95.4%
Black: 0.6%
Asian: 2.2%
Mixed: 1.2%
Other: 0.6%
Christian: 72.8%
Muslim: 2.2%
Full time students: 3.8%
Graduates 16-74: 19.5%
No Qualifications 16-74: 30.6%
Owner-Occupied: 70.7%
Social Housing: 21.6% (Council: 16.4%, Housing Ass.: 5.1%)
Privately Rented: 4.8%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 3.3%
HH – thanks for the tip. I am well aware of the extortionate prices of these things. The trip is full board so only lunch has to be paid for, and we will use coffee shops rather than restaurants for it. I know that beer is not only extremely expensive but also not even remotely as good as it is here so I will make a point of not having many beers on this particular holiday. It was very different when we visited Prague where it’s ludicrously cheap & of excellent quality.
I thought Norways socialism working was rather dependent on its enormous oil wealth.
“I thought Norways socialism working was rather dependent on its enormous oil wealth.”
The oil wealth is the reason for Norway having the highest GDP per capita in Europe, and is the reason that they can afford such an expensive welfare system….so in that sense you are right.
But remember that they have only been producing oil since the early 1970s. The egalitarian society model precedes that by many decades, going back at least to WW2, when Norway was almost the poorest country in Europe. As I said, the system functions well because of an almost overpowering selflessness in all levels of society – rich people feeling it is their duty to pay massive taxes, to sustain this intensely nationalistic, idealistic view of their country.
It is fair to say that fishing and hydro electricity will keep Norway prosperous even when the oil and gas starts to wane.
Sensibly they have set up an oil fund for a rainy day containing many of the royalties from oil production. In most countries that would have been impossible, as some government or other would before long have wasted it on pre election tax or spending bribes.
Barnaby
Norwegian beer is dark and heavy, to get them through the long cold winters. I believe it is mostly brewed in the north.
They are also very big drinkers of red wine and cognac. Norwegians are very heavy investors in the French vineyards, which they use to produce their own brands of these drinks.
The only thing that is cheap in Norway is fish. You will find superb quality slamon, prawns, trout, cod etc for almost nothing. Try the excellent pickled herrings too.
Thanks once again HH. With my background, I grew up eating a lot of herring (it’s a major feature of traditional Jewish food) so in a sense I will be very much at home and I know Norway is very well-known for its prawns. Am I likely to get stuff like caribou & reindeer as far South as Bergen,as far as you know?
Reindeer definitely yes, it is very common and available everywhere.
Reindeer is an acquired taste. Personally I quite like it but many don’t. In my wife’s words, it tastes very “gamey” – having that rich texture and strong tang that pheasant, hare and other game have. If you don’t like game you won’t like reindeer.
Caribou is not at all common. I haven’t ever really seen it even in the far north (I still travel to Tromso quite often). My guess is you’d really have to know where to find it….maybe in the eskimo or inuit communities on the islands.
Reindeer excepted, meat in Norway is neither good nor distinctive, and I would strongly suggest you eat the fish when you have the choice. If you’re looking for herrings, the Norwegian name for them is “sild”.
I’m sure one or two here will object to this conversation as off-topic, but HH thanks very much for taking the trouble to let me know all this. I do appreciate it. You are probably better-travelled than I am, but if I ever have the chance to reciprocate in this way I’d very happy to do so.
No problem….it was a nice way to go off topic at least.
Hope you enjoy your holiday.
We are heading the opposite direction next week – 3 weeks visiting my wife’s family in Chicago.
My parents went on a Hurtigruten cruise round the coast of Norway a few months ago and I’m hoping to do the same some time in the future.
Not sure what this has to do with Newport West though!
Paul Flynn has been suspended by the Commons.
Is anyone else getting adverts for Norwegian holidays on the sides of this thread?
yes – will go sometime
By coincidence, I was on the Manchester Gorton thread, which reminded me of Gerald Kaufman being ordered to withdraw his statement by Betty Boothroyd
when he called Ken Livingstone a smarmy charlatan.
He said he’ll withdraw it “at your instruction”
which of course means I do no such thing.
HH you were right about reindeer & caribou – we had a reindeer dish available most evenings at our hotel, but caribou never appeared. I was surprised that there wasn’t any duck considering the very aquatic nature of the area we were staying in.