Richmond Park
2010 Results:
Conservative: 29461 (49.71%)
Labour: 2979 (5.03%)
Liberal Democrat: 25370 (42.81%)
UKIP: 669 (1.13%)
Green: 572 (0.97%)
Independent: 84 (0.14%)
Others: 133 (0.22%)
Majority: 4091 (6.9%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Liberal Democrat: 23801 (46.7%)
Conservative: 20152 (39.5%)
Labour: 4728 (9.3%)
Other: 2297 (4.5%)
Majority: 3649 (7.2%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 20280 (39.5%)
Labour: 4768 (9.3%)
Liberal Democrat: 24011 (46.7%)
Green: 1379 (2.7%)
UKIP: 458 (0.9%)
Other: 478 (0.9%)
Majority: 3731 (7.3%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 18480 (37.6%)
Labour: 5541 (11.3%)
Liberal Democrat: 23444 (47.7%)
UKIP: 348 (0.7%)
Green: 1223 (2.5%)
Other: 115 (0.2%)
Majority: 4964 (10.1%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 22442 (39.5%)
Labour: 7172 (12.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 25393 (44.7%)
Referendum: 1467 (2.6%)
Other: 379 (0.7%)
Majority: 2951 (5.2%)
Boundary changes: : Minor changes to bring constituency boundaries in line with ward boundaries. Boundary changes transfer part of the Beveley Ward from Richmond Park to Kingston & Surbiton of around 2000 electors to the North of New Malden station.
Profile: An affluent, middle-class suburban seat, characterised by desirable period houses, large gardens and huge property prices. The seat includes East Sheen, Mortlake, Richmond, Ham, Kew, Barnes. Petersham as well as the vast Richmond Park itself, and part of Kingston upon Thames and Coombe to the South of it.
The Richmond Park seat was created in 1997 from the merger of Richmond and Barnes and part of Kingston upon Thames, leaving the Kingston MP and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont to go on his doomed run up to Harrogate. Along with Twickenham and Kingston and Surbiton it formed part of a wedge of Liberal Democrat strength in South-West London until falling to Zac Goldsmith in 2010.
Current MP: Zac Goldsmith (Conservative) born 1975, Westminster. Son of Sir James Goldsmith, the billionaire financier and founder of the Referendum Party. Educated at Eton. Environmental activist and editor of The Ecologist.
Zac Goldsmith (Conservative) born 1975, Westminster. Son of Sir James Goldsmith, the billionaire financier and founder of the Referendum Party. Educated at Eton. Environmental activist and editor of The Ecologist. First elected as MP for Richmond Park 2010.
Eleanor Tunnicliffe (Labour) Educated at Cambridge University. Backed Jon Cruddas in 2007 deputy leadership election.
Susan Kramer(Liberal Democrat) born 1950, London. Educated at St Paul`s and Oxford University. Former Vice-President of Citibank and Director of International Capital Partners, a company advising on infrastructure in Eastern Europe. Stood for London Mayor in 2000. Contested London in 1999 European elections. Contested Dulwich and West Norwood 1997. First elected as MP for Richmond Park in 2005. Liberal Democrat trade and industry spokesman 2006-7, transport 2007, families and cabinet office since 2007 (more information at They work for you)
James Page (Green) Contested Richmond Park 2001, 2005.
Peter Dul (UKIP) Claims executive for an indemnity association. Contested Richmond Park 2005, South West in 2008 London assembly elections.
Susan May (CPA) Works for a housing association. GLA candidate 2000, 2004, 2008. Contested London region 2009 European election.
Charles Hill (Independent)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 106256
Male: 48.1%
Female: 51.9%
Under 18: 21.2%
Over 60: 17.4%
Born outside UK: 24.5%
White: 88.2%
Black: 1.2%
Asian: 4.9%
Mixed: 2.5%
Other: 3.1%
Christian: 64.4%
Hindu: 2%
Jewish: 1.3%
Muslim: 3.4%
Full time students: 5.9%
Graduates 16-74: 48.4%
No Qualifications 16-74: 12.3%
Owner-Occupied: 66.6%
Social Housing: 12.2% (Council: 5.2%, Housing Ass.: 6.9%)
Privately Rented: 17.2%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 7.4%
He was a member of Richmond borough counil from 1974-78 so I guess he did live in the Borough then, or perhaps had business interests there. Talking of which I understand Harvey Proctor opened a shop in Richmond after he left parliament. One wouldn’t think of him as a ‘typical’ Richmond man either. Still Edward Leigh and Harvey Proctor are more my kind of ‘true believers’ than Zac Goldsmith, even if I don’t share some of their tastes (Roman Catholicism and rent boys respectively)
If Edward Leigh only lost by 115 votes then perhaps not living in the constituency made the difference.
Who knows with a couple of slight electoral twists he might have become MP for Richmond & Barnes in 1987.
Is Edward Leigh the Conservative equivalent of Ruth Kelly in the Opus Dei line or something?
And to think he represents a constituency in Pilgrim Fathers country.
I wasn’t aware Leigh had been on the local council; I got active in politics in early 1978 when his term must have been coming to an end (he’d been elected to the GLC in the Tory landslide year of 1977). Proctor’s shop is no more; he was active in the Chamber of Commerce for a time. He is said to have had a sign in his shop, which was indeed called Proctors and was a shirt shop, saying “Shirtlifters will not be prosecuted” but I didn’t see it when I visited his premises on Chamber business once (I too was a shopkeeper in Richmond for 22 years). Proctor was sufficiently right-wing that in the 1974 general election the NF didn’t stand against him, even though the seat included their then stronghold (in relative terms) of Hoxton.
I don’t know if it is true that the NF actively declined to stand against Proctor. He had been involved in purging NF members from the Monday Club of which he was a leading member in the 1970s and of course they did contest the seat in October 1974 when it produced their highest share (as it did also in 1979 when John Tyndall was candidate). There was also an NF candidate in Basildon in 1979.
The electoral trajectory of Hoxton in the last 40 years or so is a very interesting topic actually, but probably best for another thread