Slough
2010 Results:
Conservative: 16361 (34.27%)
Labour: 21884 (45.84%)
Liberal Democrat: 6943 (14.54%)
UKIP: 1517 (3.18%)
Green: 542 (1.14%)
Christian: 495 (1.04%)
Majority: 5523 (11.57%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 18868 (46.3%)
Conservative: 10722 (26.3%)
Liberal Democrat: 6831 (16.8%)
Other: 4318 (10.6%)
Majority: 8146 (20%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 9666 (26.1%)
Labour: 17517 (47.2%)
Liberal Democrat: 5739 (15.5%)
Green: 759 (2%)
UKIP: 1415 (3.8%)
Other: 1999 (5.4%)
Majority: 7851 (21.2%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 10210 (26.2%)
Labour: 22718 (58.3%)
Liberal Democrat: 4109 (10.5%)
UKIP: 738 (1.9%)
Other: 1223 (3.1%)
Majority: 12508 (32.1%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 13958 (29.2%)
Labour: 27029 (56.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 3509 (7.4%)
Referendum: 1124 (2.4%)
Other: 2112 (4.4%)
Majority: 13071 (27.4%)
Boundary changes:
Profile: Slough is a much maligned town to the west of London, associated with Sir John Betjeman`s “Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough” and more recently, the Office`s David Brent. It is a business hub that grew up around the world`s first industrial estate between the wars, and ballooned from post-war overspill development. It remains a major business centre, companies based here include Mars, Nintendo, Black and Decker, Amazon, CItroen and ICI`s Dulux paints factory. Industry and business have long attracted immigration here, and it is a highly diverse seat. A third of the population are from ethnic minorities, and there is also a sizable Polish community. Slough has the eight highest proportion of Sikh residents of any seat, the largest outside of London and the West Midlands. Outside of London, Slough is one of Labour`s safest seats in the South, though it was only lost by the Conservatives in 1997.
Current MP: Fiona Mactaggart(Labour) born 1953, Glasgow, the daughter of a Conservative millionaire property developer. Educated at Cheltenham Ladies College and Kings College London. Former teacher, lecturer and Chair of Liberty. Former Wandsworth councillor. First elected as MP for Slough 1997. Under-secretary of State at the Home Office from 2003-2005. A sufferer of multiple sclerosis herself she is a strong supporter of stem cell research (more information at They work for you)
Diana Coad (Conservative) born London. Educated at Plastow Grammar School. Former sales executive. Slough councillor since 2006. Contested Slough 2001, Stourbridge 2005.Fiona Mactaggart(Labour) born 1953, Glasgow, the daughter of a Conservative millionaire property developer. Educated at Cheltenham Ladies College and Kings College London. Former teacher, lecturer and Chair of Liberty. Former Wandsworth councillor. First elected as MP for Slough 1997. Under-secretary of State at the Home Office from 2003-2005. A sufferer of multiple sclerosis herself she is a strong supporter of stem cell research (more information at They work for you)
Chris Tucker (Liberal Democrat) born 1956. Teacher. 
Miriam Kennet (Green) Peter Mason-Apps (UKIP)Sunil Chaudhary (Christian Party) 2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 113659
Male: 49.8%
Female: 50.2%
Under 18: 25.1%
Over 60: 15.4%
Born outside UK: 24.4%
White: 63%
Black: 5.1%
Asian: 28.6%
Mixed: 2.3%
Other: 1%
Christian: 53.2%
Hindu: 4.5%
Muslim: 13.8%
Sikh: 9.2%
Full time students: 4.2%
Graduates 16-74: 19.8%
No Qualifications 16-74: 28.3%
Owner-Occupied: 66.8%
Social Housing: 21.3% (Council: 17.2%, Housing Ass.: 4%)
Privately Rented: 9.8%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 6.9%
Sorry HH….I couldn’t help it đŸ™‚
I only just saw the comments!
Correction to my last post.
I have now found maps at Slough Library, with the Slough ward boundaries as they stood in 1973 and 1989.
The Burnham wards were not south of the Farnham wards, as I previously thought. In fact the two areas were parallel strips, with Burnham on the western border of Slough, with Burnham South entirely south of the Bath Road and Burnham North largely to the north of the Bath Road. Both Farnham wards were the strip to the east of the Burnham wards, but entirely north of Bath Road. The northern boundaries of both Burnham North and Farnham North were on the northern boundary of the pre-1973 Slough Borough and adjoined the post 1973 Britwell ward.
It follows that Cippenham village was in the Burnham South ward, which was not changed much when it became the Cippenham ward after the next re-warding. The boundary with Haymill (roughly the same area as Burnham North had been) then ran entirely along the Bath Road.
I think I have now pretty much exhausted the topic of Cippenham’s electoral history.
LBernard
Looking at the results for the 2011 cycle, the currently competitive areas for the Conservatives are:-
Colnbrook with Poyle: Dexter Smith, probably the strongest Tory candidate who could have been nominated for this ward, won 52.82% of the valid votes and had a majority of 230 (15.84% over Labour). This ward has changed party hands several times since it was formed, so I would classify it as marginal, particularly if the Conservative candidate were less well known in the ward than Councillor Smith.
Haymill: The Conservative won 42.05%, majority over Labour 155 (6.83%), with a squeezable minor party in sharp decline receiving 22.72%. I suspect it will be safeish for the Tories this May.
Langley St Mary’s: This is the northern part of Langley. The only ward where all three seats are currently held by Conservatives. In 2011 Diana Coad got 53.55% (majority 291 over Labour, 53.55%). Probably the least likely of the current wards, that Labour might gain.
Upton: A marginal ward. Labour gained a seat in 2011, with 56.39% of the vote in a two way fight. The Labour majority was 300, 12.79%. Veteran Conservative Councillor Julia Long may be the last, best hope to keep a Conservative seat in 2012.
I do not think there is much chance of any other ward returning a Conservative in 2011.
As to the position, after the re-warding when we have a whole Council election in 2014, we await the final set of boundaries and the state of national politics in two years time.
The Labour Party are not that far from winning every seat on Slough Council, if the government was to be severely unpopular by 2014. I suspect the next non Labour administration in the borough will have to await the unpopularity of the next Labour government.
What I found so offensive wasSlough being called a Shit Hole by somebody who had never been there and is coy about where he lives, supported by another who has taken his views from 75 year old poems, old late night Cops programmes and a comedy set in in an office in Slough, poking fun at a man from Reading…..he had not been to Slough either !.
Having only been to Luton on business and to fly from Luton Airport on holiday once (I usually fly from Heathrow or Gatwick) I cannot and will not defame Luton.
Apparently there were no riots in leafy Beckenham according to H. Hemmelig although the internet has reports on fires being set and Bob Stewart must be mistaken too !
http://www.bobstewartmp.com/newsshow.aspx?ref=63
The councillor up for election this year in Colnbrook with Poyle is James Walsh (Labour) who won Colnbrook with 50% of the vote in 2008, second was Dexter Smith (Conservative) with 45.78%. Labour majority being defended is only 59, which just happens to be the number that the independent polled.
At the time of the election Dexter Smith was the Conservative Group Leader on the council. Turnout 34.97% .
Mal is still banging on about some comments I made four years ago. Everyone else has moved on.
If ” somebody who had never been there and is coy about where he lives” refers to me, then neither of these things is true. I have been to Slough a number of times. I have never been coy about where I have lived and have mentioned it a number of times on relevant threads (I’ve lived in various areas in the time I’ve been posting here, including for a while in a borough which borders Slough). If you do you trawl the site more efficiently than last time and try not to confuse me with Andy Stidwill I’m sure you can find the answer you’re looking for. I’m certainly not going to tell you where I live on this thread just because of your badgering me – I take the Jack Falstaff line on compulsion.
Back to more interesting matters, Gary J seems to have a wealth of historical electoral data from Slough which is fascinating. Have you thought of adding some of this to Wikipedia? There is already quite a body of Slough election results on there
h ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slough_local_elections
Mal,
I agree with you about Councillor Walsh. You will note that my earlier post about Dexter Smith suggested he was the strongest possible Tory candidate in the ward, not that he was so popular that he could never be beaten.
Peter Whitehead,
About 15 years ago I did a lot of research in old newspapers to compile a set of Slough election results, going back to the founding of the Slough Board of Health in 1863.
I have done some Slough electoral articles on Wikipedia, but I have not felt it proper to go into a lot of detail for events a long way back, because of Wikipedia’s rule against original research. I have restricted myself to recent elections, when fairly obvious sources like the Slough Council website support the articles.
Pete Whitehead, Andy Stidwell ? a bit more wishful thinking, is what you said 4 years ago incorrect now then ?
Gary J, I do not disagree with your comments about Dexter. I think (dependant on Tory candidate) that James Walsh still has to campaign hard to win.
The comments on LSM I agree with also, Labour has no need to worry about this ward. As I said previously Labour has other fish to fry before worrying out this pocket.
LBernard,
I am afraid your idea that Slough and Luton are about the sime size is incorrect. Luton is 50% bigger in population than Slough.
Thanks for the correction Mal.
Thank you for the quick summary Gary J đŸ™‚
Mal
“Apparently there were no riots in leafy Beckenham according to H. Hemmelig although the internet has reports on fires being set and Bob Stewart must be mistaken too !”
Apparently you are unable to grasp the concept that parliamentary constituencies often cover a much bigger area than the town they are named after.
There were no riots in central Beckenham, I should know as I live just off the high street.
There were a few incidents in Bromley town and Penge, both of which extend into Beckenham constituency in places (around Elmers End and, as Bob Stewart mentioned, Hayes).
And I should add that, like Pete, I have also been to Slough, and I stand by my impression of it, which I have the perfect right to express.
I must also stand up for Pete and HH, two of the best posters on this site. Though they have (quite different) political viewpoints, their commentery on the socio-political make-up of seats is (joint) second to none.
Clearly there are differences between Slough and Luton, but also some similarities. They are industrial towns in a part of England not known for prolifereation of industrial towns. High Wycombe is in a way similar too, but on a smaller-scale.
On a positive note, both Slough and Luton, unglamorous though they may be (and I have actually lived in Luton!) are modern, productive places (the likes of SEGRO, O2, Easyjet, Whitbread), which is more than can be said for somewhere like Oldham.
Yes that is a very true comment.
Unglamorous, nondescript, hard-working towns like Slough and Luton are the backbone of our private sector economy – increasingly so as both the financial and public sectors are shrinking.
And, although not entirely relevant to this thread, a fairly decent-sized chunk of Beckenham proper is not even in the parliamentary constituency (including the library, leisure centre and, I think, the Conservative Association).
That is despite the constituency extending to places quite a long way beyond Beckenham.
Yes that is all true.
The parliamentary constituency still includes all the nicest areas of Beckenham proper. Many of the snootier residents (including most of the Conservative association) have always considered the west side of the town to be “Penge” rather than “Beckenham”….and indeed as you point out this area is now part of Lewisham West & Penge constituency.
By-election today in the Baylis & Stoke ward following the disqualification of Labour councillor Azhar Qureshi.
I predict a comfortable Labour victory in the Baylis and Stoke by-election, but on a low turnout.
I considered working in it, but saw how overwhelming the Labour majority was last time out & thought it would be OK. Hope I turn out to be right!
Result of the Baylis and Stoke by-election.
Labour hold (majority 536) Turnout: 28.54%.
Mohammed Nazir (Labour) 1,300 (2011 2,351 Lab votes)
Pervez Choudhry (Ind.) 764
Allan Deverill (UKIP) 82
Ivan Dukes (no description) 68
Pretty much as I expected. Pervez Choudhry must have some strength in his community as he polled more votes than the Conservatives (349) and Lib Dems (225) combined did in 2011, despite the turnout being down from 38.24% to 28.54%.
I hadn’t appreciated that neither the Cons nor LDs were standing. Does that happen often in Slough wards?
Slough elects its Council by thirds. 13 wards have three members and the 14th (Colnbrook with Poyle) has two members.
In the 2011 election, the Conservative Party contested all 14 wards. There were 5 Liberal Democrat candidates and 3 candidates from allied groups (Independent Britwellian Resident in Britwell; Independent in Wexham Lea and a Liberal councillor seeking re-election without a ballot paper label in Haymill ward).
In 2010 the Conservatives contested 12 out of 13 wards. The Lib Dems stood in 4 (with three allies in other wards).
In 2008 a second seat was up for election in Central ward, to fill a casual vacancy, in addition to the normal 14 contests. The Conservatives left six wards uncontested and thus had 9 nominees in 8 wards. The Lib Dems nominated 6 candidates in 5 wards (with the usual three allied candidates).
It may perhaps be relevant to note that there was a joint administration, involving all the non Labour Councillors, in the 2004-2008 period.
The Tories have become relatively stronger, within the opposition, but Labour has been increasing its overall strength during the last three cycles.
Pervez Choudhry was the Conservative Group leader but was suspended from the Conservative Group pending his trial for bigamy.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300496/Tory-council-leader-Pervez-Choudhry-steps-bigamy-charge.html
Is currently a councillor in another ward, but doesn’t fancy his chances there in May when his term is up.
Politics in Slough do not always follow traditional party lines.
Slough politics seems to be moving closer to the usual pattern. For the 2012 local election, one seat in each of the 14 wards of the Borough is being contested.
The Labour Party and UKIP are contesting every seat. The Conservatives are fighting 11 wards. They are not splitting the anti Labour vote with the three other opposition councillors seeking re-election.They are Pervez Choudhry (Independent-Baylis & Stoke), Duncan Buchanan (Liberal Democrat-Foxborough) and Sean Wright (Independent Britwellian Residents-Britwell). There are three other Liberal Democrat and two other Independent candidates.
I should also mark the end of the long running split in Slough liberalism. In 1988, when the Alliance morphed into what became the Liberal Democrats, most of the members of the then Slough Liberal Association refused to join the merged party.
In recent years the Liberals and Liberal Democrats worked together on Slough Council and did not stand against each other in elections, but the retirement of Richard Stokes this May will leave no remaining Liberals active in Slough politics.
The Slough Liberal Democrats will be the sole representatives of the liberal political tradition in the town, only 24 years later than their colleagues in most of the rest of the country achieved such a status.
HH
First you lived in SE London, then Beckenham now not the Beckenham where the riots were !
Your MP (for Beckenham) made commentss in the Commons about the constituency he represents in the riots.
I am sure that other parts of London have the same claim that it did not happen here.
Best stick to old late night comedies for you to form your opinions.
The 3 May 2012 council election to Slough Borough Council has resulted in Labour winning all 14 seats up for election (13 of which comprise the current Slough parliamentary constituency).
The Council now has 35 Labour, 5 Conservative and 1 Liberal Democrat members.
The closest result was Langley St Mary’s:
Lab 685
Con 683
UKIP 331
The Boundary Commission revised proposals, published today, change the plan in the Slough area.
Instead of the eastern Slough Borough ward of Foxborough being transferred from the existing Slough constituency to the new Windsor one, the ward chosen to equalise the numbers is Cippenham Meadows, in the south of Slough Borough.
The easternmost Slough Borough ward (Colnbrook with Poyle) is to be removed from the Windsor seat and added to a new cross-county boundary expanded Spelthorne.
All these changes are being driven by the electorate size requirements of current boundary change legislation. I think the new ideas are a slightly better fit, in terms of community ties and transport links, than the old suggestions were.
If Parliament does ultimately approve the revised changes, they will not be a tragedy for the Berkshire/Slough border area.
The proportion of the population of Slough borough who are white British has fallen from 58.3% in 2001 to only 34.5% in 2011 making it the least British of all British towns. Total white population is 45.7% (down from 63.7%) making it probably the only town in the UK where Whites are in a minority. The white British figure is actually very similar to the Conservative share of the vote in 2010. I’m not trying to reopen any old debates about Diana Coad’s p[erformance (nor about the niceness or otherwise of Slough) but in the circumstances which are now apparent it was a creditable Conservative result – they must have done extremely well amongst the white voters and made significant inroads into the Asian vote too (remembering also that the constituency exlcudes Colnbrook & Poyle which would be one of the more white areas of the borough)
That’s an incredible drop in the white British population.
Slough has always been a town of incomers. In the 1930’s its booming trading estate brought in workers and their families from high unemployment areas such as South Wales and Yorkshire. This explained its Labour voting strength in the 1950’s. Now the decendents of these incomers live in neighbouring Buckinghamshire and Berkshire towns. There is already evidence of wealthier asian families following this pattern. Slough’s long standing polish community which dated from the second world war has grown again too.
Colnbrook and Poyle also houses a lot of incomers. The electorate may be a bit different as only some of these immigrants can vote and some can vote in local but not national elections. The local elections held on the same day as the general election in 2010, had 1500 more electors for the same wards.
The actual population has risen from 119,067 to 140,205 between 2001 and 2011. At the same time the white British population has dropped from 69,440 to 48,401.
The top 10 “White Other” local authorities outside Greater London and excluding Oxford, Cambridge and Forest Heath were as follows:
1. Boston: 12.53%
2. Peterborough: 10.62%
3. Slough: 9.86%
4. Corby: 9.09%
5. Elmbridge: 8.70%
6. Broxbourne: 7.93%
7. Bedford: 7.91%
8. Reading: 7.90%
9. Watford: 7.69%
10.Woking: 7.41%
ht tp://bit.ly/VDw7QT
“The proportion of the population of Slough borough who are white British has fallen from 58.3% in 2001 to only 34.5% in 2011 making it the least British of all British towns.”
You are excluding those who describe themselves as ‘Asian British’ or ‘Black British’ ?
“The local elections held on the same day as the general election in 2010, had 1500 more electors for the same wards.”
I’m surprised the difference wasn’t greater. Was that electorate or votes cast?
“You are excluding those who describe themselves as ‘Asian British’ or ‘Black British’”
Yes I am talking about those who are ethnically British that is to say White British (in other words those whose ethnic origins are in Britain as opposed to other countries)
It has a lot to do with proximity to the airport and the tendency of people who arrive to stay with relatives already in Slough. The population is probably higher than the official figures – certainly hospital admissions and school rolls suggest so. My sister lives there!
I do think it can be a problem for areas where you have had swift changes but facilities haven’t kept up with expansion