Comments on: Welwyn Hatfield

By: Andy JS

Andy JS — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:06:04 +0000

Welwyn Hatfield becomes safer for the Conservatives:

UKPR notionals result:

Con: 30,621 (57.6%)
Lab: 10,990 (20.7%)
LD: 8,770 (16.5%)
UKIP: 1,755 (3.3%)

Con maj: 19,631 (36.9%)

By: Pete Whitehead

Pete Whitehead — Fri, 06 May 2011 21:29:33 +0000

Labour made a fairly decent recovery in Welwyn Garden city gaining Peatree from the LDs and Hollybush, Haldens and one of thee two seats up in Howlands from the Conservatives
They also came close to winning back Hatfield town council (now Con 8 Lab 7).
More sign of life in Labour here than in Hemel

By: Andy JS

Andy JS — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:47:18 +0000

Well the age-group statistics are given at the top of the page. They don’t look that different to average at a quick glance.

By: Paul D

Paul D — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:49:10 +0000

Do New Towns have a lower population turnover than other areas (i.e. people move there and never leave)? If so then, given the adage that people (generally) become more right-wing/Tory as they age, that could be another reason – that the population is simply ageing and drifting further rightwards.

By: Merseymike

Merseymike — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 01:30:21 +0000

I think those explanations certainly stand ground for the first generation, but I’m not sure if they specifically apply today – yet the high swings appear to remain

By: Andy JS

Andy JS — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:59:11 +0000

Yes I agree. There’s an obvious historical link to voting Labour based on tradition for working-class people still residing in the East End of London but when they move somewhere else that link will almost always become weaker to some extent.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:51:09 +0000

Perhaps among their population there is more of an ‘adventureous’ nature.

By which I mean that those people who left their longstanding homes for the ‘new frontier’ are more naturally open minded and changeable than those who live in the same areas generation to generation.

There might be an economic factor to it as well if new towns are affected more by economic changes than urban or rural areas.

By: Joe James B

Joe James B — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:13:57 +0000

Yes you’re clearly right.
It couldn’t possibly have been the former MP on the radio program.
I’m sure I heard him say “when I was in Parliament” on one particular occasion,
but it can only have been a joke.

On New Towns, I’m not sure it’s actually been tested why they swing violently.
One can understand them starting off as Labour,
then swinging to the Tories in 1979,
then back to Labour in 1997,
as pretty obvious and well documented.

What’s less clear is the swings post 1997.

I wonder whether their political allegiances are fairly shallow.

By: Merseymike

Merseymike — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:45:22 +0000

I wonder why former new towns seem to swing so violently? Its not as if they are demographically distinct any longer, yet they do appear to be prone to very major and sudden swings.

By: Pete Whitehead

Pete Whitehead — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:23:45 +0000

Forgot to post the link

htt p://groups.yahoo.com/group/lbc/message/8520