Worcestershire Mid
2010 Results:
Conservative: 27770 (54.52%)
Labour: 7613 (14.95%)
Liberal Democrat: 11906 (23.38%)
UKIP: 3049 (5.99%)
Green: 593 (1.16%)
Majority: 15864 (31.14%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Conservative: 24014 (51.1%)
Labour: 11223 (23.9%)
Liberal Democrat: 9717 (20.7%)
Other: 2059 (4.4%)
Majority: 12791 (27.2%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 24783 (51.5%)
Labour: 11456 (23.8%)
Liberal Democrat: 9796 (20.4%)
UKIP: 2092 (4.3%)
Majority: 13327 (27.7%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 22937 (51.1%)
Labour: 12310 (27.4%)
Liberal Democrat: 8420 (18.8%)
UKIP: 1230 (2.7%)
Majority: 10627 (23.7%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 24092 (47.4%)
Labour: 14680 (28.9%)
Liberal Democrat: 9458 (18.6%)
Referendum: 1780 (3.5%)
Other: 809 (1.6%)
Majority: 9412 (18.5%)
Boundary changes: Minor. Gains part of Fladbury from Worcestershire West, loses part of Inkberrow to Redditch.
Profile: A long, mainly rural seat, that covers the stretch of countryside inbetween Worcester and Redditch, south of Birmingham. The constituency stretches from near Kidderminster in the north, all the way to the Cotswold village of Broadway to the south.
There are two main towns in the seat, the market town of Evesham and the spa town of Droitwich, both of which are popular commuter towns. The local economy is largely light industry, farming and distribution.
There are some pockets of Labour support in Evesham and Droitwich (though Labour were wiped out in the district council elections in 2007), but overall the seat is strongly and safely Conservative.
Current MP: Peter Luff(Conservative) born 1955, Windsor. Educated at Windsor Grammar School and Cambridge University. Former head of Ted Heath`s private office who went on to work in the public affairs industry prior to his election. Contested Holborn and St Pancras 1987. First elected as MP for Worcester in 1992. After boundary changes he defeated Eric Forth for the nomination for Mid Worcestershire, which he has represented since 1997. Opposition whip 2000-2005 (more information at They work for you)
Peter Luff(Conservative) born 1955, Windsor. Educated at Windsor Grammar School and Cambridge University. Former head of Ted Heath`s private office who went on to work in the public affairs industry prior to his election. Contested Holborn and St Pancras 1987. First elected as MP for Worcester in 1992. After boundary changes he defeated Eric Forth for the nomination for Mid Worcestershire, which he has represented since 1997. Opposition whip 2000-2005 (more information at They work for you)
Robin Lunn (Labour) Former Worcestershire councillor.
Margaret Rowley (Liberal Democrat) Educated at Queen Elizabeth`s Grammar School, Horncastle, and Nottingham University. Works for Worcestershire Health ICT Services. Wychavon District councillor. Contested Bromsgrove 2001, Mid Worcestershire 2005.
Gordon Matthews (Green) Educated at University of Bradford. Former teacher, now working for Quaker and church organisations.
John White (UKIP) 2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 90577
Male: 49.4%
Female: 50.6%
Under 18: 21.6%
Over 60: 22.4%
Born outside UK: 3.6%
White: 98.7%
Black: 0.2%
Asian: 0.3%
Mixed: 0.5%
Other: 0.3%
Christian: 81.3%
Full time students: 2%
Graduates 16-74: 19.1%
No Qualifications 16-74: 27.6%
Owner-Occupied: 76.3%
Social Housing: 15.5% (Council: 1.3%, Housing Ass.: 14.1%)
Privately Rented: 5.3%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 5.6%
Luff announced his retirement at next GE today (and was sacked as junior minister yesterday)
Julie Kirkbride to stand here & return to Parliament with stupendous momentum.
Luff is one of the last remaining Heathite/Clarkeite pro-Europeans on the Tory benches.
He was a protege of Peter Walker and one of the very few Tories to support the hunting ban.
One of those libheral EUphiles who never did anything to cause embarrassment or mischief to the party.
I disagree with him on so much, and yet, I’ll miss him more than I will Clarke when he goes, and of course the odious Ian Taylor when he stood down at the last election.
It seems a very low blow to label anyone as ‘Heathite’.
‘Luff is one of the last remaining Heathite/Clarkeite pro-Europeans on the Tory benches.’
Would not the likes of Alan Haselhurst, Alastair Burt, Steven Dorrell to name but a few, fall into that category
‘He was a protege of Peter Walker and one of the very few Tories to support the hunting ban.’
I think as with moral issues like the death penalty and to a certain extent abortion, the select few Tories who did oppose hunting were from both wings of the party – Roger Gayle, David Ames, Teddy Taylor, Anne Widdecombe, Alan Clarke – as well as a handful of the 2010 intake, especially female like Esther McVey and Tracey Crouch
Didn’t realise Luff opposed it
“It seems a very low blow to label anyone as ‘Heathite’.”
I didn’t mean it as an insult, merely as a statement of fact.
Mr Luff was the head of Heath’s private office and notoriously wet, although as Shaun said he was never a troublemaker.
Tim
I believe Alan Clark was opposed to the hunting ban….at least that is what he told the selection committee at Kensington & Chelsea.
He didn’t live long enough to be able to vote on the matter so we don’t know whether or not they were weasel words.
‘Mr Luff was the head of Heath’s private office and notoriously wet’
Then two very different forms of Conservatism would have been advocated at the selection stage prior to 97 if he was up against the late Eric Forth
Still very unfair to bring up someone’s unfortunate past from 40 years ago.
Luff was one of the most vocal defenders of fox hunting and spoke for hours in debates. He voted against a ban and called for the repeal of the Bill as recently as last year. He formed the Middle Way Group with Lembit Opik and Kate Hoey to attempt a compromise.
That’s how I recall it too. It has been very unusual for Tories in rural seats (like this one) to support the ban on hunting; in fact, I think that Ann Widdecombe is pretty much unique in this regard. The others you mention Tim all represent or represented almost entirely urban constituencies. All the 3 members of the 2010 intake whom I’ve heard support the continuation of the ban, Richard Harrington, Simon Kirby & Mike Weatherley, do as well.
Barnaby – that’s right. Maybe HH et al were thinking of Mike Foster who took Worcester in ’97, as he tried to ban fox hunting. Incidentally, I just caught Fraser Nelson ‘analysing’ the reshuffle, however he was factually wrong 3 times. He said only 5% of the Govt had changed. ConHome showed that 40% had, with 29 leaving altogether, plus a dozen declined offers.
I met Mike Forster a few years back at a function (one of just two serving MP’s I’ve ever met in person).
Didn’t he make the first attempt to ban fox hunting by moving a private members bill not long after the 97 election?