Post by andrewp on Sept 8, 2023 14:25:48 GMT
So here we are on the English Riviera, home to England’s grumpiest hotelier and where views are of Torbay and most definitely not of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or herds of Wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain. General Election results have traditionally been declared early down here on the Riviera, on a stage amongst fake palm trees and pictures of glorious sweeping views.
The Torbay constituency is a compact urban seat consisting of two of the three towns which make up the Torbay conurbation, Torquay and Paignton. The third town on the Riviera, the fishing port of Brixham was removed in the 1983 boundary changes into the Totnes constituency. With 75000 electors, the two towns are of an almost ideal size to form a parliamentary constituency and the Boundary commission, in their review which reported in 2023, have resisted the urge to make any significant boundary changes, with the only changes being a few hundred voters at the inland westerly edge of Paignton being brought in from Totnes constituency in a tidy up to align to local authority ward boundaries.
Torquay grew from a fishing port to a busy Victorian seaside resort during the 19th century. It is a hilly town set on steep slopes above a marina. For a town it’s size, it has a surprisingly small and run down feeling town centre. Paignton is a more traditional southern seaside resort with a sandy beach and a pier.
As one might expect from a Southern English seaside constituency, this is well within the top 100 seats nationally for the percentage of people over 65 (22.5%) and for the percentage of retired people. Although not quite as elderly as say, East Devon. Also, in common with many other seaside resorts, there isn’t a great deal of industry in Torbay and it has a below average percentage of people in managerial occupations. As the roads have improved, the 18 miles to get to Exeter have become a quicker journey and its wide range of industries means that Torbay is now an attractive option for commuting to Exeter.
At a local level, many of the wards here are very close between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives and in the past there have been quite big swings in seat hauls at local elections. In the 2023 local elections Torbay somewhat flew against the national trend with the Conservatives gaining overall control of the council, one of only 2 council gains on that very poor night for the party. The Conservative success in Torbay was however largely down to gaining all 5 seats in Brixham, outside of this constituency, from Independents. Within the Torbay constituency the Conservatives beat the Lib Dems by 38% to 35% although the Lib Dems won 15 seats to the Conservatives 12 with 2 Independents. The best Conservative ward is leafy Wellswood set on the clifftops at the North End of Torbay, where they won 67% of the vote in 2023 and full of big houses and flats with sea views. The best Liberal Democrat ward is Barton with Watcombe in the North of the town, which is fairly middle class suburbia in the most part. Labour’s last councillor elected here was in the Central Tormohun ward in 2011.
Torbay had an elected Mayor between 2005 and 2016, with the Conservatives winning all three elections to that position before a referendum in 2016 voted 62/37 to abolish the position.
At parliamentary level. Torbay was historically quite a safe Conservative seat but became less so after the 1983 boundary changes. In 1997, the second closest result in the country occurred here when local Lib Dem councillor Adrian Sanders unseated Conservative Rupert Allason by just 12 votes. Many thought a Conservative regain was likely in 2001, but Sanders increased his majority to 6,700. Sanders held twice more with smaller majorities, and served for 18 years, but was beaten by Conservative Coventry city Councillor Kevin Foster by 3286 in 2015, far from the worst Lib Dem performance in that disastrous year for the party. Without Sanders on the parliamentary ballot paper, Foster has won very comfortably by 14000 in 2017 and nearly 18000 in 2019. The constituency is estimated to have voted 63% leave and, unlike some other west country seats, the Lib Dem’s continued to go backwards in 2019. With a notional majority of about 18000, this does feel like one of those South West seats where it’s a longer way back for the Liberal Democrats than some other previously held seats.
The Torbay constituency is a compact urban seat consisting of two of the three towns which make up the Torbay conurbation, Torquay and Paignton. The third town on the Riviera, the fishing port of Brixham was removed in the 1983 boundary changes into the Totnes constituency. With 75000 electors, the two towns are of an almost ideal size to form a parliamentary constituency and the Boundary commission, in their review which reported in 2023, have resisted the urge to make any significant boundary changes, with the only changes being a few hundred voters at the inland westerly edge of Paignton being brought in from Totnes constituency in a tidy up to align to local authority ward boundaries.
Torquay grew from a fishing port to a busy Victorian seaside resort during the 19th century. It is a hilly town set on steep slopes above a marina. For a town it’s size, it has a surprisingly small and run down feeling town centre. Paignton is a more traditional southern seaside resort with a sandy beach and a pier.
As one might expect from a Southern English seaside constituency, this is well within the top 100 seats nationally for the percentage of people over 65 (22.5%) and for the percentage of retired people. Although not quite as elderly as say, East Devon. Also, in common with many other seaside resorts, there isn’t a great deal of industry in Torbay and it has a below average percentage of people in managerial occupations. As the roads have improved, the 18 miles to get to Exeter have become a quicker journey and its wide range of industries means that Torbay is now an attractive option for commuting to Exeter.
At a local level, many of the wards here are very close between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives and in the past there have been quite big swings in seat hauls at local elections. In the 2023 local elections Torbay somewhat flew against the national trend with the Conservatives gaining overall control of the council, one of only 2 council gains on that very poor night for the party. The Conservative success in Torbay was however largely down to gaining all 5 seats in Brixham, outside of this constituency, from Independents. Within the Torbay constituency the Conservatives beat the Lib Dems by 38% to 35% although the Lib Dems won 15 seats to the Conservatives 12 with 2 Independents. The best Conservative ward is leafy Wellswood set on the clifftops at the North End of Torbay, where they won 67% of the vote in 2023 and full of big houses and flats with sea views. The best Liberal Democrat ward is Barton with Watcombe in the North of the town, which is fairly middle class suburbia in the most part. Labour’s last councillor elected here was in the Central Tormohun ward in 2011.
Torbay had an elected Mayor between 2005 and 2016, with the Conservatives winning all three elections to that position before a referendum in 2016 voted 62/37 to abolish the position.
At parliamentary level. Torbay was historically quite a safe Conservative seat but became less so after the 1983 boundary changes. In 1997, the second closest result in the country occurred here when local Lib Dem councillor Adrian Sanders unseated Conservative Rupert Allason by just 12 votes. Many thought a Conservative regain was likely in 2001, but Sanders increased his majority to 6,700. Sanders held twice more with smaller majorities, and served for 18 years, but was beaten by Conservative Coventry city Councillor Kevin Foster by 3286 in 2015, far from the worst Lib Dem performance in that disastrous year for the party. Without Sanders on the parliamentary ballot paper, Foster has won very comfortably by 14000 in 2017 and nearly 18000 in 2019. The constituency is estimated to have voted 63% leave and, unlike some other west country seats, the Lib Dem’s continued to go backwards in 2019. With a notional majority of about 18000, this does feel like one of those South West seats where it’s a longer way back for the Liberal Democrats than some other previously held seats.
