Post by andrewp on Dec 28, 2023 14:56:48 GMT
With credit to greenhert who wrote the original profile here.
In the boundary changes that came into effect for the 2010 General election the county of Cornwall was granted an extra 6th constituency- this one. The new constituency was created in the centre of the county and included one of the largest towns in Cornwall, St Austell. St Austell had long been paired with the city of Truro in a parliamentary constituency, but in 2010 that town ( and about 45% of the electorate of the former Truro and St Austell constituency ) joined with the north coast resort of Newquay, previously in the North Cornwall constituency, and the sophisticated south coast resort of Fowey from South East Cornwall in this new constituency. Newquay and St Austell are the 2 largest towns in Cornwall on some measures.
This is the most easterly of the 4 Cornish constituencies that have both a northern Atlantic coast and a southern English channel coast. It is almost coterminous with the defunct former district of Restormel (the town of Lostwithiel is still in South East Cornwall). This is quite a reasonable constituency, although transport links tend to be better east/west rather than north/ south in Cornwall, so it is about a 40 minute drive to cover the 17 miles from St Austell to Newquay.
Like most of Cornwall, the boundary changes for 2024 here are relatively minor. The seat was slightly oversized in 2019 so loses about 6000 voters. One electoral division containing about 5000 electors based on St Columb Major to the North east of Newquay is transferred to North Cornwall. Elsewhere a small number of electors in Gorran Haven on the south coast are lost and the area of Crantock to the south of Newquay is lost. Chipping away territory on both sides of Newquay leaves that town itself quite isolated in this constituency and reduces the Northern coastline of this seat.
St Austell has a population of 21,000 and was once the centre of the china clay mining industry and even today plays a small part in the china clay industry, employing ~2000 people in that industry. The mining of the clay has left an ugly scar on the landscape around St Austell. The town is one of those inland Cornish towns that is quite functional and not a thing of particular beauty with a shopping centre described as ‘brutalist’, but it is increasingly reliant on tourism, with the nearby Eden Project being Cornwall's most popular tourist attraction in the 21st century. The Eden project, situated in the former mines, opened in the year 2000 and attracted 1 million visitors in 2019. St Austell was also the site of a planned eco-town expansion but this has still not acquired the necessary planning permission, even though the project started in 2009. St Austell itself would have been an area of Labour strength in the 1960s when it was in the competitive Truro constituency. That Labour strength was then eaten away at by the Liberal Democrats and St Austell would have been an area of strength for the Liberal Democrats whilst the town had a Lib Dem MP from 1974 until 2015. In 2019 Labour would, once again, have got a respectable vote in St Austell.
The former fishing port of Newquay ( population 23,600) sits above a series of sandy beaches, and has undergone significant development in the last few decades, and its expansion is partly the reason that Cornwall's population grew large enough for it to be entitled to a sixth constituency at the Fifth Boundary Review. It has long been popular with surfers, with Fistral Beach in the town being one of the earliest surfing destinations in the UK. Newquay is now the site of Boardmasters, a surf and music festival held each August, and Run to the Sun, a festival for VW camper vans held each May. The town centre is quite ‘young’ and has its fair share of problems as a destination for stag and hen dos, although that problem has partially been alleviated by Easyjet and Ryan Air. Newquay recently obtained a licence for development as a spaceport but completion is a long way off, to say the least. Newquay also its share of very pleasant seaside bungalow estates and Labour strength in Newquay will be less than in St Austell.
Either side of St Austell on the South Coast are Mevagissey to the West, and Fowey to the east. Both of these are small coastal settlements and attract a different type of holiday maker. Fowey, in particular is quite yachty and has a royal regatta each August.
St Austell & Newquay has a population profile that is a bit older than average and the constituency is a little more owner occupied than average. Like many coastal constituencies in the West of England, there are below average qualification levels (degree holders account for only 26.4% of the population) , and level 2 qualifications are noticeably above average with the constituency - it’s in the top 20 constituencies in England and Wales for that level of qualification. It is also almost entirely white (97.2%)
Like much of the rest of Cornwall, the Conservatives did particularly well here in the 2021 local elections, winning 11 of the 15 divisions in this constituency, including all three in Newquay and all four in St Austell. Mebyon Kernow, the party of Cornwall won 3 of the other 4 divisions and 1 Independent was elected.
When created in 2010, St Austell & Newquay was notionally a Liberal Democrat seat, like the rest of Cornwall at that time, and Stephen Gilbert of the Liberal Democrats became its first MP despite being run close by the Conservatives. With a majority of just 1,312 and the Liberal Democrats sinking after entering into coalition with the Conservatives, his career was not going to last long, and the Conservatives' Steve Double ousted him in 2015 by 8,173 votes even though both UKIP and the Green Party absorbed much more of the ex-Liberal Democrat vote than the Conservatives did, a common theme across Cornwall and rural Devon. Mr Gilbert made an attempt to recapture his former seat in 2017, but he was pushed into third place by Labour. In 2019, the Liberal Democrats fell back even further, losing more than half their 2017 vote and dropping to 10.5% (by contrast Labour's vote share dropped by only 2.6%), although that year Mebyon Kernow and the Greens stood having not done so in 2017.
Steve Double has quite strong local credentials, and was the mayor of St Austell before entering parliament. He secured a majority of 16,500 over Labour in 2019 and the minor boundary changes probably reduce that only slightly. Labour probably need a swing of about 15% here, which obviously puts this at the very top end of their possible targets, and a Conservative hold here feels the most likely outcome.
In the boundary changes that came into effect for the 2010 General election the county of Cornwall was granted an extra 6th constituency- this one. The new constituency was created in the centre of the county and included one of the largest towns in Cornwall, St Austell. St Austell had long been paired with the city of Truro in a parliamentary constituency, but in 2010 that town ( and about 45% of the electorate of the former Truro and St Austell constituency ) joined with the north coast resort of Newquay, previously in the North Cornwall constituency, and the sophisticated south coast resort of Fowey from South East Cornwall in this new constituency. Newquay and St Austell are the 2 largest towns in Cornwall on some measures.
This is the most easterly of the 4 Cornish constituencies that have both a northern Atlantic coast and a southern English channel coast. It is almost coterminous with the defunct former district of Restormel (the town of Lostwithiel is still in South East Cornwall). This is quite a reasonable constituency, although transport links tend to be better east/west rather than north/ south in Cornwall, so it is about a 40 minute drive to cover the 17 miles from St Austell to Newquay.
Like most of Cornwall, the boundary changes for 2024 here are relatively minor. The seat was slightly oversized in 2019 so loses about 6000 voters. One electoral division containing about 5000 electors based on St Columb Major to the North east of Newquay is transferred to North Cornwall. Elsewhere a small number of electors in Gorran Haven on the south coast are lost and the area of Crantock to the south of Newquay is lost. Chipping away territory on both sides of Newquay leaves that town itself quite isolated in this constituency and reduces the Northern coastline of this seat.
St Austell has a population of 21,000 and was once the centre of the china clay mining industry and even today plays a small part in the china clay industry, employing ~2000 people in that industry. The mining of the clay has left an ugly scar on the landscape around St Austell. The town is one of those inland Cornish towns that is quite functional and not a thing of particular beauty with a shopping centre described as ‘brutalist’, but it is increasingly reliant on tourism, with the nearby Eden Project being Cornwall's most popular tourist attraction in the 21st century. The Eden project, situated in the former mines, opened in the year 2000 and attracted 1 million visitors in 2019. St Austell was also the site of a planned eco-town expansion but this has still not acquired the necessary planning permission, even though the project started in 2009. St Austell itself would have been an area of Labour strength in the 1960s when it was in the competitive Truro constituency. That Labour strength was then eaten away at by the Liberal Democrats and St Austell would have been an area of strength for the Liberal Democrats whilst the town had a Lib Dem MP from 1974 until 2015. In 2019 Labour would, once again, have got a respectable vote in St Austell.
The former fishing port of Newquay ( population 23,600) sits above a series of sandy beaches, and has undergone significant development in the last few decades, and its expansion is partly the reason that Cornwall's population grew large enough for it to be entitled to a sixth constituency at the Fifth Boundary Review. It has long been popular with surfers, with Fistral Beach in the town being one of the earliest surfing destinations in the UK. Newquay is now the site of Boardmasters, a surf and music festival held each August, and Run to the Sun, a festival for VW camper vans held each May. The town centre is quite ‘young’ and has its fair share of problems as a destination for stag and hen dos, although that problem has partially been alleviated by Easyjet and Ryan Air. Newquay recently obtained a licence for development as a spaceport but completion is a long way off, to say the least. Newquay also its share of very pleasant seaside bungalow estates and Labour strength in Newquay will be less than in St Austell.
Either side of St Austell on the South Coast are Mevagissey to the West, and Fowey to the east. Both of these are small coastal settlements and attract a different type of holiday maker. Fowey, in particular is quite yachty and has a royal regatta each August.
St Austell & Newquay has a population profile that is a bit older than average and the constituency is a little more owner occupied than average. Like many coastal constituencies in the West of England, there are below average qualification levels (degree holders account for only 26.4% of the population) , and level 2 qualifications are noticeably above average with the constituency - it’s in the top 20 constituencies in England and Wales for that level of qualification. It is also almost entirely white (97.2%)
Like much of the rest of Cornwall, the Conservatives did particularly well here in the 2021 local elections, winning 11 of the 15 divisions in this constituency, including all three in Newquay and all four in St Austell. Mebyon Kernow, the party of Cornwall won 3 of the other 4 divisions and 1 Independent was elected.
When created in 2010, St Austell & Newquay was notionally a Liberal Democrat seat, like the rest of Cornwall at that time, and Stephen Gilbert of the Liberal Democrats became its first MP despite being run close by the Conservatives. With a majority of just 1,312 and the Liberal Democrats sinking after entering into coalition with the Conservatives, his career was not going to last long, and the Conservatives' Steve Double ousted him in 2015 by 8,173 votes even though both UKIP and the Green Party absorbed much more of the ex-Liberal Democrat vote than the Conservatives did, a common theme across Cornwall and rural Devon. Mr Gilbert made an attempt to recapture his former seat in 2017, but he was pushed into third place by Labour. In 2019, the Liberal Democrats fell back even further, losing more than half their 2017 vote and dropping to 10.5% (by contrast Labour's vote share dropped by only 2.6%), although that year Mebyon Kernow and the Greens stood having not done so in 2017.
Steve Double has quite strong local credentials, and was the mayor of St Austell before entering parliament. He secured a majority of 16,500 over Labour in 2019 and the minor boundary changes probably reduce that only slightly. Labour probably need a swing of about 15% here, which obviously puts this at the very top end of their possible targets, and a Conservative hold here feels the most likely outcome.
