Spelthorne

[heslingtonian]

Agree that one day (perhaps under Starmer) this could become a genuine marginal.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Spelthorne was changed from a County Constituency to a Borough Constituency during the course of the Second Periodical Review of 1965-69. In the initial recommendations it was a County but the PBCE reclassified it as a Borough (along with Chertsey and Walton, Esher, and Reigate constituencies).

[Robert Waller]

Spelthorne is one of those constituency names that probably need explanation for many of those not resident in its own part of the country. It could be described as that part of Surrey north of the river Thames. For the more historically and traditionally minded, it is a former medieval hundred, and that part of southern Middlesex that was not included in Greater London in the administrative reforms that took effect in 1965 (at its northern end parts of Middlesex such as Potters Bar were transferred to Hertfordshire). Yet another way of identifying Spelthorne is to say that it borders to the west and south-west that large and well known landmark Heathrow Airport. Finally, as in addition to the communities of Sunbury, Ashford (still often known as Ashford, Middlesex, to distinguish it from its now much larger namesake in Kent) and Shepperton, its largest population centre is Staines, recently endeavouring to sound more attractive by adding the suffix ‘upon-Thames’, but associated for many with the character Ali G.

The connection with Heathrow is significant. In addition to the reminder that is the aircraft noise, a large number of Spelthorne residents work at the airport or in related industries. This is reflected in the employment statistics, with fully 15% recorded as working in transport and storage, the 4th highest of the 650 constituencies, at the time of the most recent Census for which figures have been published. However these are less likely than average to be routine or semi-routine tasks. Another key characteristic of this constituency is that at 87% white it is far less ethnically mixed than those on the other perimeters of the airport, such as Hayes & Harlington and Feltham & Heston, with their large percentage of voters of Asian origin. Indeed, many Spelthorne residents were very keen not to be included in any way in ‘London’, as for example when their local Conservative association begged to differ from the party Central Office when the latter supported a plan to place Spelthorne in a London constituency back in the days of first past the post European Parliament elections.

Although apparently very happy to be thought of as part of Surrey, the Spelthorne seat overall is in some ways more ‘down-market’. Its levels of ‘terminal educational achievement’ are slightly below average for the South East England region. The figures for professional and managerial workers were almost exactly on the average mark at the time of the last census, while the numbers were among the highest of any constituency in the ‘intermediate’ category (examples of intermediate occupations given in a recent parliamentary research paper are: Armed forces up to sergeant, Paramedics, Nursery Nurses, Police up to sergeant, Bank staff). Intermediate? Socially and economically, Spelthorne is a middling sort of place.

While there are some pockets of attractive residential areas within the seat such as Lower Sunbury by the Thames and Laleham village, there are also far less affluent parts such as Sunbury Common (near Sunbury Cross, the cluster of high rise blocks that can be seen at the London end of the M3) and most notably Stanwell, hard by the airport and the division that has most reliably returned a Labour member to Surrey County Council, continually since 1981 and on occasion, such as 2017, the only one in the whole of the county. Staines was not chosen by Sacha Baron Cohen for the location of his ‘massive’ for its sophistication; and it has often been remarked how unusual it was that the successful novelist J.G.Ballard remained resident for decades in a humble, ‘ordinary’ semi-detached in humble, ordinary Shepperton.

There is also currently (June 2021) no overall political control on Spelthorne council. The Liberal Democrats and Greens (here a combined group) have eight councillors, returned in 2019 in two wards within Sunbury and in Staines South (LD) and in Staines ward itself (Green). However it should also be said that the Conservatives would still have retained overall control were it not for a split and breakaway within their group, and there are now small groups for, wait for it, United Spelthorne (4 borough councillors), Independent Labour (2), Independent Spelthorne (2) and just plain Independent (2). This may have changed by the time of reading.

Despite all this municipal chaos, Spelthorne has remained Conservative-held at the parliamentary level since 1950. There have been close calls, as in 1950 (majority over Labour: 31) and 1951, though the seat the included Feltham. On boundaries similar to those currently in place Labour have mildly threatened only in their own landslide years. In 1966 long time MP Beresford Craddock held on by just under 2,500, and in 1997 and 2001 David Wilshire won by between 3,000 and 3,500. But in 2019 Kwasi Kwarteng had a majority of over 18,000. The seat is estimated to have voted Leave by around 60% to 40% Remain in the 2016 referendum, the strongest Leave performance in Surrey by some margin. It now seems a very safe Conservative stronghold, unlike some of the more affluent and highly educated in the county.

The recent Boundary Commission proposals suggest no boundary changes at all for Spelthorne which had an electorate of just under 71,000, which is within the 5% of the target quota, and it is tucked in that corner of Surrey beyond the Thames soo quite hard to change. This will be very rare in the forthcoming review, as even in seats that already have an acceptable number of voters, they may have undergone ward boundary changes since the rather distant previous review. However this is irrelevant in Spelthorne where the constituency covers the whole of Spelthorne borough and no other territory. Therefore unlike, say, Bassetlaw (which is poised to become Worksop & Retford), Spelthorne will almost certainly remain as one of those seats which prompt the question ‘where exactly would that be, then?’


2011 Census

Age 65+ 17.4% 271/650
Owner-occupied 72.6% 161/650
Private rented 12.7% 413/650
Social rented 12.4% 470/650
White 87.3% 477/650
Black 1.6% 200/650
Asian 7.6% 161/650
Managerial & professional 36.0%
Intermediate 18.0% 6/650
Routine & Semi-routine 20.1%
Employed in transport and storage 15.0% 4/650
Degree level 25.9% 315/650
No qualifications 20.4% 441/650
Students 5.6% 573/650

2021 Census

Owner occupied 69.3% 189/573
Private rented 18.0% 288/573 large increase 2011-21
Social rented 12.0% 398/573
White 78.7%
Black 2.5%
Asian 12.8%
Managerial & professional 37.5% 158/573
Routine & Semi-routine 19.3% 441/573
Degree level 33.6% 237/573
No qualifications 16.8% 340/573



General Election 2019: Spelthorne

Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Conservative Kwasi Kwarteng 29,141 58.9 +1.6
Labour Pavitar Mann 10,748 21.7 -8.8
Liberal Democrats David Campanale 7,499 15.1 +9.6
Green Paul Jacobs 2,122 4.3 +2.1

C Majority 18,393 37.2 +10.4

Turnout 49,783 69.8 +0.8

Conservative hold

Swing 5.2 Lab to C

[batman]

is this constituency completely unchanged in the boundary changes?