Post by YL on Apr 2, 2020 12:07:53 GMT
This constituency covers most of south Sheffield, from Beauchief (pronounced "Beechiff") in the west to Yorkshire's other Richmond in the east, and also covering Norton, Meersbrook, Heeley itself, Gleadless, Arbourthorne and Woodthorpe.
It's a mixed constituency, tending to be more middle class towards the north-west and working class to the south and east. Beauchief and much of Norton are middle class suburban areas, with Graves Park ward, which covers Norton and Woodseats, being the least deprived Sheffield ward outside of the Hallam constituency. In neighbouring Gleadless Valley ward, Meersbrook is more "alternative" but also quite middle class and educated, with nearly 50% of the adult population having a degree. Nearby Woodseats and Heeley have areas of late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and the latter is known for its City Farm on land cleared for a road project which never happened.
On the other hand, Lowedges, Batemoor and Jordanthorpe, which are in Beauchief & Greenhill ward, are 1950s-60s estates built on the fringe of the city, and have high deprivation and low education levels. Similarly, Meersbrook shares its ward with the Gleadless Valley estate, which was something of a showcase for the city's council housing when it was built in the early 1960s but is now one of the more deprived parts of the city. Meanwhile there are also older "cottage estates", especially in the east of the constituency in the Arbourthorne and Woodthorpe areas, and the Norfolk Park estate, originally developed in the 1960s with large numbers of tower blocks and more recently redeveloped with lower rise housing; the tram ride through this area is recommended for its views of the city. Overall the working class areas dominate the demographics, and the constituency is considerably more deprived than the English median and also has a lower proportion of graduates.
The Lib Dems are strong at local level in the west of the constituency, dominating elections in Beauchief & Greenhill and Graves Park wards; this goes back to when they displaced the Conservatives from the old Beauchief ward in the early 1990s. The Greens won a seat in Gleadless Valley ward for the first time in 2019, and this area has also voted Lib Dem in the past, while the eastern area now covered by Park & Arbourthorne and Richmond wards have only rarely elected non-Labour councillors. However neither the Lib Dems nor the Greens have been much of a threat at Westminster level in recent years, and on current boundaries this is essentially a safe Labour seat, with the nearest Labour has had to a scare being in 2010 when Meg Munn's majority fell to just under 6,000 over the Lib Dems. In 2019 the Conservatives were second, but over 8,000 votes behind Louise Haigh, who succeeded Munn in 2015.
A constituency of this name first appeared in 1950, and for many years it usually voted Tory, except for a Labour win in 1966. The Tory position was eroding over time, probably because of the construction of the various estates on the edge of the city, and then there were significant and decisive boundary changes in 1974 which put an end to the Tory wins; before then Dore and Nether Edge were both in the constituency, and both were Tory strongholds, while it did not extend as far east as it does now. (Nether Edge as a Tory stronghold might take some imagining now, but it was.) Indeed the main threat to Labour since has been that the Boundary Commission might reverse the 1974 changes, as they largely did propose doing in the "zombie" 2013 review; that proposal was notionally Lib Dem in 2010.
It's a mixed constituency, tending to be more middle class towards the north-west and working class to the south and east. Beauchief and much of Norton are middle class suburban areas, with Graves Park ward, which covers Norton and Woodseats, being the least deprived Sheffield ward outside of the Hallam constituency. In neighbouring Gleadless Valley ward, Meersbrook is more "alternative" but also quite middle class and educated, with nearly 50% of the adult population having a degree. Nearby Woodseats and Heeley have areas of late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and the latter is known for its City Farm on land cleared for a road project which never happened.
On the other hand, Lowedges, Batemoor and Jordanthorpe, which are in Beauchief & Greenhill ward, are 1950s-60s estates built on the fringe of the city, and have high deprivation and low education levels. Similarly, Meersbrook shares its ward with the Gleadless Valley estate, which was something of a showcase for the city's council housing when it was built in the early 1960s but is now one of the more deprived parts of the city. Meanwhile there are also older "cottage estates", especially in the east of the constituency in the Arbourthorne and Woodthorpe areas, and the Norfolk Park estate, originally developed in the 1960s with large numbers of tower blocks and more recently redeveloped with lower rise housing; the tram ride through this area is recommended for its views of the city. Overall the working class areas dominate the demographics, and the constituency is considerably more deprived than the English median and also has a lower proportion of graduates.
The Lib Dems are strong at local level in the west of the constituency, dominating elections in Beauchief & Greenhill and Graves Park wards; this goes back to when they displaced the Conservatives from the old Beauchief ward in the early 1990s. The Greens won a seat in Gleadless Valley ward for the first time in 2019, and this area has also voted Lib Dem in the past, while the eastern area now covered by Park & Arbourthorne and Richmond wards have only rarely elected non-Labour councillors. However neither the Lib Dems nor the Greens have been much of a threat at Westminster level in recent years, and on current boundaries this is essentially a safe Labour seat, with the nearest Labour has had to a scare being in 2010 when Meg Munn's majority fell to just under 6,000 over the Lib Dems. In 2019 the Conservatives were second, but over 8,000 votes behind Louise Haigh, who succeeded Munn in 2015.
A constituency of this name first appeared in 1950, and for many years it usually voted Tory, except for a Labour win in 1966. The Tory position was eroding over time, probably because of the construction of the various estates on the edge of the city, and then there were significant and decisive boundary changes in 1974 which put an end to the Tory wins; before then Dore and Nether Edge were both in the constituency, and both were Tory strongholds, while it did not extend as far east as it does now. (Nether Edge as a Tory stronghold might take some imagining now, but it was.) Indeed the main threat to Labour since has been that the Boundary Commission might reverse the 1974 changes, as they largely did propose doing in the "zombie" 2013 review; that proposal was notionally Lib Dem in 2010.
