Wantage

[Adam in Stroud]

Apr 2, 2020 17:19:22 GMT bjornhattan said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:15:25 GMT @europeanlefty said:

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough, it isn't fit for humans now" needs to be included in its profile by whoever writes it

That makes me almost tempted to right an unremittingly positive profile of Slough - it's a town with a lot going for it, and it's always denigrated but some of the criticism seems unfair. At the risk of sounding like David Brent, I consider Slough the most underrated town in Britain - I'd take it a million times over Luton.

In his biography, Alan Johnson writes of how delighted he was to be offered council housing in Slough (on the Britwell IIRC) and that he didn't have much time for the "isn't fit for humans now" line, since he'd grown up in housing that really wasn't.

[finsobruce]

Apr 2, 2020 19:30:20 GMT Adam in Stroud said:

Apr 2, 2020 17:19:22 GMT bjornhattan said:

That makes me almost tempted to right an unremittingly positive profile of Slough - it's a town with a lot going for it, and it's always denigrated but some of the criticism seems unfair. At the risk of sounding like David Brent, I consider Slough the most underrated town in Britain - I'd take it a million times over Luton.

In his biography, Alan Johnson writes of how delighted he was to be offered council housing in Slough (on the Britwell IIRC) and that he didn't have much time for the "isn't fit for humans now" line, since he'd grown up in housing that really wasn't.

It's not their fault they often go
To Maidenhead

[Merseymike]

Apr 2, 2020 17:15:25 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Apr 2, 2020 16:53:12 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

It was a hell of a raw deal for Berkshire really, losing the beautiful Vale of White Horse and its fine old county town Abingdon, and having that replaced by Slough

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough, it isn't fit for humans now" needs to be included in its profile by whoever writes it

My sister lives there so I suppose I could. Nothing till next week though as I'm using this to give me breaks from marking and talking to panicking dissertation students!

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2020 17:31:19 GMT @barnabymarder said:

Personally I think Milton Keynes is worse because it seems so soulless. But I don't like Luton at all either.

Being equidistant from Oxford, Cambridge and London has its advantages.

[Robert Waller]

2011 Census

Age 65+ 16.8% 315/650
Owner-occupied 69.5% 235/650
Private rented 13.9% 337/650
Social rented 14.0% 400/650
White 96.0% 285/650
Black 0.9% 288/650
Asian 1.8% 381/650
Managerial & professional 41.4%
Routine & Semi-routine 21.5%
Degree level 34.9% 94/650
No qualifications 17.2% 563/650
Students 5.3% 605/650

2021 Census

Owner occupied 69.7% 180/573
Private rented 15.4% 414/573
Social rented 14.9% 303/573
White 92.1%
Black 1.6%
Asian 3.3%
Managerial & professional 44.0% 46/573
Routine & Semi-routine 18.9% 447/573
Degree level 41.8% 85/573
No qualifications 12.5% 530/573




General Election 2019: Wantage

Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Conservative David Johnston 34,085 50.7 -3.5
Liberal Democrats Richard Benwell 21,432 31.9 +17.4
Labour Jonny Roberts 10,181 15.2 -11.7
Independent Mark Gray 1,475 2.2

C Majority 12,653 18.8 -8.5

Turnout 67,173 73.9 +1.4

Conservative hold

Swing 10.4 C to LD

[YL]

This constituency is on the other side of Oxford from Oxfordshire's proposed new constituency of Bicester & Woodstock, but it is oversized so had to see some changes. The major change is that it loses its north-western fringe, around Faringdon and Kingston Bagpuize, to Witney; it also loses Marcham ward to Oxford West & Abingdon, but it does gain some territory: at South Oxfordshire's last ward review a cross-Thames ward of Sandford & the Wittenhams was created, and all of that ward is placed here, meaning this constituency now crosses the Thames (and so is no longer entirely Berkshire historically speaking) to include the areas around Culham and Sandford on Thames, currently in the Henley constituency.

Perhaps a more controversial change with some (at least with Pete Whitehead, though perhaps not @europeanlefty, based on comments earlier in this thread) is that the name is changed: it becomes Didcot & Wantage. As mentioned in the original preview, Didcot is in fact larger than Wantage, which is presumably the motivation for this change.

[Deleted]

Feb 26, 2023 9:54:14 GMT YL said:

This constituency is on the other side of Oxford from Oxfordshire's proposed new constituency of Bicester & Woodstock, but it is oversized so had to see some changes. The major change is that it loses its north-western fringe, around Faringdon and Kingston Bagpuize, to Witney; it also loses Marcham ward to Oxford West & Abingdon, but it does gain some territory: at South Oxfordshire's last ward review a cross-Thames ward of Sandford & the Wittenhams was created, and all of that ward is placed here, meaning this constituency now crosses the Thames (and so is no longer entirely Berkshire historically speaking) to include the areas around Culham and Sandford on Thames, currently in the Henley constituency.

Perhaps a more controversial change with some (at least with Pete Whitehead , though perhaps not @europeanlefty , based on comments earlier in this thread) is that the name is changed: it becomes Didcot & Wantage. As mentioned in the original preview, Didcot is in fact larger than Wantage, which is presumably the motivation for this change.

And not only is Didcot larger, it is of course very different in character; at the far end of the constituency; and historically in a different county (and that change is still resented by some people in the area)

[greenhert]

Feb 26, 2023 16:44:15 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Feb 26, 2023 9:54:14 GMT YL said:

This constituency is on the other side of Oxford from Oxfordshire's proposed new constituency of Bicester & Woodstock, but it is oversized so had to see some changes. The major change is that it loses its north-western fringe, around Faringdon and Kingston Bagpuize, to Witney; it also loses Marcham ward to Oxford West & Abingdon, but it does gain some territory: at South Oxfordshire's last ward review a cross-Thames ward of Sandford & the Wittenhams was created, and all of that ward is placed here, meaning this constituency now crosses the Thames (and so is no longer entirely Berkshire historically speaking) to include the areas around Culham and Sandford on Thames, currently in the Henley constituency.

Perhaps a more controversial change with some (at least with Pete Whitehead , though perhaps not @europeanlefty , based on comments earlier in this thread) is that the name is changed: it becomes Didcot & Wantage. As mentioned in the original preview, Didcot is in fact larger than Wantage, which is presumably the motivation for this change.

And not only is Didcot larger, it is of course very different in character; at the far end of the constituency; and historically in a different county (and that change is still resented by some people in the area)

Both Didcot and Wantage were in Berkshire until 1974. 

[Clark]

It's a surprise Labour never won Wantage in either 1997 or 2001 where the Conservatives held on with less than 40% of the vote. I guess there was confusion re. the anti Tory vote as it was almost a 3 way marginal. I guess Lib Dem strength mext door in Newbury was an influence and locally within the Vale of Whitehorse let Jackson off the hook.

I can see a split opposition being beneficial for a CON hold next time again

[batman]

In general, Labour were very strong in Didcot at that point, but never managed to displace the Lib Dems as the leading anti-Tory party in Wallingford or Wantage, or indeed most of their surrounding areas.

[Pete Whitehead]

Feb 26, 2023 21:19:15 GMT batman said:

In general, Labour were very strong in Didcot at that point, but never managed to displace the Lib Dems as the leading anti-Tory party in Wallingford or Wantage, or indeed most of their surrounding areas.

Indeed their best area in the seat at that time, outside of Didcot (and nearby areas like Drayton and Sutton Courtney) was neither of those other towns, but the smaller town of Faringdon (which of course is due to depart from this seat)

[Clark]

Looking at the Oxfordshire locals for 1997, Faringdon voted 49% CON, 31% LAB - maybe the ward voted differently for the General Election?

[Pete Whitehead]

Feb 26, 2023 22:08:46 GMT Clark said:

Looking at the Oxfordshire locals for 1997, Faringdon voted 49% CON, 31% LAB - maybe the ward voted differently for the General Election?

I said that it was better for them than Wantage/Grove or Wallingford, not that they necessarily carried it in the general election. They may or may not have done - afterall the Conservatives generally did better in the local elections in 1997 than in the general (or perhaps more accurately Labour did less well) and you are discussing a county division of which about a third of the electorate were outside the town. The district ward elected Labour councillors in 1995 (the only other wards in Vale of White Horse to do so are the two I mentioned) and they were still close in 1999 - 36% against 14% in Wallingford and in Grove, 13% in Icknield and 27% in Segsbury. All those areas of course were very strong for the Lib Dems which was batman's point which I was agreeing with. Faringdon decidedly was not and I think my statement stands.