South West Surrey
Apr 9, 2020 17:03:51 GMT
londonseal80, Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells, and 1 more like this
Post by warofdreams on Apr 9, 2020 17:03:51 GMT
South West Surrey is a good name for this seat, which covers a similar area to the borough of Waverley, an anonymously named district. In this case, the borough is named for a long-ruined abbey, situated between the three towns of Farnham, Godalming, and Haslemere. All three have good rail links to London, and the last two named are close to the A3 trunk road, which since 2012 has passed through the Hindhead Tunnel, avoiding the scenic Devil's Punch Bowl.
Farnham has a castle and a long history as a market town, while Godalming has a more industrial history, and Haslemere was a rotten borough which amounted to little until the 20th century. In addition to the three towns, the seat covers the larger villages of Milford, Chiddingfold, Hindhead, Bramley, and Elstead, and a wealth of smaller settlements. In between is mostly woodland, with about half the seat being wooded, several areas being owned by the National Trust.
The seat was created in 1983, but is the clear successor to Farnham, the two having elected five successive Conservatives since 1918. The last three were Maurice Macmillan, son of the Prime Minister; Virginia Bottomley, one of a handful of prominent Conservative women in John Major's government; and Jeremy Hunt, the incumbent, and unsuccessful challenger for the party leadership in 2019.
Despite the wins for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats have performed well, reducing the majority to fewer than 1,000 votes in 2001. After collapsing to fifth place when they suspended their candidate in 2015, and doing little better in 2017, 2019 saw their largest percentage increase in a Conservative-held seat, and they are again the clear challengers. At a local level, things are more volatile, with the two parties both having run the local council. The Lib Dem strength is concentrated in Godalming and Haslemere, with the Farnham Residents emerging as the dominant force in that town. The Labour Party used to have a safe seat in Godalming, and in 2019, undernomination by the Lib Dems in Godalming allowed both them and the Greens to win seats on the council.
Farnham has a castle and a long history as a market town, while Godalming has a more industrial history, and Haslemere was a rotten borough which amounted to little until the 20th century. In addition to the three towns, the seat covers the larger villages of Milford, Chiddingfold, Hindhead, Bramley, and Elstead, and a wealth of smaller settlements. In between is mostly woodland, with about half the seat being wooded, several areas being owned by the National Trust.
The seat was created in 1983, but is the clear successor to Farnham, the two having elected five successive Conservatives since 1918. The last three were Maurice Macmillan, son of the Prime Minister; Virginia Bottomley, one of a handful of prominent Conservative women in John Major's government; and Jeremy Hunt, the incumbent, and unsuccessful challenger for the party leadership in 2019.
Despite the wins for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats have performed well, reducing the majority to fewer than 1,000 votes in 2001. After collapsing to fifth place when they suspended their candidate in 2015, and doing little better in 2017, 2019 saw their largest percentage increase in a Conservative-held seat, and they are again the clear challengers. At a local level, things are more volatile, with the two parties both having run the local council. The Lib Dem strength is concentrated in Godalming and Haslemere, with the Farnham Residents emerging as the dominant force in that town. The Labour Party used to have a safe seat in Godalming, and in 2019, undernomination by the Lib Dems in Godalming allowed both them and the Greens to win seats on the council.
