Blackpool North and Cleveleys
Apr 18, 2020 12:47:43 GMT
Robert Waller, Delighted Of Tunbridge Wells, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2020 12:47:43 GMT
That's "kliːv lɪz", approximately, one of the newest additions to the parliamentary map of satellite towns nobody outside the postcode area had heard of before, cf. Whiston, North Hykeham, Kirkintilloch. More power to the Boundary Commission for adding anything at all to "Blackpool North", as the built up population areas around Blackpool are starting to bleed into one another, slowly morphing into one singular "north of Blackpool."
Maybe that observation is a touch inaccurate. From within the Wyre council area, Cleveleys is one part of the larger Thornton-Cleveleys conurbation, repeating at the north of Fylde what Lytham-St Anne's does in the south: separate while blurring the line between "near neighbour" and "the same place." Surrounding Blackpool's northern tip, Cleveleys is largely residential, privately owned, and well-off. This is the territory of the older resident, safely tucked away from the council estates and B&Bs, not particularly rural but not that far from Poulton-le-Fylde and the countryside; unlike Fleetwood, there are few densely packed together terraces missing both drive nor garden. Average house prices in North/Cleveleys (2013 figures) reached £109,000, ten-percent higher than the average cost in Blackpool South. This is a predominately "older" constituency: 45% of the population is over 50 on 2018 figures, higher than Blackpool South by a full 5 percentage points.
From Blackpool itself is largely residential areas with Bispham and Anchorsholme the most significant, the former featuring in the Domesday Book and pre-dating the very existence of Blackpool by hundreds of years. The first indication of settlements here are recorded in the 17th century. This "town within a town" is typical 1930s-1950s residential properties and has reliably returned Conservative councillors for some time. Conservative wins at council level tend to concentrate around this northern stretch of the coast. Labour does very well in Claremont ward, which features Blackpool North railway station and some of the town centre pubs and clubs. When Fleetwood was swapped out of the parliamentary seat, it was not for Cleveleys, which was already included: the (unequal) exchange was Layton from South, where Labour do very well at Council level. When the seat was fought for the first time in 2010, the Conservatives won with a majority of 2,150; in December 2019 that had grown into a comfortable 8,596. No other party comes close to breaking these top-two competitors.
The Zombie Review(s) re-imagined Blackpool North and Fleetwood so perhaps a greater concentration of Labour voters could provide competition here, particularly after so many years of Conservative government. That said, the task for Labour across many northern towns is up-hill, none more so starkly personified here, on the very flat lands of the Fylde coast.
Maybe that observation is a touch inaccurate. From within the Wyre council area, Cleveleys is one part of the larger Thornton-Cleveleys conurbation, repeating at the north of Fylde what Lytham-St Anne's does in the south: separate while blurring the line between "near neighbour" and "the same place." Surrounding Blackpool's northern tip, Cleveleys is largely residential, privately owned, and well-off. This is the territory of the older resident, safely tucked away from the council estates and B&Bs, not particularly rural but not that far from Poulton-le-Fylde and the countryside; unlike Fleetwood, there are few densely packed together terraces missing both drive nor garden. Average house prices in North/Cleveleys (2013 figures) reached £109,000, ten-percent higher than the average cost in Blackpool South. This is a predominately "older" constituency: 45% of the population is over 50 on 2018 figures, higher than Blackpool South by a full 5 percentage points.
From Blackpool itself is largely residential areas with Bispham and Anchorsholme the most significant, the former featuring in the Domesday Book and pre-dating the very existence of Blackpool by hundreds of years. The first indication of settlements here are recorded in the 17th century. This "town within a town" is typical 1930s-1950s residential properties and has reliably returned Conservative councillors for some time. Conservative wins at council level tend to concentrate around this northern stretch of the coast. Labour does very well in Claremont ward, which features Blackpool North railway station and some of the town centre pubs and clubs. When Fleetwood was swapped out of the parliamentary seat, it was not for Cleveleys, which was already included: the (unequal) exchange was Layton from South, where Labour do very well at Council level. When the seat was fought for the first time in 2010, the Conservatives won with a majority of 2,150; in December 2019 that had grown into a comfortable 8,596. No other party comes close to breaking these top-two competitors.
The Zombie Review(s) re-imagined Blackpool North and Fleetwood so perhaps a greater concentration of Labour voters could provide competition here, particularly after so many years of Conservative government. That said, the task for Labour across many northern towns is up-hill, none more so starkly personified here, on the very flat lands of the Fylde coast.
