Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2020 5:32:40 GMT
Formerly called Clitheroe, the seat of Ribble Valley as we know today was named and first-fought at the 1983 general election. The local council borough of the same name has not yet had enough electors to stand alone as a single constituency, and so it has used neighbouring boroughs as convenient jigsaw pieces. Initially this meant the semi-rural and commuter zones of northern Preston, as far into Fulwood and the (only just opened at the time) Royal Preston Hospital. From 1997 the boundaries expanded a touch further, taking in Higher Walton and Samlesbury from South Ribble, an extension into South Ribble it would take on full-time from 2010, when the creation of Wyre and Preston North necessitated major surgery elsewhere. RV grew a tentacle into SR, wrapping itself around Walton-le-Dale, Lostock Hall, and Farington, taking the seat from the fringes of the Yorkshire border at one side and around the environs of Leyland on the other. A long drive from place to place wherever you end up. Today, following a tweak to the boundaries in 2015, the seat has finally had some stability, with only local council ward touch-ups needed to keep things in line.
There are 631 sq m of RV to go around, 159 people per km. The Forest of Bowland is within this seat, and within the vast council wards of Bowland, and Chipping, are popular walking routes across countryside, fells and open fields. This is amongst the most isolated and remote countryside in the county, with barely a significant population centre to be had in each council ward outside Clitheroe, and even here, it is a highly typical rural market town, as soon giving you independent shops on steep inclines as it is disappearing behind you the moment you get in the car. Unemployment here has rarely been a large figure, around 1.5% in 2019 and consistently less than half the UK rate over the last 7 years. This is not a particularly young constituency either, with 60% of the population over 40.
Within the borough of Ribble Valley, the Conservatives almost always sweep the boards. In the 2013 and 2017 County Council elections, the Tories won all 4 divisions; the local Liberal Democrats occasionally pick up Clitheroe at Borough level although this can be somewhat competitive. At those 2017 County elections, the Conservatives took Clitheroe by just five votes over the LDs. Labour do not feature much around here, although they did pick up the Edisford & Low Moor ward, on the fringes of Clitheroe, in 2015. The infamous/legendary/take your pick Parliamentary by-election of 1991, one of many "poll tax revolts" at the ballot box, is the only time that the Conservatives have not represented RV at Westminster. Nigel Evans, who lost to the fresh faced Liberal Democrats then but has won every general election since, has achieved handsome majorities even against the battering winds of national, and very personal, changes in fortune. Now back installed as one of three Deputy Speakers of the House, Evans should easily pass his 30th anniversary as Ribble Vallley MP and then some. Although the Liberal Democrats did keep up the fight from their by-election victory, the main challengers, such as they are given the numbers, come from Labour: that said, the current majority of over 18,000 votes is the highest numerical lead since 1987. The LDs fell to an ignoble 5.3%, barely holding onto their deposit, in 2015, in line with national figures.
The contrast between the vast hilly emptiness of some parts of RV and the elements brought in from SR is chalk-and-cheese territory. Bamber Bridge is predominately terraced streets where factories and mills once stood and is now a largely residential and commuter hub for Preston. Lostock Hall is a traffic-jammed collection of houses and shops, with its industrial past popping its chimney above the otherwise bland skyline. Both Labour and Conservative councillors have won and lost here down the years. There are rural and semi-rural parts to be found, Farington in particular, but here is the flatter and less picturesque parts of work-a-day Lancashire, As long as the SR collection stays attached to Longridge, Bowland, the fringes of Pendle and Yorkshire and the like, the overall result won't be in that much doubt. You're in a very true blue part of the Red Rose county.
There are 631 sq m of RV to go around, 159 people per km. The Forest of Bowland is within this seat, and within the vast council wards of Bowland, and Chipping, are popular walking routes across countryside, fells and open fields. This is amongst the most isolated and remote countryside in the county, with barely a significant population centre to be had in each council ward outside Clitheroe, and even here, it is a highly typical rural market town, as soon giving you independent shops on steep inclines as it is disappearing behind you the moment you get in the car. Unemployment here has rarely been a large figure, around 1.5% in 2019 and consistently less than half the UK rate over the last 7 years. This is not a particularly young constituency either, with 60% of the population over 40.
Within the borough of Ribble Valley, the Conservatives almost always sweep the boards. In the 2013 and 2017 County Council elections, the Tories won all 4 divisions; the local Liberal Democrats occasionally pick up Clitheroe at Borough level although this can be somewhat competitive. At those 2017 County elections, the Conservatives took Clitheroe by just five votes over the LDs. Labour do not feature much around here, although they did pick up the Edisford & Low Moor ward, on the fringes of Clitheroe, in 2015. The infamous/legendary/take your pick Parliamentary by-election of 1991, one of many "poll tax revolts" at the ballot box, is the only time that the Conservatives have not represented RV at Westminster. Nigel Evans, who lost to the fresh faced Liberal Democrats then but has won every general election since, has achieved handsome majorities even against the battering winds of national, and very personal, changes in fortune. Now back installed as one of three Deputy Speakers of the House, Evans should easily pass his 30th anniversary as Ribble Vallley MP and then some. Although the Liberal Democrats did keep up the fight from their by-election victory, the main challengers, such as they are given the numbers, come from Labour: that said, the current majority of over 18,000 votes is the highest numerical lead since 1987. The LDs fell to an ignoble 5.3%, barely holding onto their deposit, in 2015, in line with national figures.
The contrast between the vast hilly emptiness of some parts of RV and the elements brought in from SR is chalk-and-cheese territory. Bamber Bridge is predominately terraced streets where factories and mills once stood and is now a largely residential and commuter hub for Preston. Lostock Hall is a traffic-jammed collection of houses and shops, with its industrial past popping its chimney above the otherwise bland skyline. Both Labour and Conservative councillors have won and lost here down the years. There are rural and semi-rural parts to be found, Farington in particular, but here is the flatter and less picturesque parts of work-a-day Lancashire, As long as the SR collection stays attached to Longridge, Bowland, the fringes of Pendle and Yorkshire and the like, the overall result won't be in that much doubt. You're in a very true blue part of the Red Rose county.
