Post by greenhert on Apr 29, 2020 22:30:13 GMT
St Ives has existed as a constituency since 1558, making it the longest continuously extant constituency in Cornwall. In addition to most of the former Penwith district and the Helston area in the former Kerrier district it also covers the Isles of Scilly, which have their own separate, sui generis council.
The St Ives constituency consists of St Ives itself, Penzance, Helston, and numerous villages in the west of Cornwall, and thus the westernmost points of England. Major landmarks include Land's End, the most westerly point of England and almost the most southerly point of the United Kingdom, and St Michael's Mount, gifted to the monastic order of St Michael by Edward the Confessor and the family seat of the St Aubyns. St Ives itself (not to be confused with a settlement of the same name in Cambridgeshire) is an old fishing port which is increasingly becoming a destination for people with alternative lifestyles in Cornwall. Penzance is notable for its promenade, port and being the setting of the Gilbert & Sullivan opera "The Pirates of Penzance". It has fallen on hard times in the 21st century, with the majority of Penzance being within the 10% most deprived LSOAs, and Penzance East has one of the highest unemployment rates in Cornwall. Helston is close to Lizard Point, the actual most southerly point of the United Kingdom and was once a notable tin-mining town; the Poldark Mine (named after the fictional Ross Poldark of Winston Graham's novels) has preserved much of its history beautifully. On 2011 census statistics, St Ives had the best education levels in Cornwall amongst its electorate but the expansion of Falmouth University means that the 2021 census statistics will mean this is no longer the case. Otherwise its demographics are relatively average for the region and the UK.
St Ives has, like most of Cornwall, changed hands between the Liberals/Liberal Democrats and Conservatives although not as often as eastern Cornwall. Prominent past MPs include Walter Runciman, who was previously a key Cabinet minister under Sir Herbert Asquith (his wife Hilda was a Liberal MP for St Ives earlier), and John Nott, Defence Secretary during the Falklands War although his experience in said position during said conflict caused him to retire from Parliament in 1983, aged only 51, after his attempt to resign as Defence Secretary was not accepted. Mr Nott was also the last MP elected under the National Liberal label; the National Liberals formally dissolved in 1968 and joined the Conservative Party. Former Cornwall & Plymouth MEP David Harris succeeded him and served until 1997; he retired only to unsuccessfully seek selection elsewhere and that year the seat was won by the Liberal Democrats' Andrew George, who in 2005 became the first Cornish MP to swear his allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II in Cornish (Kernowek). Mr George proved to be a true liberal in many respects, opposing the creation of a Cornwall Unitary Authority and rebelling against the coalition government more than any other Liberal Democrat MP during the 2010-15 Parliament. In 2010, Penwith councillor Derek Thomas decisively cut Mr George's majority to just 1,719 on a notionally 10.4% swing, paving the way for him to gain St Ives in 2015 despite Mr George's best efforts; the Liberal Democrat vote dropped in 2015 by less than half that of any other Cornish seat. Messrs Thomas and George both contested the seat heavily in 2017 and 2019; Mr George missed out on regaining St Ives by only 312 votes in 2017, with the absence of a Green candidate helping him but the absence of a UKIP candidate benefitting Mr Thomas. In 2019, not helped by Brexit turning off many traditional liberal voters from voting Liberal Democrat (Eurosceptic liberalism is notably strong in Cornwall), the Conservative majority increased to 4,208, although tactical voting reduced Labour to its lowest ever vote share in St Ives, 6.9%, and kept the Green vote down to just 1.9%. Locally, St Ives has the strongest Green potential in Cornwall; the Greens won St Ives East in 2013 and only failed to win St Ives West by 7 votes the same year but the Greens lost St Ives East in 2017. Helston has a strong Independent tradition; western Penzance usually alternates between Liberal Democrats and Independents but eastern Penzance has one of the few consistent points of Labour strength in Cornwall outside Falmouth.
The St Ives constituency consists of St Ives itself, Penzance, Helston, and numerous villages in the west of Cornwall, and thus the westernmost points of England. Major landmarks include Land's End, the most westerly point of England and almost the most southerly point of the United Kingdom, and St Michael's Mount, gifted to the monastic order of St Michael by Edward the Confessor and the family seat of the St Aubyns. St Ives itself (not to be confused with a settlement of the same name in Cambridgeshire) is an old fishing port which is increasingly becoming a destination for people with alternative lifestyles in Cornwall. Penzance is notable for its promenade, port and being the setting of the Gilbert & Sullivan opera "The Pirates of Penzance". It has fallen on hard times in the 21st century, with the majority of Penzance being within the 10% most deprived LSOAs, and Penzance East has one of the highest unemployment rates in Cornwall. Helston is close to Lizard Point, the actual most southerly point of the United Kingdom and was once a notable tin-mining town; the Poldark Mine (named after the fictional Ross Poldark of Winston Graham's novels) has preserved much of its history beautifully. On 2011 census statistics, St Ives had the best education levels in Cornwall amongst its electorate but the expansion of Falmouth University means that the 2021 census statistics will mean this is no longer the case. Otherwise its demographics are relatively average for the region and the UK.
St Ives has, like most of Cornwall, changed hands between the Liberals/Liberal Democrats and Conservatives although not as often as eastern Cornwall. Prominent past MPs include Walter Runciman, who was previously a key Cabinet minister under Sir Herbert Asquith (his wife Hilda was a Liberal MP for St Ives earlier), and John Nott, Defence Secretary during the Falklands War although his experience in said position during said conflict caused him to retire from Parliament in 1983, aged only 51, after his attempt to resign as Defence Secretary was not accepted. Mr Nott was also the last MP elected under the National Liberal label; the National Liberals formally dissolved in 1968 and joined the Conservative Party. Former Cornwall & Plymouth MEP David Harris succeeded him and served until 1997; he retired only to unsuccessfully seek selection elsewhere and that year the seat was won by the Liberal Democrats' Andrew George, who in 2005 became the first Cornish MP to swear his allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II in Cornish (Kernowek). Mr George proved to be a true liberal in many respects, opposing the creation of a Cornwall Unitary Authority and rebelling against the coalition government more than any other Liberal Democrat MP during the 2010-15 Parliament. In 2010, Penwith councillor Derek Thomas decisively cut Mr George's majority to just 1,719 on a notionally 10.4% swing, paving the way for him to gain St Ives in 2015 despite Mr George's best efforts; the Liberal Democrat vote dropped in 2015 by less than half that of any other Cornish seat. Messrs Thomas and George both contested the seat heavily in 2017 and 2019; Mr George missed out on regaining St Ives by only 312 votes in 2017, with the absence of a Green candidate helping him but the absence of a UKIP candidate benefitting Mr Thomas. In 2019, not helped by Brexit turning off many traditional liberal voters from voting Liberal Democrat (Eurosceptic liberalism is notably strong in Cornwall), the Conservative majority increased to 4,208, although tactical voting reduced Labour to its lowest ever vote share in St Ives, 6.9%, and kept the Green vote down to just 1.9%. Locally, St Ives has the strongest Green potential in Cornwall; the Greens won St Ives East in 2013 and only failed to win St Ives West by 7 votes the same year but the Greens lost St Ives East in 2017. Helston has a strong Independent tradition; western Penzance usually alternates between Liberal Democrats and Independents but eastern Penzance has one of the few consistent points of Labour strength in Cornwall outside Falmouth.
