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Post by John Chanin on Apr 30, 2020 16:27:51 GMT
Stratford is of course famous for Shakespeare, but the modern town beside the Avon is quite a substantial place, and accounts for just over a third of this Constituency, which sprawls across the south-west of Warwickshire under the Cotswold escarpment. Packed with tourists in the summer, the town has some quite working class areas outside the centre, particularly in the Mount Pleasant area to the south, and there is a significant amount of private renting in the centre and north of the town. These areas vote Liberal Democrat at local elections, as for that matter does most of the town. The north of the seat is part of the old Forest of Arden, with Tanworth adjoining Solihull borough, and the small market town of Henley, with a surprisingly impressive High Street for its population of 2000. On the west is Studley - really a suburb of Redditch these days, with the Tudor country house of Coughton Court to the south, famous for its links with the Guy Fawkes plotters. In the south-west are the two small towns of Alcester and Bidford, on the Avon, with the village of Welford on the river between Bidford and Stratford. Alcester is an ancient market town with some excellent old architecture in its main street. The last of the small towns is Shipston in the south, in the vale of the Red Horse, alongside the Stour, a tributary of the Avon. In total the small towns add up to much the same electorate as Stratford. The remaining quarter of the population is spread out in small villages and farms, stretching a long way south to the Oxfordshire border near the Rollright Stones. With the exception of Studley, which votes Liberal Democrat, this is all very safe Conservative country. Outside Stratford town there is a high proportion of managerial workers, many commuting to Birmingham. Unusually as well as being a well educated seat, it also is a very old seat, with over 65s in the top 50. This is reflected in the General Election results, where the Conservatives win comfortably, normally ahead of the Liberal Democrats. There is really no Labour presence here, and they have no councillors on Stratford District Council. The MP since 2010 is Kurdish born Nadhim Zahawi, a former London councillor, and a rather unexpected choice for this constituency, previously reprsented by John Profumo and Angus Maude. Warwickshire provided an unusually easy task for the Boundary Commission as the only change required (apart from realignment to new ward boundaries) was to move one ward from Warwick & Leamington to Kenilworth & Southam. They could have realigned the seats to match local authority boundaries, but chose not to. Census data: Owner-occupied 73% (150/573 in England & Wales), private rented 13% (350th), social rented 13% (397th). : White 97%, Black 0%, South Asian 1%, Mixed 1%, Other 1% : Managerial & professional 43% (111th), Routine & Semi-routine 22% (472nd) : Degree level 34%(98th), Minimal qualifications 31%(436th) : Students 2.4% (473rd), Over 65:23% (40th)
| 2010 | % | 2015 | % | 2017 | % | 2019 | % | Conservative | 26,052 | 51.5% | 29,674 | 57.7% | 32,657 | 64.4% | 33,343 | 60.6% | Labour | 4,809 | 9.5% | 6,677 | 13.0% | 11,699 | 23.1% | 6.222 | 11.3% | Liberal Democrat | 14,706 | 29.1% | 6,182 | 12.0% | 6,357 | 12.5% | 13,371 | 24.3% | UKIP | 1,846 | 3.7% | 6,798 | 13.2% | | | |
| Green | 527 | 1.0% | 2,128 | 4.1% |
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| 2,112 | 3.8% | Others | 2,602 | 5.2% | | | | | |
| Majority | 11,346 | 22.4% | 22,876 | 44.5% | 20,958 | 41.3% | 19,972 | 36.3% |
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Post by greenhert on Apr 30, 2020 16:46:36 GMT
The official name for this constituency is Stratford-on-Avon. It was named that way to avoid confusion with the Stratford in London.
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Post by AdminSTB on Apr 30, 2020 21:34:30 GMT
The official name for this constituency is Stratford-on-Avon. It was named that way to avoid confusion with the Stratford in London. Reminds me of the story I heard where two young women hired a taxi to take them to Stamford Bridge. They were referring to the football stadium in Fulham but the driver took them to the East Yorkshire village of the same name.. |
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Post by matureleft on Apr 30, 2020 21:43:31 GMT
Perhaps worth mentioning Labour’s brief tenure of the seat after Alan Howarth defected in 1995.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2020 21:58:46 GMT
The official name for this constituency is Stratford-on-Avon. It was named that way to avoid confusion with the Stratford in London. Reminds me of the story I heard where two young women hired a taxi to take them to Stamford Bridge. They were referring to the football stadium in Fulham but the driver took them to the East Yorkshire village of the same name.. Conversely, I'm sure there are lots of London schoolchildren who imagined that Harold Godwinson defeated Harald Hardrada somewhere near Fulham Broadway underground station. |
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Post by AdminSTB on Apr 30, 2020 22:09:51 GMT
Reminds me of the story I heard where two young women hired a taxi to take them to Stamford Bridge. They were referring to the football stadium in Fulham but the driver took them to the East Yorkshire village of the same name.. Conversely, I'm sure there are lots of London schoolchildren who imagined that Harold Godwinson defeated Harald Hardrada somewhere near Fulham Broadway underground station. Ah, here's the story I remember. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-555474/Taxi-sat-nav-bungle-sends-Earl-Spencers-daughter-Stamford-Bridge-Yorkshire--instead-Chelseas-football-ground.htmlOne man who has lived in the northern Stamford Bridge for 20 years conceded that anyone looking for top-level football would be disappointed.
The retired social worker, himself an Arsenal fan, said: "The village is a wonderful place to come and visit, but sadly you will not get to see a lot of Premiership football up here.
"We do have a village football team, but it is not quite up to the standard of Chelsea."  |
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Post by AdminSTB on May 1, 2020 5:20:00 GMT
Perhaps worth mentioning Labour’s brief tenure of the seat after Alan Howarth defected in 1995. When Howarth defected, the local Tories went quickly about selecting a new candidate. One of the hopefuls was Maureen Hicks (the Wolverhampton NE MP 1987-92) who was living locally. But John Maples (Lewisham W 1983-92) got the nomination. |
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Post by matureleft on May 1, 2020 8:55:28 GMT
Perhaps worth mentioning Labour’s brief tenure of the seat after Alan Howarth defected in 1995. When Howarth defected, the local Tories went quickly about selecting a new candidate. One of the hopefuls was Maureen Hicks (the Wolverhampton NE MP 1987-92) who was living locally. But John Maples (Lewisham W 1983-92) got the nomination. On the face of it Howarth's defection was surprising. He appeared to be a Thatcherite and, seemingly, remained a Brexit supporter (silently, one would imagine, as a Blair minister). I have always assumed that a dramatic change in his personal life was critical. Wasn't his partner in later life Pat Hollis? |
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Chris from Brum
Lib Dem
What I need is a strong drink and a peer group.
Posts: 9,740
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Post by Chris from Brum on May 1, 2020 10:01:33 GMT
When Howarth defected, the local Tories went quickly about selecting a new candidate. One of the hopefuls was Maureen Hicks (the Wolverhampton NE MP 1987-92) who was living locally. But John Maples (Lewisham W 1983-92) got the nomination. On the face of it Howarth's defection was surprising. He appeared to be a Thatcherite and, seemingly, remained a Brexit supporter (silently, one would imagine, as a Blair minister). I have always assumed that a dramatic change in his personal life was critical. Wasn't his partner in later life Pat Hollis? Wikipedia notes that by the end of his Commons career, he had spent only 18 months on the opposition benches (from his defection to the election of the Blair government). We often note councillors defecting apparently on the basis of saving their careers, and have them belonging to the fictional "Councillor Party". This defection seems like the most naked example of something similar in the case of an MP. Of course he wouldn't have lost Stratford-on-Avon, but he was appointed a minster in fairly short order by Blair, so it worked in that sense at least. |
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
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Post by The Bishop on May 1, 2020 10:25:09 GMT
When Howarth defected, the local Tories went quickly about selecting a new candidate. One of the hopefuls was Maureen Hicks (the Wolverhampton NE MP 1987-92) who was living locally. But John Maples (Lewisham W 1983-92) got the nomination. On the face of it Howarth's defection was surprising. He appeared to be a Thatcherite and, seemingly, remained a Brexit supporter (silently, one would imagine, as a Blair minister). I have always assumed that a dramatic change in his personal life was critical. Wasn't his partner in later life Pat Hollis? In the 1980s that is a fair description I agree, but his politics were actually shifting a while before his defection. He was also a Labour supporter as a young man before going over to the Tories after In Place Of Strife failed (and he wasn't alone there) |
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Stratford
May 1, 2020 10:48:38 GMT
via mobile
Post by heslingtonian on May 1, 2020 10:48:38 GMT
Howard reminds me of Quentin Davies who was another bizarre defection. I saw Davies at a Conservative Party fundraiser in the City of London where the guest speaker was George Osborne the evening before he announced his defection.
I suppose Shaun Woodward was similar. Amusing to think they all ended up in a Party headed by Jeremy Corbyn, who I am sure they zero in common with.
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Post by Merseymike on May 1, 2020 11:03:01 GMT
Howard reminds me of Quentin Davies who was another bizarre defection. I saw Davies at a Conservative Party fundraiser in the City of London where the guest speaker was George Osborne the evening before he announced his defection. I suppose Shaun Woodward was similar. Amusing to think they all ended up in a Party headed by Jeremy Corbyn, who I am sure they zero in common with. Howarth undoubtedly shifted his political views, from being a right-wing Tory to a fairly mainstream Labour member - he remains a Eurosceptic, though, which may not endear him to the Blairite right of the party Woodward was particularly focused on social and cultural issues - he later came out as gay. He is on record as not being hostile to Jeremy Corbyn - talkradio.co.uk/news/former-northern-ireland-secretary-shaun-woodward-jeremy-corbyn-would-make-better-leader-theresa Quentin Davies, though, was a weird defection , I'll grant you that.... |
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Post by matureleft on May 1, 2020 11:49:37 GMT
Davies was pro-European but that wouldn't really trigger a move. He gave the impression of being rather disappointed by his lack of recognition (although he held various shadow roles). His critique of Cameron when he announced his defection was, nevertheless, perceptive.
"Under your leadership the Conservative Party appears to me to have ceased collectively to believe in anything, or to stand for anything. It has no bedrock. It exists on shifting sands. A sense of mission has been replaced by a PR agenda."
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Post by greenchristian on May 1, 2020 12:44:32 GMT
The official name for this constituency is Stratford-on-Avon. It was named that way to avoid confusion with the Stratford in London. Reminds me of the story I heard where two young women hired a taxi to take them to Stamford Bridge. They were referring to the football stadium in Fulham but the driver took them to the East Yorkshire village of the same name.. There's a similar story about some American Doctor Who fans who wanted to visit Leeds Castle (where location filming was done for Tom Baker story The Androids of Tara), thinking that Leeds Castle was in Leeds, when it's actually in Kent.
And, of course, there's the annual occurrence of (mostly international) students turning up at Warwick railway station rather than Coventry at the start of the academic year.
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J.G.Harston
Lib Dem
Leave-voting Brexit-supporting Liberal Democrat
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Post by J.G.Harston on May 1, 2020 13:57:50 GMT
Reminds me of the story I heard where two young women hired a taxi to take them to Stamford Bridge. They were referring to the football stadium in Fulham but the driver took them to the East Yorkshire village of the same name.. There's a similar story about some American Doctor Who fans who wanted to visit Leeds Castle (where location filming was done for Tom Baker story The Androids of Tara), thinking that Leeds Castle was in Leeds, when it's actually in Kent.
And, of course, there's the annual occurrence of (mostly international) students turning up at Warwick railway station rather than Coventry at the start of the academic year.
When I first arrived at Stirling University I got on on the Alva bus instead of the (Bridge of) Allan bus. Though I did ask "do you go past the university?" and the driver replied "yahhs auy shser mate". It goes past the rear entrance, a mile's walk from the admin buildings. |
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Post by Merseymike on May 1, 2020 14:17:05 GMT
Reminds me of the story I heard where two young women hired a taxi to take them to Stamford Bridge. They were referring to the football stadium in Fulham but the driver took them to the East Yorkshire village of the same name.. There's a similar story about some American Doctor Who fans who wanted to visit Leeds Castle (where location filming was done for Tom Baker story The Androids of Tara), thinking that Leeds Castle was in Leeds, when it's actually in Kent. And, of course, there's the annual occurrence of (mostly international) students turning up at Warwick railway station rather than Coventry at the start of the academic year.
And students attending Edge Hill University in Ormskirk going to Edge Hill railway station in Liverpool.... |
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Chris from Brum
Lib Dem
What I need is a strong drink and a peer group.
Posts: 9,740
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Post by Chris from Brum on May 1, 2020 15:04:08 GMT
There's a similar story about some American Doctor Who fans who wanted to visit Leeds Castle (where location filming was done for Tom Baker story The Androids of Tara), thinking that Leeds Castle was in Leeds, when it's actually in Kent. And, of course, there's the annual occurrence of (mostly international) students turning up at Warwick railway station rather than Coventry at the start of the academic year.
And students attending Edge Hill University in Ormskirk going to Edge Hill railway station in Liverpool.... A colleague once had reason to be in Dorchester, involving an overnight stay, so corporate bookings got on the case, and booked him into Dorchester-on-Thames. Now there's nothing wrong with Dorchester-on-Thames, lovely chocolate-box village with an historic abbey church (I played my most recent concert in there), but it's not at all close to Dorchester in Dorset. Red faces all round ... |
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Post by Merseymike on May 1, 2020 22:18:07 GMT
Remember that you could at one time be a moderniser, if not a Blairite, and against the EU.
Bryan Gould the most obvious example.
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Post by loderingo on May 1, 2020 22:34:45 GMT
John - Can I please also request you amend the title to Stratford-on-Avon! I keep wondering why a London seat is in the West Midlands!
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Post by Robert Waller on Dec 8, 2022 17:56:59 GMT
2021 Census
Owner occupied 72.1% 113/573
Private rented 14.9% 445/573
Social rented 13.0% 379/573
White 95.4%
Black 0.3%
Asian 2.0%
(South Asian 1.2%)
Mixed 1.7%
Other 0.6%
Managerial & professional 41.3% 87/573
Routine & Semi-routine 18.7% 456/573
Degree level 39.3% 119/573
No qualifications 14.8% 430/573
2011 on same criteria
Degree level 33.6% 98/573
No qualifications 19.5% 408/573
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