|
|
Post by greenhert on May 2, 2020 18:58:00 GMT
The constituency of Salisbury has existed since the Model Parliament of 1295. Its boundaries have changed relatively little since 1832 when it absorbed the rotten borough of Old Sarum, which had just 3 electors by that time.
The cathedral city of Salisbury has been a city for centuries, with its cathedral being completed in 1227 (the first Bishop of Salisbury, Herman, was consecrated much earlier, in 1070), and was originally the site of a key Roman fort in the West of England. In fact it sits virtually at the border between the South East and South West of England, and its railway station has very good connections with both regions as well as London. In addition to its famous cathedral Salisbury was the centre of a cutlery industry which was the source of praise from nobility and royalty for centuries until the last cutlery company failed in 1921. Salisbury was home to a gas works and the Friends Life office, both of which are now closed. Salisbury District Hospital is now the largest employer in Salisbury city itself. The constituency also includes Wilton, the former county town of Wiltshire and the home of Wilton carpets, and Amesbury, a small town located near Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a mysterious history which attracts celebrants of the summer solstice and modern day druids around Britain. Salisbury has high qualification levels for the region, with 32.2% of residents holding a degree, although like most of South West England it is almost entirely white in ethnic composition (97%). Surprisingly for an affluent constituency, Salisbury's housing demographics are average.
Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding.
|
|
|
|
Post by finsobruce on May 2, 2020 19:13:36 GMT
The constituency of Salisbury has existed since the Model Parliament of 1295. Its boundaries have changed relatively little since 1832 when it absorbed the rotten borough of Old Sarum, which had just 3 electors by that time. The cathedral city of Salisbury has been a city for centuries, with its cathedral being completed in 1227 (the first Bishop of Salisbury, Herman, was consecrated much earlier, in 1070), and was originally the site of a key Roman fort in the West of England. In fact it sits virtually at the border between the South East and South West of England, and its railway station has very good connections with both regions as well as London. In addition to its famous cathedral Salisbury was the centre of a cutlery industry which was the source of praise from nobility and royalty for centuries until the last cutlery company failed in 1921. Salisbury was home to a gas works and the Friends Life office, both of which are now closed. Salisbury District Hospital is now the largest employer in Salisbury city itself. The constituency also includes Wilton, the former county town of Wiltshire and the home of Wilton carpets, and Amesbury, a small town located near Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a mysterious history which attracts celebrants of the summer solstice and modern day druids around Britain. Salisbury has high qualification levels for the region, with 32.2% of residents holding a degree, although like most of South West England it is almost entirely white in ethnic composition (97%). Surprisingly for an affluent constituency, Salisbury's housing demographics are average. Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding. As far as marginality goes, Labour reduced the Tory majority here lower in the 1965 by election and 1966 general election, than the Liberals or Lib Dems ever managed subsequently.
As a curious footnote, in 2013 John Lakeman admitted defrauding a local charity over a long period . It is worth looking at the story online as it has a great photo of him as the 1974 candidate, including in the background an example of the famous "One More Heave" Liberal poster. |
|
|
|
Post by bjornhattan on May 2, 2020 19:40:08 GMT
The constituency of Salisbury has existed since the Model Parliament of 1295. Its boundaries have changed relatively little since 1832 when it absorbed the rotten borough of Old Sarum, which had just 3 electors by that time. The cathedral city of Salisbury has been a city for centuries, with its cathedral being completed in 1227 (the first Bishop of Salisbury, Herman, was consecrated much earlier, in 1070), and was originally the site of a key Roman fort in the West of England. In fact it sits virtually at the border between the South East and South West of England, and its railway station has very good connections with both regions as well as London. In addition to its famous cathedral Salisbury was the centre of a cutlery industry which was the source of praise from nobility and royalty for centuries until the last cutlery company failed in 1921. Salisbury was home to a gas works and the Friends Life office, both of which are now closed. Salisbury District Hospital is now the largest employer in Salisbury city itself. The constituency also includes Wilton, the former county town of Wiltshire and the home of Wilton carpets, and Amesbury, a small town located near Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a mysterious history which attracts celebrants of the summer solstice and modern day druids around Britain. Salisbury has high qualification levels for the region, with 32.2% of residents holding a degree, although like most of South West England it is almost entirely white in ethnic composition (97%). Surprisingly for an affluent constituency, Salisbury's housing demographics are average. Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding. These two facts are closely connected. A significant chunk of Salisbury's population live on the Bemerton Heath estate in the west of the town. This has generally been Labour's strongest area within the city (as opposed to the centre), and 44% of households live in social housing. Indeed Salisbury Bemerton has the seventh highest rate of social renting in the South West, and comes in the top 200 wards (out of 8500) nationally. Social housing rates are also fairly high in parts of Amesbury. Owner occupation is even lower in Tidworth and Ludgershall - these are dominated by their military populations who mostly rent their residences privately. I'd also struggle to describe this seat as affluent. It is true that it is far less deprived than the average, but like many constituencies in this part of the world, incomes are actually lower than the national average. Here the average income is £560 per week (the national average is £580), and in South West Wiltshire next door wages are lower than every region of the UK. |
|
|
|
Post by Pete Whitehead on May 2, 2020 19:40:29 GMT
The constituency of Salisbury has existed since the Model Parliament of 1295. Its boundaries have changed relatively little since 1832 This is not right. Salisbury was a borough constituency (and covering a much smaller area than the current city) right up until 1918. The majority of the current constituency up to that point was in the Wilton division, so this county constituency dates back only to then |
|
|
|
Post by Pete Whitehead on May 2, 2020 19:44:16 GMT
The constituency of Salisbury has existed since the Model Parliament of 1295. Its boundaries have changed relatively little since 1832 when it absorbed the rotten borough of Old Sarum, which had just 3 electors by that time. The cathedral city of Salisbury has been a city for centuries, with its cathedral being completed in 1227 (the first Bishop of Salisbury, Herman, was consecrated much earlier, in 1070), and was originally the site of a key Roman fort in the West of England. In fact it sits virtually at the border between the South East and South West of England, and its railway station has very good connections with both regions as well as London. In addition to its famous cathedral Salisbury was the centre of a cutlery industry which was the source of praise from nobility and royalty for centuries until the last cutlery company failed in 1921. Salisbury was home to a gas works and the Friends Life office, both of which are now closed. Salisbury District Hospital is now the largest employer in Salisbury city itself. The constituency also includes Wilton, the former county town of Wiltshire and the home of Wilton carpets, and Amesbury, a small town located near Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a mysterious history which attracts celebrants of the summer solstice and modern day druids around Britain. Salisbury has high qualification levels for the region, with 32.2% of residents holding a degree, although like most of South West England it is almost entirely white in ethnic composition (97%). Surprisingly for an affluent constituency, Salisbury's housing demographics are average. Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding. These two facts are closely connected. A significant chunk of Salisbury's population live on the Bemerton Heath estate in the west of the town. This has generally been Labour's strongest area within the city (as opposed to the centre), and 44% of households live in social housing. Indeed Salisbury Bemerton has the seventh highest rate of social renting in the South West, and comes in the top 200 wards (out of 8500) nationally. Social housing rates are also fairly high in parts of Amesbury. Owner occupation is even lower in Tidworth and Ludgershall - these are dominated by their military populations who mostly rent their residences privately.I'd also struggle to describe this seat as affluent. It is true that it is far less deprived than the average, but like many constituencies in this part of the world, incomes are actually lower than the national average. Here the average income is £560 per week (the national average is £580), and in South West Wiltshire next door wages are lower than every region of the UK. Not exactly 'privately' of course, even if that is how it is described in the census (also these areas are in Devizes) |
|
|
|
Post by finsobruce on May 2, 2020 19:51:03 GMT
The constituency of Salisbury has existed since the Model Parliament of 1295. Its boundaries have changed relatively little since 1832 when it absorbed the rotten borough of Old Sarum, which had just 3 electors by that time. The cathedral city of Salisbury has been a city for centuries, with its cathedral being completed in 1227 (the first Bishop of Salisbury, Herman, was consecrated much earlier, in 1070), and was originally the site of a key Roman fort in the West of England. In fact it sits virtually at the border between the South East and South West of England, and its railway station has very good connections with both regions as well as London. In addition to its famous cathedral Salisbury was the centre of a cutlery industry which was the source of praise from nobility and royalty for centuries until the last cutlery company failed in 1921. Salisbury was home to a gas works and the Friends Life office, both of which are now closed. Salisbury District Hospital is now the largest employer in Salisbury city itself. The constituency also includes Wilton, the former county town of Wiltshire and the home of Wilton carpets, and Amesbury, a small town located near Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a mysterious history which attracts celebrants of the summer solstice and modern day druids around Britain. Salisbury has high qualification levels for the region, with 32.2% of residents holding a degree, although like most of South West England it is almost entirely white in ethnic composition (97%). Surprisingly for an affluent constituency, Salisbury's housing demographics are average. Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding. These two facts are closely connected. A significant chunk of Salisbury's population live on the Bemerton Heath estate in the west of the town. This has generally been Labour's strongest area within the city (as opposed to the centre), and 44% of households live in social housing. Indeed Salisbury Bemerton has the seventh highest rate of social renting in the South West, and comes in the top 200 wards (out of 8500) nationally. Social housing rates are also fairly high in parts of Amesbury. Owner occupation is even lower in Tidworth and Ludgershall - these are dominated by their military populations who mostly rent their residences privately. I'd also struggle to describe this seat as affluent. It is true that it is far less deprived than the average, but like many constituencies in this part of the world, incomes are actually lower than the national average. Here the average income is £560 per week (the national average is £580), and in South West Wiltshire next door wages are lower than every region of the UK. Home of the wonderfully named Bemerton Heath Harlequins (Wessex League Division One). |
|
|
|
Post by bjornhattan on May 2, 2020 19:55:16 GMT
These two facts are closely connected. A significant chunk of Salisbury's population live on the Bemerton Heath estate in the west of the town. This has generally been Labour's strongest area within the city (as opposed to the centre), and 44% of households live in social housing. Indeed Salisbury Bemerton has the seventh highest rate of social renting in the South West, and comes in the top 200 wards (out of 8500) nationally. Social housing rates are also fairly high in parts of Amesbury. Owner occupation is even lower in Tidworth and Ludgershall - these are dominated by their military populations who mostly rent their residences privately.I'd also struggle to describe this seat as affluent. It is true that it is far less deprived than the average, but like many constituencies in this part of the world, incomes are actually lower than the national average. Here the average income is £560 per week (the national average is £580), and in South West Wiltshire next door wages are lower than every region of the UK. Not exactly 'privately' of course, even if that is how it is described in the census (also these areas are in Devizes) Yes, I've only just realised my mistake. Private renting in this seat seems more concentrated in the centre of Salisbury - 30% in St Pauls and 31% in St Edmund and Milford. There is a military presence of up to 20% in parts of Amesbury and over 10% in all the rural northern wards, but nothing like what is found in Devizes. |
|
|
|
Post by loderingo on May 3, 2020 17:25:09 GMT
A good profile but I think you missed out a few key points:
- The Conservative strength is not necessarily due to affluence but due to the presence of farming and defence. This seat includes part of Salisbury Plain and also Porton Down
- Talking of Porton Down, this seat of course became briefly globally famous due to the Novichok incident
- Finally, it is worth a mention that Edward Heath's former home Arundells is on the Cathedral close (he died in Salisbury)
|
|
bsjmcr
Non-Aligned
Posts: 1,591 
|
Post by bsjmcr on May 5, 2020 23:03:06 GMT
Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding. Wasn't this also the first General Election for a certain N.Farage, who managed to keep his deposit then? Why Salisbury I wonder, did he live there or have any connections there? Doesn't seem like particularly fertile ground there, and the 2015 UKIP tally was pretty run-of-the-mill. I can understand his choices for his subsequent election standings as they were all within his South East region. As good as the 1997 election was for the Lib Dems, looking around there were so many missed opportunities for them like this one where they were runners up in 1992 and in many cases managed to go backwards, which is pretty poor really. Was it due to less knowledge of tactical voting and less internet access? Labour ended up pointlessly absorbing a lot of the disaffected Tory vote and yet still remained in 3rd in so many areas. I also heard about a Guardian poll or something that came out close to the election which aided in a lot of Labour gains but may have caused confusion and split opposition in others? |
|
|
|
Post by bjornhattan on May 6, 2020 0:07:02 GMT
Salisbury has been a Conservative seat since 1924 but it has been made marginal by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats at times. John Lakeman first turned it into a Conservative-Liberal marginal in February 1974, although both Michael Hamilton (February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) and Robert Key (in 1983 after Mr Hamilton retired) rebuffed his efforts on the Conservatives' behalf even though he managed to squeeze the Labour vote to as low as 5.8% in 1983. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats missed a golden opportunity to capture the seat when they fielded a Surrey councillor with no connection to the area, meaning they lost the tactical Labour votes they needed; Mr Key held on with ease and represented the seat for another 13 years. The Liberal Democrats had a brief revival in 2010 but only reduced the majority of the new Conservative MP, John Glen, to 5,966, and they crashed in 2015; they regained second place in 2019 but are in no position to win this seat. At a local level, Salisbury contains the only Labour divisions in the unitary authority of Wiltshire (which does not include Swindon, itself a unitary authority), although all of the divisions in Salisbury city are somewhat politically competitive with the winners often polling <40%, although central Salisbury is more conservative in voting terms than outer Salisbury. Wilton is in the Con-LD marginal of Wilton & Wyrylye Valley, but the small town of Amesbury is solidly Conservative, UKIP's close run in 2013 notwithstanding. Wasn't this also the first General Election for a certain N.Farage, who managed to keep his deposit then? Why Salisbury I wonder, did he live there or have any connections there? Doesn't seem like particularly fertile ground there, and the 2015 UKIP tally was pretty run-of-the-mill. I can understand his choices for his subsequent election standings as they were all within his South East region. As good as the 1997 election was for the Lib Dems, looking around there were so many missed opportunities for them like this one where they were runners up in 1992 and in many cases managed to go backwards, which is pretty poor really. Was it due to less knowledge of tactical voting and less internet access? Labour ended up pointlessly absorbing a lot of the disaffected Tory vote and yet still remained in 3rd in so many areas. I also heard about a Guardian poll or something that came out close to the election which aided in a lot of Labour gains but may have caused confusion and split opposition in others? Nigel Farage's first ever electoral contest was the 1994 Eastleigh by-election. On the same day there were European elections, and so he stood in "Itchen, Test, and Avon", which was the European constituency covering Eastleigh at the time (these were single member FPTP constituencies). "Itchen, Test, and Avon" also included Southampton, Christchurch, Romsey, the New Forest, and Salisbury, crossing the modern regional boundary and the ancient county boundary. Presumably he thought his strongest area in the European constituency was Salisbury, and so he decided to stand here in 1997. |
|
|
|
Post by Robert Waller on Jun 14, 2021 12:49:16 GMT
2011 Census
Age 65+ 19.9% 138/650
Owner-occupied 65.2% 371/650
Private rented 15.9% 239/650
Social rented 16.2% 317/650
White 96.7% 249 /650
Black 0.4% 409/650
Asian 1.7% 388/650
Managerial & professional 37.7%
Routine & Semi-routine 22.7%
Degree level 32.2% 134/650
No qualifications 19.3% 486/650
Students 5.5% 587/650
2021 Census
Owner occupied 66.7% 268/573
Private rented 17.6% 312/573
Social rented 15.6% 264/573
White 93.9%
Black 1.1%
Asian 2.8%
Managerial & professional 39.1% 121/573
Routine & Semi-routine 21.3% 380/573
Degree level 36.9% 152/573
No qualifications 14.4% 455/573
General Election 2019: Salisbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Glen 30,280 56.4 –1.7
Liberal Democrats Victoria Charleston 10,544 19.6 +8.4
Labour Tom Corbin 9,675 18.0 –7.5
Green Rick Page 2,486 4.6 +2.4
Independent King Arthur Pendragon 745 1.4 +0.6
C Majority 19,736 36.8 +4.2
Turnout 53,730 72.1 –2.0
Conservative hold
Swings
2.9 Lab to C
5.1 C to LD
|
|
