Sleaford & North Hykeham
May 8, 2020 22:06:43 GMT
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Post by greenhert on May 8, 2020 22:06:43 GMT
Sleaford & North Hykeham was created in 1997 mainly from the Grantham constituency, with the North Hykeham part being transferred from the Lincoln constituency. It contains most of North Kesteven (Bracebridge Heath and Skellingthorpe are in the Lincoln constituency) and a few villages in South Kesteven.
Sleaford is a medium market town which underwent rapid growth in the late 20th century, although its population is not actually that high-17,671 on the most recent estimate. Like most towns in Lincolnshire it was primarily involved in agriculture, but retail makes up the largest employment sector in the town nowadays. Sleaford is also the only town in Lincolnshire with both an east-west railway connection and a north-south railway connection. The town of North Hykeham has essentially become a suburb of Lincoln except administratively, and is similar to Sleaford in other respects. The village of Heckington contains the only 8-sailed windmill still standing in the whole of Europe, and notable former residents include model Abi Titmuss and surgeon Joseph Toynbee of the famous Toynbee family, who have their origins in this village. Sleaford & North Hykeham has average qualification levels but degree-holders are in population distribution terms found in much greater numbers in North Hykeham than in Sleaford or the villages that are not close to the city of Lincoln. Sleaford & North Hykeham, mainly due to its growing population and widespread availability of cheap housing, has one of the highest owner-occupier rates in the country: 75.1%.
Sleaford & North Hykeham has been Conservative since its creation and has never been marginal at any time; even in 1997 the Conservative majority was as high as 5,123 (9.6%). It also has one of the largest electorates in the country (over 90,000 electors), so it will undergo a significant shrinkage in the next boundary review. Its first MP was Douglas Hogg (now 3rd Viscount Hailsham), son of former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham (Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham), who moved there from the former Grantham constituency. Viscount Hailsham (he inherited the title in 2001, two years after the House of Lords Act 1999 which abolished the absolute right of hereditary peers who had not disclaimed their titles to sit in the House of Lords) was caught claiming £2,200 for moat cleaning at the height of the 2009 expenses scandal; he subsequently announced he would retire in 2010. Stephen Phillips became the new Conservative MP but only represented the seat for 6 1/2 years; he resigned from Parliament citing "irreconciliable policy differences" with the government of Theresa May. In the subsequent by-election of 8 December 2016, Dr Caroline Johnson easily held the seat with UKIP only finishing second due to Labour's poor performance. She has held the seat very safely ever since. At a local level, this constituency was the strongest for the Lincolnshire Independents, mainly due to the efforts of Marianne Overton, who saved her deposit three times in this seat: 2010, 2015, and the 2016 by-election. Mrs Overton was also the only Lincolnshire Independent county councillor to hold her seat in the 2017 Lincolnshire County Council elections; she did not stand in the 2017 general election, losing momentum meaning that in 2019 she did not even save her deposit despite the absence of UKIP. North Hykeham used to regularly elect Liberal Democrat councillors but they were all defeated in 2015 and the Liberal Democrats did not win any seats there in 2019 either. Labour have almost no presence in North Kesteven; there have been no Labour councillors there since 2007 and few Labour candidates even stand in North Kesteven. The South Kesteven villages in this constituency are for the most part solidly Conservative.
Sleaford is a medium market town which underwent rapid growth in the late 20th century, although its population is not actually that high-17,671 on the most recent estimate. Like most towns in Lincolnshire it was primarily involved in agriculture, but retail makes up the largest employment sector in the town nowadays. Sleaford is also the only town in Lincolnshire with both an east-west railway connection and a north-south railway connection. The town of North Hykeham has essentially become a suburb of Lincoln except administratively, and is similar to Sleaford in other respects. The village of Heckington contains the only 8-sailed windmill still standing in the whole of Europe, and notable former residents include model Abi Titmuss and surgeon Joseph Toynbee of the famous Toynbee family, who have their origins in this village. Sleaford & North Hykeham has average qualification levels but degree-holders are in population distribution terms found in much greater numbers in North Hykeham than in Sleaford or the villages that are not close to the city of Lincoln. Sleaford & North Hykeham, mainly due to its growing population and widespread availability of cheap housing, has one of the highest owner-occupier rates in the country: 75.1%.
Sleaford & North Hykeham has been Conservative since its creation and has never been marginal at any time; even in 1997 the Conservative majority was as high as 5,123 (9.6%). It also has one of the largest electorates in the country (over 90,000 electors), so it will undergo a significant shrinkage in the next boundary review. Its first MP was Douglas Hogg (now 3rd Viscount Hailsham), son of former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham (Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham), who moved there from the former Grantham constituency. Viscount Hailsham (he inherited the title in 2001, two years after the House of Lords Act 1999 which abolished the absolute right of hereditary peers who had not disclaimed their titles to sit in the House of Lords) was caught claiming £2,200 for moat cleaning at the height of the 2009 expenses scandal; he subsequently announced he would retire in 2010. Stephen Phillips became the new Conservative MP but only represented the seat for 6 1/2 years; he resigned from Parliament citing "irreconciliable policy differences" with the government of Theresa May. In the subsequent by-election of 8 December 2016, Dr Caroline Johnson easily held the seat with UKIP only finishing second due to Labour's poor performance. She has held the seat very safely ever since. At a local level, this constituency was the strongest for the Lincolnshire Independents, mainly due to the efforts of Marianne Overton, who saved her deposit three times in this seat: 2010, 2015, and the 2016 by-election. Mrs Overton was also the only Lincolnshire Independent county councillor to hold her seat in the 2017 Lincolnshire County Council elections; she did not stand in the 2017 general election, losing momentum meaning that in 2019 she did not even save her deposit despite the absence of UKIP. North Hykeham used to regularly elect Liberal Democrat councillors but they were all defeated in 2015 and the Liberal Democrats did not win any seats there in 2019 either. Labour have almost no presence in North Kesteven; there have been no Labour councillors there since 2007 and few Labour candidates even stand in North Kesteven. The South Kesteven villages in this constituency are for the most part solidly Conservative.
