Post by John Chanin on Oct 25, 2021 15:32:23 GMT
Leicester, like Nottingham extends a long way outside its administrative boundaries. The western suburbs are in Blaby District, which gave its name to a seat represented famously by Nigel Lawson from 1974. In 1997 the northern part of Blaby District - Glenfield, Leicester Forest East, and Kirby Muxloe - was removed to the new Charnwood seat. It still contains some Leicester suburbs though - Braunstone and Thorpe Astley - which provide some 12,000 voters, and this is Labour territory, with them holding all 3 district wards and the county ward in the area. Braunstone has the lowest proportion of managerial workers and those with degrees in the seat, and is 20% asian, although almost wholly owner-occupied and inter war. Thorpe Astley, walled off by the Leicester ring road, is more modern, the south part being quite new. It is politically marginal, although also with a substantial asian population like Leicester in general.
To the south of the city and east of the M1, is an sizeable urban settlement which is best considered as an exurb, and which looks to Leicester. Blaby is the central town, but runs together with Whetstone and Countesthorpe. Most development is post war, and the area is thoroughly middle-class and white throughout, and mostly owner-occupied, although there are a few council tenants on the south side of Blaby. There are some 16,000 electors here. West of the M1 is another similar exurb with Enderby, Narborough and Littlethorpe running together with around 10,000 voters. This section amounting to a third of the seat is Conservative at local level but not overwhelmingly so. The Liberal Democrats hold the two Blaby wards which adjoin their stronghold in Wigston to the east, and there is a significant Labour minority in Enderby ward.
The southern part of Blaby District is more rural, and much of it looks to Hinckley rather than Leicester. This is agricultural country on the Leicestershire plain, and it accounts for another quarter of the seat, and is as usual monolithically Conservative with high managerial occupations, but like most rural areas not a high level of qualifications.
The Blaby seat was created in 1974 from a Harborough seat whose electorate had swelled to over 100,000, as a result of the expansion of the Leicester suburbs, exurbs, and commuter villages. However to bring it up to size it still required a substantial element of what became Harborough District. This area, based on the small town of Lutterworth on the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire borders, and the overgrown village of Broughton-Astley, with surrounding countryside, accounts for just over a quarter of the seat. Lutterworth has a population of 10,000 and is an old market town, sitting between the M69 and the A5 where there is a huge distribution centre providing many jobs. It is quite working class, with nearly as many routine jobs as managerial, and educational qualifications as low as in Braunstone, and is politically competitive, with Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors as well as Conservatives. Broughton-Astley to the north, between Hinckley and Blaby, is a little smaller, a post-war sprawl, politically competitive and quite down market on the north side, but thoroughly middle-class on the south side. The two towns are surrounded by sparsely populated agricultural country, similar to that on the Blaby side, which contains the highest proportion of managerial workers and degree holders in the seat, and is safely Conservative. Curiously the seat was renamed South Leicestershire in 2010 to acknowledge this section of the seat, although it was largely unchanged.
Overall this adds up to a safe Conservative seat, but not an overwhelmingly safe one. The substantial majorities in 2005 and 2010 were due to split opposition, with the Conservatives getting less than 50% of the vote, and Labour were only around 12% behind in 1997 and 2001. The MP here since 2015 is Alberto Costa, a Scottish solicitor of Italian descent.
The Boundary Commission originally proposed substantial changes in Leicestershire. This would have seen South Leicestershire carved up, with the Harborough District section going to the Harborough seat, Braunstone and Enderby going to a new Mid Leicestershire seat, and the Blaby/Whetstone/Countesthorpe area, plus the rural Blaby section, linked with Oadby and Wigston. Following consultation the Commission has reverted to a pattern closer to the present. The actual Leicester suburbs of Braunston and Thorpe Astley are still removed to Mid Leicestershire, but otherwise all the rest of the seat remains in South Leicestershire. To make up for the loss of the urban part of the seat, another rural ward from Harborough is added, around the village of Fleckney. The removal of the Labour voting part of the seat will make this seat even safer for the Conservatives than it is already.
Census data: owner-occupied 80% (13/573 in England & Wales), private rented 10% (523rd), social rented 9% (545th).
: White 93%, Black 1%, South Asian 3%, Mixed 1%, Other 1%
: Managerial & professional 37% (220th), Routine & Semi-routine 27% (373rd)
: Degree level 26%(295th), No qualifications 36%(317th)
: Students 3% (388th), Over 65- 17% (279th)
To the south of the city and east of the M1, is an sizeable urban settlement which is best considered as an exurb, and which looks to Leicester. Blaby is the central town, but runs together with Whetstone and Countesthorpe. Most development is post war, and the area is thoroughly middle-class and white throughout, and mostly owner-occupied, although there are a few council tenants on the south side of Blaby. There are some 16,000 electors here. West of the M1 is another similar exurb with Enderby, Narborough and Littlethorpe running together with around 10,000 voters. This section amounting to a third of the seat is Conservative at local level but not overwhelmingly so. The Liberal Democrats hold the two Blaby wards which adjoin their stronghold in Wigston to the east, and there is a significant Labour minority in Enderby ward.
The southern part of Blaby District is more rural, and much of it looks to Hinckley rather than Leicester. This is agricultural country on the Leicestershire plain, and it accounts for another quarter of the seat, and is as usual monolithically Conservative with high managerial occupations, but like most rural areas not a high level of qualifications.
The Blaby seat was created in 1974 from a Harborough seat whose electorate had swelled to over 100,000, as a result of the expansion of the Leicester suburbs, exurbs, and commuter villages. However to bring it up to size it still required a substantial element of what became Harborough District. This area, based on the small town of Lutterworth on the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire borders, and the overgrown village of Broughton-Astley, with surrounding countryside, accounts for just over a quarter of the seat. Lutterworth has a population of 10,000 and is an old market town, sitting between the M69 and the A5 where there is a huge distribution centre providing many jobs. It is quite working class, with nearly as many routine jobs as managerial, and educational qualifications as low as in Braunstone, and is politically competitive, with Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors as well as Conservatives. Broughton-Astley to the north, between Hinckley and Blaby, is a little smaller, a post-war sprawl, politically competitive and quite down market on the north side, but thoroughly middle-class on the south side. The two towns are surrounded by sparsely populated agricultural country, similar to that on the Blaby side, which contains the highest proportion of managerial workers and degree holders in the seat, and is safely Conservative. Curiously the seat was renamed South Leicestershire in 2010 to acknowledge this section of the seat, although it was largely unchanged.
Overall this adds up to a safe Conservative seat, but not an overwhelmingly safe one. The substantial majorities in 2005 and 2010 were due to split opposition, with the Conservatives getting less than 50% of the vote, and Labour were only around 12% behind in 1997 and 2001. The MP here since 2015 is Alberto Costa, a Scottish solicitor of Italian descent.
The Boundary Commission originally proposed substantial changes in Leicestershire. This would have seen South Leicestershire carved up, with the Harborough District section going to the Harborough seat, Braunstone and Enderby going to a new Mid Leicestershire seat, and the Blaby/Whetstone/Countesthorpe area, plus the rural Blaby section, linked with Oadby and Wigston. Following consultation the Commission has reverted to a pattern closer to the present. The actual Leicester suburbs of Braunston and Thorpe Astley are still removed to Mid Leicestershire, but otherwise all the rest of the seat remains in South Leicestershire. To make up for the loss of the urban part of the seat, another rural ward from Harborough is added, around the village of Fleckney. The removal of the Labour voting part of the seat will make this seat even safer for the Conservatives than it is already.
Census data: owner-occupied 80% (13/573 in England & Wales), private rented 10% (523rd), social rented 9% (545th).
: White 93%, Black 1%, South Asian 3%, Mixed 1%, Other 1%
: Managerial & professional 37% (220th), Routine & Semi-routine 27% (373rd)
: Degree level 26%(295th), No qualifications 36%(317th)
: Students 3% (388th), Over 65- 17% (279th)
2010 | % | 2015 | % | 2017 | % | 2019 | % | |
Conservative | 27,000 | 49.5% | 28,700 | 53.2% | 34,795 | 61.4% | 36,791 | 64.0% |
Labour | 11,392 | 20.9% | 11,876 | 22.0% | 16,164 | 28.5% | 12,787 | 22.3% |
Liberal Democrat | 11,476 | 21.0% | 3,987 | 7.4% | 2,403 | 4.2% | 5,452 | 9.5% |
UKIP | 1,988 | 3.6% | 9,363 | 17.4% | 2,235 | 3.9% | ||
Green | 1,092 | 1.9% | 2,439 | 4.2% | ||||
Others | 2,721 | 5.0% | ||||||
Majority | 15,524 | 28.4% | 16,824 | 31.2% | 18,631 | 32.9% | 24,004 | 41.8% |
