Post by John Chanin on May 7, 2022 7:47:37 GMT
Buckingham is an old town, with history dating back to Saxon times, as can be assumed from the fact that it has a county named after it. But while not as obscure as Wilton or Somerton it has long since become a bit of a backwater. The modern town on the Great Ouse has a population of just 13,000, but this still makes it the largest settlement in the constituency. It is a fairly humdrum but middle-class town, with however a larger than average black and asian population, linked to its most prominent modern feature - Britain’s main fully private university. A third of the population on the north side of town rents, and the only Labour councillor in the constituency can be found here.
The constituency as a whole is very expansive, covering the whole north of the county down to the scarp slope of the Chilterns, with the exception of the new town of Milton Keynes, and the modern county town of Aylesbury and its immediate environs. In the north-west there is pleasant flattish agricultural country, populated by country villages with populations close to 50% managerial, like the splendidly named Marsh Gibbon. This conjures up pleasing visions of a troup of monkeys swinging in the trres above a boggy wasteland, but is in fact one of the most attractive of the villages, with fine stone houses. Nearby is Grendon Prison, famous for its sex offenders and therapeutic environment, with a separate open prison alongside. South of the A41 which bisects the seat from east to west, the landscape is hillier and more wooded. The main settlement here is the large village of Haddenham, a tributary of Thame with many new housing developments (and a parkway station). Straddling the A41 is Waddesdon, home to the Rothschilds' enormous chateau, although the village has the highest proportion of routine workers in the seat. The whole area is well-educated, well off, and monolithically Conservative.
Nestling under the Chiltern ridge is the second largest town in the seat, Princes Risborough. This is a rich and rather twee market town with some fine old buildings, and a population of 8000. Just to the north under the ridge is the prime minister’s country mansion of Chequers. There is a little council housing here, and it has a little lower population in managerial jobs with degrees, but is still safely Conservative.
The north-east of the constituency is slightly different as it is in the orbit of Milton Keynes. Villages like Newton Longville, Drayton Parslow, and sprawling Stewkley with its endless main street, are effectively commuter villages for the new city. Halfway between Buckingham and Aylesbury is the only other settlement that could be considered a town - Winslow, with a population of 4500, which does have a market place and a main street, albeit a bit rundown. Liberal Democrats have been seen here, although none were elected to the new unitary council in 2021. On the edges of Aylesbury around Weedon and Bierton there is new housing as the town continues to expand, with social housing estates that have now been consolidated into an Aylesbury ward. On the main road between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard are the large villages of Wing and Wingrave, where the only Liberal Democrat councillor in the seat was elected in 2021.
Lastly there is a salient extending up into the Chilterns at the south-east, which looks more to Leighton Buzzard to the north. There is nothing but small villages in this sparsely populated section that sits to the north of the Tring gap through the Chilterns, terminating at Ivinghoe Beacon on the Ridgeway.
Overall this is a very safe Conservative seat, hidden somewhat recently as it was the seat of the Speaker John Bercow from 2010 to 2019. Bercow was first elected in 1997, and even then he was only a fraction short of 50% of the vote. The new MP is Greg Smith who was a London councillor with an amorphous job working in “marketing and design” prior to election.
Buckinghamshire is entitled to an extra seat in the boundary review currently taking place, primarily due to the continued growth not just of Milton Keynes but also Aylesbury. This means large changes are proposed in this part of the world. The north of the seat around Buckingham, Winslow, and the commuter villages, is to be linked with Bletchley, which will account for more than half the new seat. Curiously this will make the seat fairly similar to the pre-1983 seat which once returned Robert Maxwell to parliament in the 1960s, and will be much less safe for the Conservatives. The south-east salient goes to Aylesbury, and 40% of the present seat in the south-west forms half of a new rather incoherent mid-Buckinghamshire seat.
Census data: owner-occupied 76% (52/573 in England & Wales), private rented 11% (495th), social rented 11% (462nd).
:White 96%, Black 1%, South Asian 1%, Mixed 1%, Other 1%
: Managerial & professional 47% (69th), Routine & Semi-routine 19% (526th)
: Degree level 36%(77th), No qualifications 29%(496th)
: Students 3% (312th), Over 65- 18% (237th)
The constituency as a whole is very expansive, covering the whole north of the county down to the scarp slope of the Chilterns, with the exception of the new town of Milton Keynes, and the modern county town of Aylesbury and its immediate environs. In the north-west there is pleasant flattish agricultural country, populated by country villages with populations close to 50% managerial, like the splendidly named Marsh Gibbon. This conjures up pleasing visions of a troup of monkeys swinging in the trres above a boggy wasteland, but is in fact one of the most attractive of the villages, with fine stone houses. Nearby is Grendon Prison, famous for its sex offenders and therapeutic environment, with a separate open prison alongside. South of the A41 which bisects the seat from east to west, the landscape is hillier and more wooded. The main settlement here is the large village of Haddenham, a tributary of Thame with many new housing developments (and a parkway station). Straddling the A41 is Waddesdon, home to the Rothschilds' enormous chateau, although the village has the highest proportion of routine workers in the seat. The whole area is well-educated, well off, and monolithically Conservative.
Nestling under the Chiltern ridge is the second largest town in the seat, Princes Risborough. This is a rich and rather twee market town with some fine old buildings, and a population of 8000. Just to the north under the ridge is the prime minister’s country mansion of Chequers. There is a little council housing here, and it has a little lower population in managerial jobs with degrees, but is still safely Conservative.
The north-east of the constituency is slightly different as it is in the orbit of Milton Keynes. Villages like Newton Longville, Drayton Parslow, and sprawling Stewkley with its endless main street, are effectively commuter villages for the new city. Halfway between Buckingham and Aylesbury is the only other settlement that could be considered a town - Winslow, with a population of 4500, which does have a market place and a main street, albeit a bit rundown. Liberal Democrats have been seen here, although none were elected to the new unitary council in 2021. On the edges of Aylesbury around Weedon and Bierton there is new housing as the town continues to expand, with social housing estates that have now been consolidated into an Aylesbury ward. On the main road between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard are the large villages of Wing and Wingrave, where the only Liberal Democrat councillor in the seat was elected in 2021.
Lastly there is a salient extending up into the Chilterns at the south-east, which looks more to Leighton Buzzard to the north. There is nothing but small villages in this sparsely populated section that sits to the north of the Tring gap through the Chilterns, terminating at Ivinghoe Beacon on the Ridgeway.
Overall this is a very safe Conservative seat, hidden somewhat recently as it was the seat of the Speaker John Bercow from 2010 to 2019. Bercow was first elected in 1997, and even then he was only a fraction short of 50% of the vote. The new MP is Greg Smith who was a London councillor with an amorphous job working in “marketing and design” prior to election.
Buckinghamshire is entitled to an extra seat in the boundary review currently taking place, primarily due to the continued growth not just of Milton Keynes but also Aylesbury. This means large changes are proposed in this part of the world. The north of the seat around Buckingham, Winslow, and the commuter villages, is to be linked with Bletchley, which will account for more than half the new seat. Curiously this will make the seat fairly similar to the pre-1983 seat which once returned Robert Maxwell to parliament in the 1960s, and will be much less safe for the Conservatives. The south-east salient goes to Aylesbury, and 40% of the present seat in the south-west forms half of a new rather incoherent mid-Buckinghamshire seat.
Census data: owner-occupied 76% (52/573 in England & Wales), private rented 11% (495th), social rented 11% (462nd).
:White 96%, Black 1%, South Asian 1%, Mixed 1%, Other 1%
: Managerial & professional 47% (69th), Routine & Semi-routine 19% (526th)
: Degree level 36%(77th), No qualifications 29%(496th)
: Students 3% (312th), Over 65- 18% (237th)
2010 | % | 2015 | % | 2017 | % | 2019 | % | |
| Speaker | 22,860 | 47.3% | 34,617 | 64.5% | 34,299 | 65.1% | ||
Conservative | 37,035 | 58.4% | ||||||
Liberal Democrat | 16,624 | 26.2% | ||||||
Labour | 7,638 | 12.0% | ||||||
UKIP/Brexit | 8,410 | 17.4% | 11,675 | 21.7% | 4,168 | 7.9% | 1,286 | 2.0% |
Green | 7,400 | 13.8% | 8,574 | 16.3% | ||||
Others | 17,074 | 35.3% | 5,638 | 10.7% | 875 | 1.4% | ||
Majority | 12,529 | 25.9% | 22,942 | 42.7% | 25,725 | 48.8% | 20,411 | 32.2% |
