Post by YL on Jul 7, 2023 11:19:40 GMT
This constituency covers most of south Sheffield and some areas immediately east of the city centre, from Beauchief (pronounced "Beechiff") in the west to Intake and the Manor in the east, and also covering Norton, Meersbrook, Heeley itself, Gleadless, Arbourthorne, Norfolk Park and Park Hill.
It is a mixed constituency, tending to be more middle class towards the north-west and working class to the south and east. Overall the working class areas tend to dominate, with the proportions in middle class occupations and with degrees below average and the proportion in social housing being high. Beauchief and much of Norton are middle class suburban areas, with Graves Park ward, which covers Norton and Woodseats, being the least deprived Sheffield ward outside of the Hallam constituency. In neighbouring Gleadless Valley ward, Meersbrook is more "alternative" but also quite middle class and educated, with over 50% of the adult population having a degree (and 59% declaring "no religion"). Nearby Woodseats and Heeley have areas of late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and the latter is known for its City Farm on land cleared for a road project which never happened.
On the other hand, Lowedges, Batemoor and Jordanthorpe, which are in Beauchief & Greenhill ward, are 1950s-60s estates built on the fringe of the city, and have high deprivation and low education levels. Similarly, Meersbrook shares its ward with the Gleadless Valley estate, which was something of a showcase for the city's council housing when it was built in the early 1960s but is now one of the more deprived parts of the city.
In the north-east we have the area which was once the core of a constituency called Sheffield Park. This name referred to the deer park which was associated with Sheffield Castle in mediaeval and Tudor times and which covered a large area south-east of Sheffield city centre, centred on the Manor Lodge, where Mary, Queen of Scots spent some of her time in custody in England. This area is covered by Manor Castle ward and most of Park & Arbourthorne. Much of this area was developed between the wars with the sprawling council estates of Arbourthorne, "the Manor" and Wybourn, with further council housing following after the war, most famously with the enormous Park Hill complex. There is also the Norfolk Park estate, originally developed in the 1960s with large numbers of tower blocks and more recently redeveloped with lower rise housing; the tram ride through this area is recommended for its views of the city. The Park area generally retains high levels of social housing and a working class demographic, though new developments in some areas (and the refurbishment of Park Hill) have brought in a more middle class demographic.
The remaining part of the constituency is Gleadless, in Park & Arbourthorne ward, and the Intake area, in Richmond ward, the rest of which is now in Sheffield South East. This area is also quite working class, but of a more settled, older, and more owner occupied type: social renting is below average and a high proportion own their houses outright while the proportions of all older age groups are well above average.
The Lib Dems are strong at local level in the west of the constituency, usually winning elections in Beauchief & Greenhill and Graves Park wards; this goes back to when they displaced the Conservatives from the old Beauchief ward in the early 1990s. The Greens now have all three seats in Gleadless Valley ward, and this area has also voted Lib Dem in the past, while the areas covered by Park & Arbourthorne and Richmond wards have only rarely elected non-Labour councillors and the Manor area has not done so since the 1920s. However neither the Lib Dems nor the Greens have been much of a threat at Westminster level in recent years, and this is essentially a safe Labour seat, with the nearest Labour has had to a scare being in 2010 when Meg Munn's majority fell to just under 6,000 over the Lib Dems. In 2019 the Conservatives were second, but over 8,000 votes behind Louise Haigh, who succeeded Munn in 2015; in 2024 Haigh increased her majority to over 15,000, with the Greens overtaking the Conservatives to take a distant second place.
A constituency of this name first appeared in 1950, and for many years it usually voted Tory, except for a Labour win in 1966. The Tory position was eroding over time, probably because of the construction of the various estates on the edge of the city, and then there were significant and decisive boundary changes in 1974 which put an end to the Tory wins; before then Dore and Nether Edge were both in the constituency, and both were Tory strongholds, while it did not include the Park areas (then, of course, in Sheffield Park) nor the Gleadless/Intake area. (Nether Edge as a Tory stronghold might take some imagining now, but it was.) Indeed the main threat to Labour since has been that the Boundary Commission might reverse the 1974 changes, as they largely did propose doing in the "zombie" 2013 review; that proposal was notionally Lib Dem in 2010. The actual changes now implemented add Manor Castle and remove parts of Richmond ward (the Woodthorpe estate and Richmond itself) which will slightly strengthen the Labour position. In fact the new boundaries quite closely resemble the boundaries the aforementioned Sheffield Park had from 1918 until 1950.
2019 notional result (Rallings & Thrasher):
Lab 24619 (53.9%)
Con 12399 (27.1%)
Brexit Party 3643 (8.0%)
Lib Dem 3070 (6.7%)
Green 1964 (4.3%)
Lab majority 12220 (26.7%)
(NB see later post for the missing "Other" vote)
2024 result:
Louise Haigh (Lab) 21230 (55.2%)
Alexi Dimond (Green) 5926 (15.4%)
Lorna Maginnis (Con) 5242 (13.6%)
Rebecca Atkinson (Lib Dem) 3863 (10.0%)
Helen Jackman (SDP) 711 (1.8%)
Steven Roy (Workers Party) 594 (1.5%)
Louise McDonald (Party of Women) 482 (1.3%)
Mick Suter (TUSC) 398 (1.0%)
It is a mixed constituency, tending to be more middle class towards the north-west and working class to the south and east. Overall the working class areas tend to dominate, with the proportions in middle class occupations and with degrees below average and the proportion in social housing being high. Beauchief and much of Norton are middle class suburban areas, with Graves Park ward, which covers Norton and Woodseats, being the least deprived Sheffield ward outside of the Hallam constituency. In neighbouring Gleadless Valley ward, Meersbrook is more "alternative" but also quite middle class and educated, with over 50% of the adult population having a degree (and 59% declaring "no religion"). Nearby Woodseats and Heeley have areas of late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and the latter is known for its City Farm on land cleared for a road project which never happened.
On the other hand, Lowedges, Batemoor and Jordanthorpe, which are in Beauchief & Greenhill ward, are 1950s-60s estates built on the fringe of the city, and have high deprivation and low education levels. Similarly, Meersbrook shares its ward with the Gleadless Valley estate, which was something of a showcase for the city's council housing when it was built in the early 1960s but is now one of the more deprived parts of the city.
In the north-east we have the area which was once the core of a constituency called Sheffield Park. This name referred to the deer park which was associated with Sheffield Castle in mediaeval and Tudor times and which covered a large area south-east of Sheffield city centre, centred on the Manor Lodge, where Mary, Queen of Scots spent some of her time in custody in England. This area is covered by Manor Castle ward and most of Park & Arbourthorne. Much of this area was developed between the wars with the sprawling council estates of Arbourthorne, "the Manor" and Wybourn, with further council housing following after the war, most famously with the enormous Park Hill complex. There is also the Norfolk Park estate, originally developed in the 1960s with large numbers of tower blocks and more recently redeveloped with lower rise housing; the tram ride through this area is recommended for its views of the city. The Park area generally retains high levels of social housing and a working class demographic, though new developments in some areas (and the refurbishment of Park Hill) have brought in a more middle class demographic.
The remaining part of the constituency is Gleadless, in Park & Arbourthorne ward, and the Intake area, in Richmond ward, the rest of which is now in Sheffield South East. This area is also quite working class, but of a more settled, older, and more owner occupied type: social renting is below average and a high proportion own their houses outright while the proportions of all older age groups are well above average.
The Lib Dems are strong at local level in the west of the constituency, usually winning elections in Beauchief & Greenhill and Graves Park wards; this goes back to when they displaced the Conservatives from the old Beauchief ward in the early 1990s. The Greens now have all three seats in Gleadless Valley ward, and this area has also voted Lib Dem in the past, while the areas covered by Park & Arbourthorne and Richmond wards have only rarely elected non-Labour councillors and the Manor area has not done so since the 1920s. However neither the Lib Dems nor the Greens have been much of a threat at Westminster level in recent years, and this is essentially a safe Labour seat, with the nearest Labour has had to a scare being in 2010 when Meg Munn's majority fell to just under 6,000 over the Lib Dems. In 2019 the Conservatives were second, but over 8,000 votes behind Louise Haigh, who succeeded Munn in 2015; in 2024 Haigh increased her majority to over 15,000, with the Greens overtaking the Conservatives to take a distant second place.
A constituency of this name first appeared in 1950, and for many years it usually voted Tory, except for a Labour win in 1966. The Tory position was eroding over time, probably because of the construction of the various estates on the edge of the city, and then there were significant and decisive boundary changes in 1974 which put an end to the Tory wins; before then Dore and Nether Edge were both in the constituency, and both were Tory strongholds, while it did not include the Park areas (then, of course, in Sheffield Park) nor the Gleadless/Intake area. (Nether Edge as a Tory stronghold might take some imagining now, but it was.) Indeed the main threat to Labour since has been that the Boundary Commission might reverse the 1974 changes, as they largely did propose doing in the "zombie" 2013 review; that proposal was notionally Lib Dem in 2010. The actual changes now implemented add Manor Castle and remove parts of Richmond ward (the Woodthorpe estate and Richmond itself) which will slightly strengthen the Labour position. In fact the new boundaries quite closely resemble the boundaries the aforementioned Sheffield Park had from 1918 until 1950.
2019 notional result (Rallings & Thrasher):
Lab 24619 (53.9%)
Con 12399 (27.1%)
Brexit Party 3643 (8.0%)
Lib Dem 3070 (6.7%)
Green 1964 (4.3%)
Lab majority 12220 (26.7%)
(NB see later post for the missing "Other" vote)
2024 result:
Louise Haigh (Lab) 21230 (55.2%)
Alexi Dimond (Green) 5926 (15.4%)
Lorna Maginnis (Con) 5242 (13.6%)
Rebecca Atkinson (Lib Dem) 3863 (10.0%)
Helen Jackman (SDP) 711 (1.8%)
Steven Roy (Workers Party) 594 (1.5%)
Louise McDonald (Party of Women) 482 (1.3%)
Mick Suter (TUSC) 398 (1.0%)
