Post by peterl on Jul 10, 2023 19:17:20 GMT
Poole is a large town of around 150,000 immediately adjoining Bournemouth along its western axis. The site of the town has been inhabited for at least 2,500 years and Poole has had its own local government since 1248 when the local burgesses brought a charter of liberties from Lord of the Manor Sir William Longspee’s to help fund his participation in the Seventh Crusade. The borough was officially established and gained parliamentary representation in 1455. Poole is home to a major freight and passenger harbour, with other significant industries include tourism and banking.
Poole was a second tier borough under Dorset from 1973 to 1997 and a unitary borough from 1997 to 2019. It has been Conservative controlled for most of this time, with one stretch of Liberal Democrat control from 1991 to 1999 and a few brief periods of No Overall Control from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. Since 2019 Poole has been part of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and elected that year mostly Lib Dem councillors, with some members elected for the Poole People’s Party. 2023 saw the first election of Labour councillors in Poole for many years.
The constituency includes the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council wards of: Canford Cliffs, Creekmoor, Hamworthy, Newtown and Heatherlands, Oakdale, Parkstone, Penn Hill and Poole Town. Alderney and Bourne Valley, presently split between Poole and Bournmouth West, and Broadstone which is presently in the Poole constituency both move into Poole North and Dorset Mid as part of the boundary changes at the next election. Both wards have a strong track record at council level for the Lib Dems in recent years, and the move could slightly improve their chances of regaining the Poole North constituency.
Poole has only returned Conservative Members of Parliament in modern times. The present seat was created in 1950. The current member, Sir Robert Syms, is the fifth member since then and has served since 1997. 10.88% in 1966 is the smallest Conservative majority during this period. Labour took second place every election from 1950 to 1970 and also in 1979, 2017 and 2019. The Lib Dems and their predecessor parties came second in every election from every election from 1974 until 2010 except for 1979 and 2001. UKIP were the only smaller party to ever take second place in Poole, a feat they managed in 2015 with 16.8% of the vote. The Green Party scored 4.6% in 2015 but have seen declining results since then.
Poole is a seat (like the two Bournemouth constituencies) that on paper should present promise for Labour, with many deprived areas and a growing student population, but this potential has so far been largely unrealised. Lib Dem support waxes and wanes, but Poole could be considered a target under the right circumstances, only just over 5,000 votes short of winning in 1997 and 7,000 short in 2001. While Poole may not quite be a place where Conservative votes are weighed, displacing the blue team here would take quite an effort and is made less likely by the lack of a single clear opposition party.
General Election 2019 Result
Robert Syms Conservative 29,599 58.7% +0.8%
Sue Aitkenhead Labour Co-op 10,483 20.7% -8.7%
Victoria Collins Liberal Democrats 7,819 15.5% +6.6%
Barry Harding-Rathbone Green Party 1,702 3.4% +0.8%
David Young Independent 848 1.7% +1.7%
Poole was a second tier borough under Dorset from 1973 to 1997 and a unitary borough from 1997 to 2019. It has been Conservative controlled for most of this time, with one stretch of Liberal Democrat control from 1991 to 1999 and a few brief periods of No Overall Control from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. Since 2019 Poole has been part of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and elected that year mostly Lib Dem councillors, with some members elected for the Poole People’s Party. 2023 saw the first election of Labour councillors in Poole for many years.
The constituency includes the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council wards of: Canford Cliffs, Creekmoor, Hamworthy, Newtown and Heatherlands, Oakdale, Parkstone, Penn Hill and Poole Town. Alderney and Bourne Valley, presently split between Poole and Bournmouth West, and Broadstone which is presently in the Poole constituency both move into Poole North and Dorset Mid as part of the boundary changes at the next election. Both wards have a strong track record at council level for the Lib Dems in recent years, and the move could slightly improve their chances of regaining the Poole North constituency.
Poole has only returned Conservative Members of Parliament in modern times. The present seat was created in 1950. The current member, Sir Robert Syms, is the fifth member since then and has served since 1997. 10.88% in 1966 is the smallest Conservative majority during this period. Labour took second place every election from 1950 to 1970 and also in 1979, 2017 and 2019. The Lib Dems and their predecessor parties came second in every election from every election from 1974 until 2010 except for 1979 and 2001. UKIP were the only smaller party to ever take second place in Poole, a feat they managed in 2015 with 16.8% of the vote. The Green Party scored 4.6% in 2015 but have seen declining results since then.
Poole is a seat (like the two Bournemouth constituencies) that on paper should present promise for Labour, with many deprived areas and a growing student population, but this potential has so far been largely unrealised. Lib Dem support waxes and wanes, but Poole could be considered a target under the right circumstances, only just over 5,000 votes short of winning in 1997 and 7,000 short in 2001. While Poole may not quite be a place where Conservative votes are weighed, displacing the blue team here would take quite an effort and is made less likely by the lack of a single clear opposition party.
General Election 2019 Result
Robert Syms Conservative 29,599 58.7% +0.8%
Sue Aitkenhead Labour Co-op 10,483 20.7% -8.7%
Victoria Collins Liberal Democrats 7,819 15.5% +6.6%
Barry Harding-Rathbone Green Party 1,702 3.4% +0.8%
David Young Independent 848 1.7% +1.7%
