Post by greenhert on Oct 1, 2023 14:41:54 GMT
Melksham & Devizes is a new seat created for this election. It will consist of the towns of Bradford-on-Avon, Devizes, and Melksham, and the rural wards of Bowerhill, Bronham, Rowde & Roundway, Calne South (NB: this contains little of Calne itself), Devizes Rural West, Holt, Melksham Without North & Shurnhold, Melksham Without West & Rural, The Lavingtons, Urchfront & Bishops Cannings and Winsley & Westwood. It contains territory from 4 current seats: Chippenham, Devizes, North Wiltshire, and South West Wiltshire. It is close to the 1997-2010 boundaries of Devizes, except that it contains Bradford-on-Avon (this was in Westbury, SW Wiltshire's predecessor, during that time) but not any part of the North Wessex Downs AONB, which will be in East Wiltshire, the actual successor seat to Devizes.
The largest town in this constituency is Melksham, although its population only exceeds Devizes' on 2021 census figures by 1,277. Melksham is a small market town on the River Avon that during the 19th century, tried to position itself as a rival to the city of Bath, over the border in Somerset, but failed. As early as 1968, it was characterised as the most industrialised town in Wiltshire except the railway town in Swindon, and today it still has a significant manufacturing presence, courtesy of Cooper Tire & Rubber (owned by racing tyre giant Goodyear), the more specialised Avon Protection, and a Knorr-Bremse factory designing railway braking systems. Devizes, meanwhile, became known for its textiles during the Renaissance, and this continued into the 20th century; there was also a longstanding military barracks which closed as a result of defence spending cuts during the 1980s. Bradford-on-Avon, meanwhile, is better known for its tourism thanks to its beautiful yellow-coloured "Bath stone", although like Devizes it once had a significant cloth and wool manufacturing history, with the last mill closing as long ago as 1905, although Moulton bicycles continue to provide an industrial presence in the town.
Melksham & Devizes is predicted to be safely Conservative, with a notional majority of 15000; the Liberal Democrats are the clear challengers but this will be a very long shot for them. At local level, Devizes is the strongest area of Conservative strength locally and nationally although the now-dormant Devizes Guardians mounted a strong localist challenge in the 2000s, losing their remaining seats in 2013; Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham are marginal between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats but the rural areas are very safely Conservative. Labour were once reasonably competitive in Melksham but now often do not even stand candidates in most of the wards here. Chippenham's current Conservative MP, Michelle Donelan, is expected to become this seat's first MP.
The largest town in this constituency is Melksham, although its population only exceeds Devizes' on 2021 census figures by 1,277. Melksham is a small market town on the River Avon that during the 19th century, tried to position itself as a rival to the city of Bath, over the border in Somerset, but failed. As early as 1968, it was characterised as the most industrialised town in Wiltshire except the railway town in Swindon, and today it still has a significant manufacturing presence, courtesy of Cooper Tire & Rubber (owned by racing tyre giant Goodyear), the more specialised Avon Protection, and a Knorr-Bremse factory designing railway braking systems. Devizes, meanwhile, became known for its textiles during the Renaissance, and this continued into the 20th century; there was also a longstanding military barracks which closed as a result of defence spending cuts during the 1980s. Bradford-on-Avon, meanwhile, is better known for its tourism thanks to its beautiful yellow-coloured "Bath stone", although like Devizes it once had a significant cloth and wool manufacturing history, with the last mill closing as long ago as 1905, although Moulton bicycles continue to provide an industrial presence in the town.
Melksham & Devizes is predicted to be safely Conservative, with a notional majority of 15000; the Liberal Democrats are the clear challengers but this will be a very long shot for them. At local level, Devizes is the strongest area of Conservative strength locally and nationally although the now-dormant Devizes Guardians mounted a strong localist challenge in the 2000s, losing their remaining seats in 2013; Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham are marginal between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats but the rural areas are very safely Conservative. Labour were once reasonably competitive in Melksham but now often do not even stand candidates in most of the wards here. Chippenham's current Conservative MP, Michelle Donelan, is expected to become this seat's first MP.
