Post by John Chanin on Dec 17, 2023 9:35:52 GMT
Rutland was linked with Stamford in a consituency from 1918 to 1983, and was won continually by the Conservatives in that time, although with a very substantial Labour minority. Local government reform in the 1970s forced the dissolution of the link, as Rutland was merged with Leicestershire, and linked with Melton to the west. Meanwhile Stamford was linked firstly with South Holland, and then more logically with Grantham from 1997. Both successor seats were also continually Conservative, although Labour came reasonably close in the latter in 1997. A combination of the need for the Boundary Commission to cross county boundaries under the new rules, and the curious status of Rutland, has now led to its revival, with the two halves almost equal in size.
Stamford, with a population of 20,000 is the largest town in the seat, and accounts for half the Lincolnshire section. It was one of the five towns founded by Danish immigrants following the great invasion of 865, but unlike the other four, it never became the centre of a county. That is not to say it didn’t have considerable mediaeval prosperity. Situated at the lowest bridging point of the Welland, it was an important communication hub, and profited both from the rich agricultural land of the fens to the east, and the wool from the hills to the west and north. But the industrial revolution passed it by - it failed to grow as did many other towns, and today it is best known for the large number of Georgian (and even older) buildings in its centre, which has led to it being a favoured site for filming historical dramas. Demographically Stamford is slightly down market from the rest of the seat, but there isn’t much in it. Managerial jobs are over 40%, and 35% have degrees, but there is a sizable amount of council housing, particularly in the north-east of the town (which is definitely not Georgian, but post-war throughout). Electorally there is no Labour presence in this middle-class town, and they didn’t even put up candidates at the 2023 local elections, which allowed the Liberal Democrats to make inroads into the traditional Conservatism. The up market and modern St Johns ward on the west of the town remains Conservative, but the Liberal Democrats took one of the two seats in the three other wards, including the grand town centre.
15,000 more voters come from rural Lincolnshire, as it curves round the very similar territory in Rutland. Mostly this is hilly country, with the most prominent landmark Isaac Newton’s home at Woolthorpe Manor, halfway to Grantham. Unusually for Britain he is honoured by having the local ward named after him.The neighbouring village of Colsterworth is the largest of the small villages that dot the area, and the ward is a little down market, with relatively low owner-occupation. In the far east out on the fens are Tallington Lakes, an extensive water park. As usual this sparsely populated rural territory is highly Conservative, even in the disastrous 2023 local elections, with wards often being uncontested. Demographically it is similar to Stamford, but with less social housing.
Rutland is the smallest district council in the country with a population of just 40,000. Curiously it isn’t technically a district council at all, but a unitary county (or unitary district masquerading as a county), as a result of the strangest decision of the Banham Commission in the 1990s, although it is quite unable to exercise in an effective and efficient way the functions of a unitary council. It contains two small towns - Oakham with a population of just over 10,000, and Uppingham which is half the size. Uppingham is a pretty little town, best known for its private school. Oakham is more workaday, although with an ancient manor house in the centre. Right in the middle of the county is England’s largest reservoir (by area), Rutland Water. Naturally it doubles as a nature reserve, bird sanctuary, and sailing venue. The miniature county sits in the Jurassic hill country that extends all the way from Somerset to the North York Moors, and although not exactly the Alps it is high enough to provide water throughout the east Midlands. The water is pumped up from the rivers Welland and Nene into a bowl in the hills. The rest of the county is sparsely populated rural countryside, with small, remote, and pleasant villages like Market Overton, with mixed arable and pastoral. Local councillors only represent about 1000 electors each as a result of its diminutive size, which leads to many conservative minded independents as well as Conservatives. Normally the whole area is very safely Conservative, locally and nationally, although the Conservatives were wiped out in Oakham at the last local elections, where Labour won its first councillors for many a year in the North-West ward, which is notably more working class than the rest of the District, with a sizable amount of council housing, and the Liberal Democrats won the other wards. The towns are only two-thirds owner-occupied, but managerial jobs are over 40% almost everywhere, and degree holders exceed those with minimal qualifications everywhere except the west side of Oakham, and the rural border with Lincolnshire, which are a little down market. There is one other exception to the uniform rural middle-classness. The Kendrew army barracks on the site of the old RAF Cottesmore provides some ethnic variety with its black soldiers, and makes Cottesmore ward 30% ‘private’ rented. Neighbouring Greetham is actually the most working class ward in Rutland (and indeed the whole seat) despite its expansive rural nature.
The Boundary Commission’s obsession with no change has led to a bizarre extension to this new seat. Rutland and SW Lincolnshire have 30,000 voters each, and another 10,000 are required to make up the correct size. These come from the three northern wards of Harborough District in Leicestershire. The Billesdon and Tilton wards are a western extension of the sparsely populated hilly rural territory of Rutland and are fair enough. But also included is the Leicester suburb of Thurnby further west, which is part of the built up area of the city, has a large asian population, is well off, well educated, and almost entirely owner-occupied, votes Liberal Democrat, and is completely out of place in this constituency (as it was in the predecessor).
In summary this reconstructed constituency makes a lot of sense, with the exception of Thurnby, linking the limestone hills that are a northern extension of the Cotswolds with the town of Stamford that serves as the regional centre for most of the seat. It will almost certainly be one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. Recognising this, Alicia Kearns, the current MP for Rutland & Melton will be moving to this seat at the next election. She is a former PR consultant, first elected at the young age of 32, and currently Chair of the prestigious Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Census data: Owner-occupied 73% (113/575 in England & Wales), private rented 16% (363rd), social rented 11% (483rd).
: White 93%(243rd), Black 1%(332nd), South Asian 3%(277th), Mixed 2%(363rd), Other 1%(394th)
: Managerial & professional 45% (142nd), Routine & Semi-routine 22% (442nd)
: Degree level 37%(165th), Minimal qualifications 23%(458th)
: Students 5% (368th), Over 65- 25% (90th)
Boundaries : The new seat is made up of 58% from Rutland & Melton, and 42% from Grantham & Stamford
It contains 51% of Rutland & Melton, and 36% of Grantham & Stamford
Stamford, with a population of 20,000 is the largest town in the seat, and accounts for half the Lincolnshire section. It was one of the five towns founded by Danish immigrants following the great invasion of 865, but unlike the other four, it never became the centre of a county. That is not to say it didn’t have considerable mediaeval prosperity. Situated at the lowest bridging point of the Welland, it was an important communication hub, and profited both from the rich agricultural land of the fens to the east, and the wool from the hills to the west and north. But the industrial revolution passed it by - it failed to grow as did many other towns, and today it is best known for the large number of Georgian (and even older) buildings in its centre, which has led to it being a favoured site for filming historical dramas. Demographically Stamford is slightly down market from the rest of the seat, but there isn’t much in it. Managerial jobs are over 40%, and 35% have degrees, but there is a sizable amount of council housing, particularly in the north-east of the town (which is definitely not Georgian, but post-war throughout). Electorally there is no Labour presence in this middle-class town, and they didn’t even put up candidates at the 2023 local elections, which allowed the Liberal Democrats to make inroads into the traditional Conservatism. The up market and modern St Johns ward on the west of the town remains Conservative, but the Liberal Democrats took one of the two seats in the three other wards, including the grand town centre.
15,000 more voters come from rural Lincolnshire, as it curves round the very similar territory in Rutland. Mostly this is hilly country, with the most prominent landmark Isaac Newton’s home at Woolthorpe Manor, halfway to Grantham. Unusually for Britain he is honoured by having the local ward named after him.The neighbouring village of Colsterworth is the largest of the small villages that dot the area, and the ward is a little down market, with relatively low owner-occupation. In the far east out on the fens are Tallington Lakes, an extensive water park. As usual this sparsely populated rural territory is highly Conservative, even in the disastrous 2023 local elections, with wards often being uncontested. Demographically it is similar to Stamford, but with less social housing.
Rutland is the smallest district council in the country with a population of just 40,000. Curiously it isn’t technically a district council at all, but a unitary county (or unitary district masquerading as a county), as a result of the strangest decision of the Banham Commission in the 1990s, although it is quite unable to exercise in an effective and efficient way the functions of a unitary council. It contains two small towns - Oakham with a population of just over 10,000, and Uppingham which is half the size. Uppingham is a pretty little town, best known for its private school. Oakham is more workaday, although with an ancient manor house in the centre. Right in the middle of the county is England’s largest reservoir (by area), Rutland Water. Naturally it doubles as a nature reserve, bird sanctuary, and sailing venue. The miniature county sits in the Jurassic hill country that extends all the way from Somerset to the North York Moors, and although not exactly the Alps it is high enough to provide water throughout the east Midlands. The water is pumped up from the rivers Welland and Nene into a bowl in the hills. The rest of the county is sparsely populated rural countryside, with small, remote, and pleasant villages like Market Overton, with mixed arable and pastoral. Local councillors only represent about 1000 electors each as a result of its diminutive size, which leads to many conservative minded independents as well as Conservatives. Normally the whole area is very safely Conservative, locally and nationally, although the Conservatives were wiped out in Oakham at the last local elections, where Labour won its first councillors for many a year in the North-West ward, which is notably more working class than the rest of the District, with a sizable amount of council housing, and the Liberal Democrats won the other wards. The towns are only two-thirds owner-occupied, but managerial jobs are over 40% almost everywhere, and degree holders exceed those with minimal qualifications everywhere except the west side of Oakham, and the rural border with Lincolnshire, which are a little down market. There is one other exception to the uniform rural middle-classness. The Kendrew army barracks on the site of the old RAF Cottesmore provides some ethnic variety with its black soldiers, and makes Cottesmore ward 30% ‘private’ rented. Neighbouring Greetham is actually the most working class ward in Rutland (and indeed the whole seat) despite its expansive rural nature.
The Boundary Commission’s obsession with no change has led to a bizarre extension to this new seat. Rutland and SW Lincolnshire have 30,000 voters each, and another 10,000 are required to make up the correct size. These come from the three northern wards of Harborough District in Leicestershire. The Billesdon and Tilton wards are a western extension of the sparsely populated hilly rural territory of Rutland and are fair enough. But also included is the Leicester suburb of Thurnby further west, which is part of the built up area of the city, has a large asian population, is well off, well educated, and almost entirely owner-occupied, votes Liberal Democrat, and is completely out of place in this constituency (as it was in the predecessor).
In summary this reconstructed constituency makes a lot of sense, with the exception of Thurnby, linking the limestone hills that are a northern extension of the Cotswolds with the town of Stamford that serves as the regional centre for most of the seat. It will almost certainly be one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. Recognising this, Alicia Kearns, the current MP for Rutland & Melton will be moving to this seat at the next election. She is a former PR consultant, first elected at the young age of 32, and currently Chair of the prestigious Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Census data: Owner-occupied 73% (113/575 in England & Wales), private rented 16% (363rd), social rented 11% (483rd).
: White 93%(243rd), Black 1%(332nd), South Asian 3%(277th), Mixed 2%(363rd), Other 1%(394th)
: Managerial & professional 45% (142nd), Routine & Semi-routine 22% (442nd)
: Degree level 37%(165th), Minimal qualifications 23%(458th)
: Students 5% (368th), Over 65- 25% (90th)
Boundaries : The new seat is made up of 58% from Rutland & Melton, and 42% from Grantham & Stamford
It contains 51% of Rutland & Melton, and 36% of Grantham & Stamford
Notional | % | |
Conservative | 34,052 | 63.3 |
Liberal Democrat | 8,515 | 15.8 |
Labour | 7,882 | 14.7 |
Green | 1,950 | 3.6 |
Other | 1,375 | 2.6 |
| Majority | 25,537 | 47.5 |