|
|
| Parents |
> United Kingdom > England > East Midlands > East Midlands
|
|
| Established | May 26, 1955 |
| Disbanded | Still Active |
| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modified | RBH December 13, 2019 09:58pm |
| Description |
Ashfield has been solidly Labour since its creation in 1955. The only exception to this was in a 1977 by-election following the resignation of David Marquand who had been MP there for 11 years. The Labour government was doing badly nationally and Conservative Tim Smith took the seat on a massive 21% swing by a majority of 264. Labour took the seat back in 1979 and since 1992 it has been the parliamentary berth for Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. Ashfield is situated in the north west of Nottinghamshire and its main towns are Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kirby-in-Ashfield, Hucknall and Eastwood (the birthplace of D H Lawrence). Like the other Nottinghamshire mining areas, Ashfield was moderate, rather than militant, during the miners' dispute and most colliery workers, who were members of the UDM, did not strike. This produced tensions between local miners and the pickets coming in from Yorkshire and Derbyshire. In the 1987 general election, there was a swing here, as in comparable Mansfield and Sherwood, to the Tories. But, with pit closures and the impending privatisation of the industry, this area reverted to its natural support for Labour. With the decline in mining, textiles have increased in importance. However, in 2001, Coats-Viyella announced the loss of 850 jobs from three factories in Sutton-in-Ashfield. Government funding through the Rapid Response Fund has made retraining possible for these redundant workers. Other companies in the area include Boots, Kodak and a Rolls-Royce/Chromalloy joint venture. Labour lost control of Ashfield Council at the local elections in 2003, when 15 of their 31 councillors lost their seats. However, Mr Hoon had a majority of 22,728 in 1997 and 13,268 in 2001.
[Link]
|
 | RACES |
|
|
| Polls Close |
Description |
Takes Office |
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
| VOTER REGISTRATION |
|
|
| DEMOGRAPHIC |
|
|
| MEDIA |
|
|
|
