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UK Parliament - Morecambe & Lunesdale

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > North West > North West > Morecambe & Lunesdale

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 19, 2005 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

May 05, 2005 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 05, 2005 - 05:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2005 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2010 - 11:00am

Contributor

Wishful Thinking

Last Modified

Wishful Thinking June 22, 2005 09:11pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

Prior to 1997 the seaside resort of Morecambe was solidly Conservative. However, Morecambe went the way of many others in that general election and returned a Labour MP for the first time. Postal worker and local councillor, Geraldine Smith, overturned a Tory majority of 10,500 to produce one of almost 6,000 of her own. Confusingly, this seat was known, prior to 1983, as Morecambe and Lonsdale. That name came from the dale of the river Lune which which constitutes its southern border. Morecambe is the largest town and the place from which its most famous comedian son, Eric, took his name. A statue of him was erected in 1999 on the seafront after his death. Beyond Morecambe lies Heysham, a ferryport and site of a nuclear power station. Almost 20% of the population here is over 65. Tourism is one of the main industries - electricity, gas and water are the others. Unemployment is above the national average - many of the tourist jobs being seasonal. Owner-occupation is high, at almost 75%, and only 6% rent council properties. Labour's strength is in Skerton and Heysham and in the railway town of Carnforth, the setting for the film Brief Encounter. The Tories do well in Bare and in the rural Upper Lune Valley. Geraldine Smith's majority barely altered between the last two general elections.