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UK Parliament - Suffolk West

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > East of England > East of England > Suffolk West

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 20, 2010 - 06:00pm

Polls Open

May 06, 2010 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 06, 2010 - 04:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2010 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2015 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Ralphie

Last Modified

Imperator May 12, 2010 09:39pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

BBC Profile:
Conservative Richard Spring has held the seat since 1997, and prior to that was MP for the Bury St Edmunds constituency from 1992 before the seat was reconstituted.

In 1997 Spring secured a majority of just 1,867 votes, but built on that at the elections of 2001 and 2005. In 2005 his majority was 8,909 and he won the support of almost half the electorate.

West Suffolk takes in much of the area covered by the former Bury St Edmunds division. At the election, boundary changes see the constituency lose three part-wards and gain two from the constituency of Bury St Edmunds. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

Composed of prosperous provincial towns and rural communities, the constituency encompasses the market town of Brandon and the military community of Lakenheath. It is also home to Newmarket, the historical home of horseracing.

Suffolk West is ideally placed to capitalise on the growth of high-tech industries. Impetus for the development of transport links such as the A11, educational facilities and business sites in the region stems from a desire to harness the economy of nearby Cambridge.

Local industry is reliant on manufacturing, primarily the refinement of agricultural products.

The market town of Haverhill has meat processing plants and there is also an abundance of light manufacturing works. The leisure industry accounts for a significant proportion of the regions employment.

A proportion of the population are students based at West Suffolk College. The main campus is in Bury St Edmunds but there are learning centres in the areas of Risby, Haverhill and Sudbury. The college has opened a centre at the business development IP-City in Ipswich.

RAF Lakenheath, the largest US Air Force base in England, houses and employs a substantial proportion of the West Suffolk population as well. Large numbers of people are also employed in the horse racing industry.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
C 21,439 (48.90%)
Lab 12,704 (28.98%)
LD 7,539 (17.20%)
UKIP 2,161 (4.93%)