This is the thirty-second in a series of blogposts (scroll to the bottom of the article for the others) which will seek to predict the outcome of every seat in the run-up to the next general election. The notion of a universal swing in May 2015 can be totally discounted. Each seat has to be treated on its merits. Feel free to add your comments and tell me where you think I have got things wrong. I will return to update each county analysis when and if I get new information.
Seats: 8
Current Political Makeup: Con 4, Lab 1, LibDem 3
Predicted Political Makeup after May 7: Con 5, Lab 1, LibDem 2
Battersea
2010 Result:
Conservative: 23103 (47.3%)
Labour: 17126 (35.1%)
Lib Dem: 7176 (14.7%)
Green: 559 (1.1%)
UKIP: 505 (1%)
Independent: 155 (0.3%)
Others: 168 (0.3%)
MAJORITY: 5977 (12.2%)
Sitting MP: Jane Ellison (Con)
Prediction: Conservative hold
Not a safe Tory seat by any stretch of the imagination. Despite ongoing gentrification it’s got pockets of real poverty. If Labour fails to get a majority, this seat stays Tory.
Kingston & Surbiton
2010 Result:
Conservative: 20868 (36.5%)
Labour: 5337 (9.3%)
Lib Dem: 28428 (49.8%)
Green: 555 (1%)
UKIP: 1450 (2.5%)
Others: 473 (0.8%)
MAJORITY: 7560 (13.2%)
Sitting MP: Ed Davey (LibDem)
Prediction: LibDem hold
Ed Davey won this seat in 1997 with a wafer thin majority of 56, which rose to more than 15,000 in 2001. But since then the Conservative vote has been on the rise. Davey has only managed to win with such handsome majorities because he has squeezed the Labour vote from 23% down to 9%. If that trend reverses, the Conservatives could squeak it, but it’s highly unlikely. Ed Davey ought to be safe and sound here, and I think he will be. I’m not sure he does though, given that he appears to only spend 2 days a week at the Department of Energy & Climate Change, if Guido Fawkes is to be believed. The rest of his time is spent campaigning in his constituency.
Mitcham & Morden
2010 Result:
Conservative: 11056 (25.2%)
Labour: 24722 (56.4%)
Lib Dem: 5202 (11.9%)
BNP: 1386 (3.2%)
Green: 381 (0.9%)
UKIP: 857 (2%)
Independent: 155 (0.4%)
Others: 38 (0.1%)
MAJORITY: 13666 (31.2%)
Sitting MP: Siobhan McDonough (Lab)
Prediction: Labour hold
Safe seat.
Putney
2010 Result:
Conservative: 21223 (52%)
Labour: 11170 (27.4%)
Lib Dem: 6907 (16.9%)
BNP: 459 (1.1%)
Green: 591 (1.4%)
UKIP: 435 (1.1%)
MAJORITY: 10053 (24.6%)
Sitting MP: Justine Greening (Con)
Prediction: Conservative hold
Safe seat.
Richmond Park
2010 Result:
Conservative: 29461 (49.7%)
Labour: 2979 (5%)
Lib Dem: 25370 (42.8%)
Green: 572 (1%)
UKIP: 669 (1.1%)
Independent: 84 (0.1%)
Others: 133 (0.2%)
MAJORITY: 4091 (6.9%)
Sitting MP: Zac Goldsmith (Con)
Prediction: Conservative hold
Zac Goldsmith won this sear by a bigger majority than anyone expected. It’s difficult to see him being shifted in May.
Sutton & Cheam
2010 Result:
Conservative: 20548 (42.4%)
Labour: 3376 (7%)
Lib Dem: 22156 (45.7%)
BNP: 1014 (2.1%)
Green: 246 (0.5%)
UKIP: 950 (2%)
English Dem: 106 (0.2%)
Others: 112 (0.2%)
MAJORITY: 1608 (3.3%)
Sitting MP: Paul Burstow (LibDem)
Prediction: Narrow Conservative gain
The Labour vote has halved to 7.7% since 1997 and will inevitably rise in 2015. Paul Burstow is standing again and incumbency could play a vital role if he is to retain his seat, but if the Tory vote holds up, he may have a problem.
Twickenham
2010 Result:
Conservative: 20343 (34.1%)
Labour: 4583 (7.7%)
Lib Dem: 32483 (54.4%)
BNP: 654 (1.1%)
Green: 674 (1.1%)
UKIP: 868 (1.5%)
Others: 116 (0.2%)
MAJORITY: 12140 (20.3%)
Sitting MP: Vince Cable (LibDem)
Prediction: LibDem hold
I have changed this seat from a dead cert LibDem Hold to probable. It’s known that Vince Cable has become very nervous about his prospects and the Tories have become quite active here. Much is dependent on whether Labour will siphon off former LibDem votes, although these could be cancelled out by the UKIP votes lost by the Tories.
Wimbledon
2010 Result:
Conservative: 23257 (49.1%)
Labour: 10550 (22.3%)
Lib Dem: 11849 (25%)
Green: 590 (1.2%)
UKIP: 914 (1.9%)
Christian: 235 (0.5%)
MAJORITY: 11408 (24.1%)
Sitting MP: Stephen Hammond (Con)
Prediction: Conservative hold
Safe seat.
If you’d like to see the rest of my seat by seat predictions, click HERE
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