{"id":6153,"date":"2024-06-29T17:42:12","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T17:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/?p=6153"},"modified":"2024-06-29T18:13:04","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T18:13:04","slug":"election-2024-these-are-the-races-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/election-2024-these-are-the-races-to-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Election 2024: these are the races to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"theconversation-article-body\">\n<p>  <span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/oliver-heath-306329\">Oliver Heath<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/royal-holloway-university-of-london-795\">Royal Holloway University of London<\/a><\/em> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/humphrey-southall-1197448\">Humphrey Southall<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-portsmouth-1302\">University of Portsmouth<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As the country gears up for the election, all eyes are on the bellwether constituencies that historically reflect the broader national mood.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Where will this election be won and lost? Which constituencies hold the balance of power? And where are the key swing seats?<\/p>\n<p>In this election, answers are harder to come by than usual because new <a href=\"https:\/\/commonslibrary.parliament.uk\/boundary-review-2023-which-seats-will-change\/\">boundaries<\/a> have been drawn, meaning that 585 out of 650 constituencies have changed shape since the last election. Some have become larger, others smaller and some have been split into many parts with no obvious ancestor.<\/p>\n<p>Because residents are voting in new geographical formations, we only have a limited understanding of the political context in which many of this year\u2019s contests will take place. <\/p>\n<p>But to shed light on the matter, we have undertaken a major new data collection exercise and redistricted past election results since 1997 onto the new constituency boundaries, using population counts for 189,000 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/methodology\/geography\/ukgeographies\/censusgeographies\/census2021geographies\">census output areas<\/a> \u2013 each of which contains between 100 to 625 people. This unique data provides an insight into how residents in the current constituencies have voted over time, and which party has historically been the most popular at each election starting with Tony Blair\u2019s first landslide in 1997 and ending in Boris Johnson\u2019s emphatic victory in 2019.<\/p>\n<h2>The top 10 bellwethers<\/h2>\n<p>Although the country has changed a lot politically over the last seven elections, there are 55 bellwether constituencies, where the residents have consistently followed national trends and voted locally for the same party that ends up in 10 Downing Street. Of these, 52 are in England and three are in Wales.<\/p>\n<p>Some of these seats will be easier for Labour to win than others. In Hendon, London, Labour were only 8 percentage points behind the Conservatives in 2019. But in Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, Labour faces a tougher task. Despite residents backing Tony Blair\u2019s New Labour in 1997, 2001, and 2005, Labour\u2019s support among residents declined from 55% in 1997 to just 25% in 2019. The Conservatives took 68% of the vote in 2019, making Cannock Chase one of the safer Tory seats in the country (47th of 650). If Labour does end up winning there, the Tories will be in for a very bad night indeed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=383&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=383&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=383&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=482&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=482&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600964\/original\/file-20240615-18-q2vdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=482&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><figcaption>\n              <span class=\"caption\">Cannock Chase: a beautiful bellwether.<\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/cannock-chase-staffordshire-england-uk-17th-1232576149\">Shutterstock\/djaphoto<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Table 1 zooms in on the top ten bellwether constituencies, where the vote share of the local residents has most closely mirrored the vote share of the Conservatives and Labour at the national level over the last 27 years. In each election since 1997, the balance of opinion among these residents has closely reflected the national outcome. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Local support for the election winner, 1997-2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A chart showing the ten seats that have best reflected the national outcome of each election since 1997.\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=366&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=366&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=366&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600924\/original\/file-20240614-17-udi9j0.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><\/a><figcaption>\n              <span class=\"caption\">The vote share for the winning party in each election since 1997 in the top 10 bellwether constituencies.<\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What happens in these places, then, could be seen to have offered a snapshot of the broader political mood over that time. Residents in these constituencies may well find themselves in high demand for vox pops and focus groups in 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>The 338 seats that have not switched 27 years<\/h2>\n<p>In contrast to these bellwethers, some steadfast constituencies have remained remarkably resistant to political change. Residents in 338 constituencies have consistently voted in support of the same party across the last seven general elections. Of these, 165 have consistently voted for Labour and 168 have consistently voted for the Conservatives.<\/p>\n<p>The most steadfast Tory residents are those in South Holland and The Deepings in Lincolnshire. Here, the estimated Conservative vote has averaged at 60% over the last seven general elections. John Hayes, who has held the seat for that entire period, should therefore be feeling confident. <\/p>\n<p>The most steadfast Labour residents are those in Liverpool Walton, where the average vote for Labour has been a whopping 75%. Dan Carden, first elected there in 2010, will therefore surely fancy his chances of being returned as the MP. <\/p>\n<h2>The ultra marginals and ultra volatiles<\/h2>\n<p>Another group of constituencies has consistently produced very close verdicts, with average winning margins of 6 percentage points or less over the last seven elections.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top 10 most competitive constituencies, 1997-2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A chart showing 10 highly competitive seats. \" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=308&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=308&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=308&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=388&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=388&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600922\/original\/file-20240614-17-c4vct5.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=388&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><\/a><figcaption>\n              <span class=\"caption\">Competitive seats and what it takes to win them.<\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Of these, Eastbourne, on the southeast coast, is very interesting. It has, on average, produced the closest verdicts, with very tightly contested vote between Conservative and Liberal Democrats. If past behaviour repeats itself, the outcome in these places could once again be a toss-up.<\/p>\n<p>Residents in some other constituencies have shown massive fluctuations in their support for different between elections. Table 3 shows which places have been the most volatile over the last 27 years.<\/p>\n<p>Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, a new Welsh constituency created from parts of four others, leads the way for volatility. The voters who now make up this constituency have shown strong support for independent candidates over the years. Peter Law, for example, was elected as an independent MP for the former constituency of Blaenau Gwent in 2005, after resigning from the Labour party in protest against all-women shortlists. The local party, Blaenau Gwent People\u2019s Voice Group, also polled well in the area during the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top 10 most volatile constituencies, 1997-2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A chart showing volatile British electoral constituencies.\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/600923\/original\/file-20240614-17-trpm55.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><figcaption>\n              <span class=\"caption\">Shopping around?<\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wyre Forest in the Midlands has witnessed strong surges of support for independent candidates, such as Richard Taylor who stood in protest against the closure of the A&amp;E department at Kidderminster hospital. Elsewhere, some of the places with the highest levels of volatility over the last few elections are the ones where Ukip briefly burst onto the scene in 2015. Clacton in Essex witnessed Ukip\u2019s only success, when Douglas Carswell won the seat as a Ukip candidate in 2015. With Nigel Farage contesting the seat this time, he\u2019ll be hoping for a similar performance.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/232558\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1\/1;border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/oliver-heath-306329\">Oliver Heath<\/a>, Professor of Politics, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/royal-holloway-university-of-london-795\">Royal Holloway University of London<\/a><\/em> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/humphrey-southall-1197448\">Humphrey Southall<\/a>, Professor of Historical Geography, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-portsmouth-1302\">University of Portsmouth<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/election-2024-these-are-the-races-to-watch-232558\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oliver Heath, Royal Holloway University of London and Humphrey Southall, University of Portsmouth As the country gears up for the election, all eyes are<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/election-2024-these-are-the-races-to-watch\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAowu7GVCw:productID":"","_crdt_document":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federate","footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[12475,12474,292,12500,12477,722,12488,12487,12485,12490,12483,773,12480,12481,12484,12476,12479,12482,12491,12478,12498,726,2902,12499,723,921,12489],"class_list":["post-6153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-bellwether","tag-blaenau-gwent","tag-boris-johnson","tag-boston-and-skegness","tag-cannock-chase","tag-creative-commons","tag-dan-carden","tag-douglas-carswell","tag-humphrey-southall","tag-independent-politician","tag-john-hayes","tag-london","tag-monmouth","tag-nigel-farage","tag-oliver-heath","tag-peter-law","tag-red-wall","tag-richard-taylor","tag-scottish-labour","tag-senedd-constituencies-and-electoral-regions","tag-senedd-electoral-regions","tag-shutterstock","tag-tony-blair","tag-uk-independence-party","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wales","tag-welsh-labour"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/file-20240614-17-4kl3r9-1024x681.jpg","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/file-20240614-17-4kl3r9-300x200.jpg","large":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/file-20240614-17-4kl3r9-1024x681.jpg"},"ams_acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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