Lincoln Sir Kenneth Carlisle (Retiring) 14,433 25,563 5,048 0 175 Lincoln 22,905 23,869 4,561 0 500 Labour The results of the general elections in the constituency of Lincoln since the 1980s have been as close to the national average as anywhere in the country. This is ironic, as in the 1970s Lincoln was a pioneering home of the Social Democratic movement, following Dick Taverne's election as a Democratic Labour candidate in the by-election in 1973 and the first general election of 1974. The decline in that movement can be summed up by the closure of the 'Taverne House' social club due to lack of support in 1987. It re-opened as a night club called the 'Rack and Ruin'. Now, Lincoln is a classic Conservative-Labour marginal. The fine ancient city at the top of the hill with its magnificent cathedral and castle above the River Witham is balanced by an industrial town on the flatlands beneath the scarp and council estates behind the cathedral. In the recent boundary changes, Tory suburbs have been removed, producing the premature retirement of Conservative MP Kenneth Carlisle, who has correctly identified a likely Labour gain in this dramatic and beautiful city.

	609	1.55	9.03	17
	3,577	9.08	11.17	81
	1,899	4.82	11.25	43
	6,512	16.54	14.70	112
	1,805	4.58	10.45	44
	0	0.00	2.81	0
	9,213	23.39	8.01	292
	8,879	22.55	15.25	148
	2,390	6.07	7.13	85
	4,051	10.29	10.17	101