Election 97

Eastleigh


Result 97 gain
from Conservative
Current MP 97 David Chidgey
Majority 0 ( 0.0%)
Conservative 97 18,699 (33.7%)
Labour 97 14,883 (26.8%)
LibDem 97 19,453 (35.1%)
Nationalist 97 0 ( 0.0%)
Other 97 2,459 ( 4.4%)
Elected party 97
Electorate 97 72,155
Turnout 97 55,494 (76.9%)



1992 MP David Chidgey
Old constituency name Eastleigh
Majority 92 11,912 (21.2%)
Conservative 92 28,620 (50.9%)
Labour 92 10,947 (19.5%)
LibDem 92 16,708 (29.7%)
Nationalist 92 0 ( 0.0%)
Other 92 0 ( 0.0%)
Elected party 92 Conservative
Electorate 92 67,556
Turnout 92 56,275 (83.3%)
Eastleigh



Tory change -17.2%
Labour change +7.4%
Lib Dem change +5.4%
Nationalist change +0.0%
Other change +4.4%
Electorate change +6.8%
Turnout Change -6.4%
Robert Waller wrote

The Hampshire constituency of Eastleigh came into the national limelight in bizarre circumstances in the early months of 1994. The first-term MP, the former journalist and economics expert Stephen Milligan, was found dead at his home in surroundings suggesting the tragic misfiring of a sexual fetish. The government could not hope to hold the seat - or in all probability any other seat - at a time when they were nationally extremely unpopular, and the winner of the by-election was the Liberal Democrat David Chidgey, who had finished nearly 18,000 votes behind Milligan in 1992. Indeed Labour advanced past the Conservatives to take second place in the by-election.

This fact might hinder Chidgey in his attempt to retain Eastleigh in a general election. Although essentially a Conservative - Liberal Democrat contest, the basic strength that Labour has both nationally and locally, particularly in the old railway town of Eastleigh itself, make them serious players here. The seat also includes some of the burgeoning suburbs of Southampton around Hedge End and West End, but has lost its most Conservative section (Hiltingbury/Chandlers Ford) in boundary changes. Probably the best prediction is of a three-way photo-finish.


Super Profiles

2,552 6.50 9.03 72
4,542 11.57 11.17 104
6,771 17.25 11.25 153
14,139 36.03 14.70 245
3,555 9.06 10.45 87
0 0.00 2.81 0
2,096 5.34 8.01 67
4,250 10.83 15.25 71
449 1.14 7.13 16
792 2.02 10.17 20