Election 97

Montgomeryshire


Result 97 gain
from LibDem
Current MP 97 Alex Carlile (Retiring)
Majority 0 ( 0.0%)
Conservative 97 8,344 (26.1%)
Labour 97 6,109 (19.1%)
LibDem 97 14,647 (45.9%)
Nationalist 97 1,608 ( 5.0%)
Other 97 1,217 ( 3.8%)
Elected party 97
Electorate 97 42,618
Turnout 97 31,925 (74.9%)



1992 MP Alex Carlile (Retiring)
Old constituency name Montgomery
Majority 92 5,209 (15.8%)
Conservative 92 10,822 (32.7%)
Labour 92 4,115 (12.4%)
LibDem 92 16,031 (48.5%)
Nationalist 92 1,581 ( 4.8%)
Other 92 508 ( 1.5%)
Elected party 92 LibDem
Electorate 92 42,137
Turnout 92 33,057 (78.5%)
Montgomeryshire



Tory change -6.6%
Labour change +6.7%
Lib Dem change -2.6%
Nationalist change +0.3%
Other change +2.3%
Electorate change +1.1%
Turnout Change -3.5%
Robert Waller wrote

The mid-Wales seats in the former county of Powys have not been redrawn, merely renamed. This is the same seat that has for decades been known as Montgomery: a seat with one of the longest and most continuous Liberal traditions of any in Britain. With the single exception of 1979, it has been won by the Liberals (however named), for over a century. Among the MPs have been party leader (1945-56) Clement Davies, and since 1983, Alex Carlile, who won with a relatively comfortable majority (for a fairly small electorate) of over 5,000 over the Tories in 1992.

Now, however, Carlile has announced his retirement (although he is not yet 50 years old) and the Liberal Democrats have to defend this most rural of seats in the Welsh hills with a very non-local figure, Lembet Opik, who has been based in the North East of England and contested the hopeless Newcastle Central last time. An element of doubt must be introduced by this change of personnel, but the Lib Dems have shown in the past that on occasions they too can successfully introduce a new candidate to hold a seat won by an established figure previously: the case of Liz Lynne replacing Cyril Smith in Rochdale would be one in point.


Super Profiles

770 3.07 9.03 34
5,773 23.04 11.17 206
1,400 5.59 11.25 50
1,057 4.22 14.70 29
47 0.19 10.45 2
7,439 29.68 2.81 1055
3,036 12.11 8.01 151
2,857 11.40 15.25 75
1,646 6.57 7.13 92
1,036 4.13 10.17 41