Election 97

Kensington and Chelsea

Current MP Sir Nicholas Scott
Conservative 97 19,887
Labour 97 10,368
LibDem 97 5,668
Nationalist 97 0
Other 97 1,165
Elected party
Kensington and Chelsea

Robert Waller wrote
Old constituency Chelsea
Conservative 92 28,979
Labour 92 7,080
LibDem 92 5,590
Nationalist 92 0
Other 92 855
Elected party Conservative

It is a reasonable contention that if there were just one seat in the whole of Britain to survive a general election landslide, or one which would be least likely to be lost in a by-election, it would be the newly drawn seat of Kensington and Chelsea in the most affluent part of west London. This amalgamation of the undersized Chelsea and South Kensington is, quite simply, the safest Conservative seat in the country.

No wonder, then, that there was so much publicity in early 1997 when the local Conservative party voted to de-select the current Chelsea MP, Sir Nicholas Scott, after a series of drink-related incidents. From a large and strong field of candidates, the activists picked a surprise winner: Alan Clark, the former member for Plymouth Sutton, who left the House of Commons voluntarily in 1992, and is now certain to return. As he turns 69 in April 1997, he will be the oldest entrant - or returnee - to the House in decades.


Super Profiles

5,510 11.02 9.03 122
132 0.26 11.17 2
0 0.00 11.25 0
0 0.00 14.70 0
36,593 73.20 10.45 701
196 0.39 2.81 14
77 0.15 8.01 2
292 0.58 15.25 4
0 0.00 7.13 0
3,245 6.49 10.17 64